The ALB In-House 25 | Asian Legal Business

In-house lawyers today are a critical part of the legal industry, helping to shape the landscape while blazing their own trail. The ALB In-house 25 list salutes 25 top in-house counsel from around the region who have won accolades, and achieved a great reputation not just within their organisations, but across the legal industry.

As Asian Legal Business celebrates the contributions of in-house counsel in its ALB In-House 25, we speak to some of the lawyers who made the list about what it takes to be successful in the role.

With a wealth of diversity in experience between them, their insights are as varied as the industries they handle. But some things are common to all roles - a deep understanding of their work, the ability to adapt in the face of change, and the willingness to go above and beyond as necessary.

MANY KEYS TO SUCCESS

For Paul Fredrick, general counsel of East Asia & Japan at Schneider Electric, keeping in mind the main responsibilities of the role one plays in the organization is crucial.

“There are a few keys for success as an in-house counsel in Asia. For starters, know the business of your company and remember that as a partner with commercial colleagues, the goal is to help grow the business,” says Fredrick.

“Then, understand that your role is to protect the company from incurring unnecessary or avoidable high risks in its operations. Also, we need to provide solutions to challenges that arise on transactions and projects,” he adds.

But of course, the work of a counsel often extends beyond the scope of duty.

“I believe that the scope of duties of an in-house legal team is evolving and expanding. Many in-house lawyers are involved in external affairs, as the lawyer is a key advocate for the company. Compliance is a growing area, especially when it comes to technology, and it is actually a specialist in-house role in many cases,” says James Evans, director of legal & external affairs for Asia Linfox International Group.

To meet these issues, he thinks the key is to be both pragmatic and agile.

“Things change quickly, including the law and practice, so in-house lawyers must be able to react and, if possible, second guess,” says Evans.

Parveen Mahtani, general counsel for Tata Housing Development, also thinks that being responsive and responsible ranks high on the list, especially with new issues emerging in this digital age.

”In an era of risk convergence, the speed and impact of reputational harm due to social media require prompt legal advice. Therefore, the key to be a successful in-house counsel is to provide technical and commercially astute advice in a highly responsive fashion, which ultimately has a transformative impact on the business,” says Mahtani.

“The role of the in-house counsel has evolved as we are now required to play a leading role in the development of governance policies and data strategies that protect corporate information, while simultaneously providing the business with enough freedom to use information to gain a competitive edge,” she notes.

Besides that, Mahtani feels that in-house counsel act as a mini-chief executive to “identify and anticipate risks, formulate and execute strategy, control costs, ensure efficacy and nurture culture and talent.”

Wayne Bannon, general counsel for The Carlyle Group in Asia, also understands the need to be a “jack of all trades” in this line of work.

“Balancing the need to be technically ‘top class’ but aligning that with understanding the different markets and economic conditions across this massive and diverse region is the key,” he says.

On the other hand, Alex Liam, group legal manager for Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, feels that trust is the main ingredient in being a successful in-house counsel.

“I think building trust is the key to be a successful in-house counsel in Asian markets. While this is a quality that is required in just about any market, trust is important for Asian companies in particular,” says Liam.

GROWTH MARKET CHALLENGES

Evans feels navigating the different approaches of each Asian country to laws can be a challenge, especially when it impacts on the company’s investment strategy.

“Developing nations tend to go through several stages of development of their legal landscape, in line with their progression through WTO and associated required changes and in line with their commercial and broader socio-economic development. Myanmar is a good example of this. The West tends to have more open and, therefore, less complex or stringent foreign investment laws,” he says.

Expansion into new markets and segments can certainly throw new curve-balls. Mahtani says that complex regulation and stricter enforcement, and the growth of new technologies are creating challenges for in-house teams.

“The challenges can be overcome by aligning to the wider business strategy. By patiently and methodically building a legal team and developing the skills that your lawyers need to succeed, you will find that you are shaping the change rather than reacting to the challenges, says Mahtani.

She also points to the diversity throughout Asia in cultures and languages.

“The in-house team, therefore, requires having cultural intelligence, whereby they are able to understand local cultures and sensitivities while negotiating a transaction,” says Mahtani.

