大唐电信科技股份有限公司股东大会近日以累计投票制选举李永华先生为公司第五届董事会董事之一。李先生现任大唐电信科技产业控股有限公司法律事务部总经理。

新一届董事会同时决定继续聘任齐秀彬女士为公司董事会秘书，任期自2010年8月16日至2013年8月15日。齐女士同时兼任公司总法律顾问。

大唐电信近日的董事选举再次表明，律师以及内部法务经理在国内公司高级管理层的地位和重要性正在不断提升。

As efforts to improve corporate governance continue, the shareholders of Datang Telecom Technology, a public-listed company, have elected Li Yonghua, the legal manager of Datang Telecom Techonology & Industry Holdings, to be a member of the company's fifth board of directors. At the same time, Datang's new board of directors has renewed the appointment of current general counsel and company secretary Qi Xiubin for another three-year term, meaning the company now in fact has two lawyers on the board.

Li's appointment to the board is a manifestation of the elevated role of legal managers and general counsels in domestic companies generally. Increasingly, legal managers and general counsels have been appointed to senior management positions, such as vice president, member of the board and company secretary. Shanghai-listed BOE Technology Group, Ping An Insurance Group, China Railway Group, China National Offshore Oil Corp, among many others, have also recently promoted senior legal officers to such roles.

"Stricter scrutiny and higher compliance standards of regulators such as CSRC and the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges have put increasing pressure on A-share listed companies to improve corporate governance," said Wen Ye, a partner of V&T who focuses on IPOs, listings and securities. "In response, many companies have started to pay more attention to legal compliance issues and appoint experienced legal counsel to the board or to secretary of the board, ensuring better risk management and internal compliance and control arrangements.

"More importantly, high-quality corporate governance and transparent disclosure practices are increasingly important selection criteria for investors. The market evolution has also driven listed companies to proactively advance their business practices and management," Wen added. ALB

Related stories: