'Expertise in specific areas' has been voted by in-house counsels as the number one criteria for selecting external counsel, while 'responsiveness/turnaround time' and 'level of fees charged' was listed as the second and third important criteria.

"For most day to day legal matters, external lawyers cannot match the in-house team in terms of understanding of the issues and speed of response," said Susan Wu, the chief legal officer for the power sector of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings. "However, we do value external counsels' extensive expertise and knowledge in many other areas of the law. Their logistics, know-how, precedents and experience in solving similar legal issues are invaluable to us. The in-house counsels are there to identify and leverage these advantages and design innovative structures and solutions." 

"Fee levels are of a lesser concern when we select external counsel...what we value most are expertise, expertise and expertise," Wu said.

• Top 10 criteria for selecting external counsel