“One should always be mindful of cultural differences in doing business that can be important depending on the country in which an in-house counsel handles a matter,” notes Frederick.

“I would always recommend that someone in-house spends as much time as you can with your business units, your peers, decision makers, and your external advisors in each jurisdiction. In short, the people who truly understand the business environment, current and future issues, and how regulations are being interpreted, enforced and revised,” suggests Bannon.

Bannon sees transactions becoming increasingly multi-jurisdictional. He observes they often cut across two regions, be it Asia, Europe and/or the U.S. He says business, operational and reputational risk issues are often common across jurisdictions and flow across the organization when there is an issue.

“Multinational companies expect global standards of compliance regardless of local regulations. To put it another way, I think that in 2018 the role of those two senior lawyers in different parts of the world likely have more in common than is different,” says Bannon.

“Frankly I think the differences between the roles, responsibilities and experiences of a senior in-house counsel in Asia versus say, U.S./ Europe are less distinct than they were 10-15 years ago. Regulations are global,” he adds.

Liam takes a similar approach to deal with the evolving scope of the job.

“I think legal teams are increasingly expected to be active stakeholders in the business, so it is about maintaining a strategic mindset and being open to receiving input from various people about how you can be more effective within the business framework,” he says.

BUDGET ISSUES

Another challenge for in-house counsel, says Liam, is limited budgets. But he has found ways to deal with it.

“I have been working diligently to build up a reliable database of templates so we can reduce our reliance on external counsel. I have also been more selective about the hiring of in-house counsel. It is about working with the budget you have and yet ensuring that quality legal work is still done,” he notes.

Small budgets also usually equal smaller than ideal legal teams.

“In-House teams are usually smaller in size than desirable considering the overall scope of work to progress, which at Schneider Electric can include compliance investigations and support to other functional groups including HR, Treasury/Credit, Tax and Real Estate. In addition to legal work, our attorneys make the effort to conduct annual training seminars to highlight awareness of Schneider Electric’s guidelines and policies on contracts, compliance, ethics and more,” explains Fredrick.

Staying on budget is important from the management’s viewpoint, so he complies by having the East Asia & Japan Legal Team set up at least one annual meeting in order to “share lessons learned and best practices; maintain camaraderie; and strategize ways to improve our efficiency and effectiveness on the work we handle.”

INCREASING EFFICIENCY

Besides the meeting, Fredrick also has a few methods to increase efficiency between units.

“My team and I continue to develop ‘plain English’ template agreements that increase efficiency and enable us to stay focused on areas of highest value and highest risk to Schneider Electric,” he says.

“For every legal document to be reviewed, our lawyers require the business team to complete a Contract Review Request Form, which provides important information (technical, commercial and other) and enables the Legal Team to understand of the business aspects of the transaction or project involved,” he continues.

“Our lawyers are not embedded into specific business units; however, we have developed quality relationships with our commercial colleagues, which enables effective collaboration on the progress of the work,” Frederick adds.

On the subject of efficiency, Bannon it is a continuing focus for Carlyle’s legal team in Asia to use technology to drive operational and spending efficiencies.

“It is not necessarily always a case of driving costs and fees to the absolute minimum but ensuring that legal spend is being allocated thoughtfully and with a focus on business priorities. A significant portion of legal services is reliant on process management and processes can always be improved, whether that be legal services or building a car,” he says.

That’s why a firm that uses technology to the best impresses Bannon.

“We aim to work with our key advisors to ensure that legal services are provided to us (and therefore our investors) efficiently and effectively. The law firms that truly stand out to us in this area are those that try new things with us—e-billing, innovative contract delivery systems on deals; open access to their internal document creation facilities, workflow technologies, etc.,” he says.

DATA PRIVACY

Some international laws like the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe often impact companies in Asia.

“The principals that have led to the likes of GDPR affect most businesses around the world. It is important to work closely with the company IT teams to understand what can be done within the restraints that it faces, both in terms of budget and technology,” says Evans.

Evans suggests it is a matter of taking the practical approach and aligning the skill set of your legal team with the strategic direction of the company and compliance.

Others have taken on issues like the GDPR a bit more personally.

“I have become the ultimate check and balance in my company for all things related to personal data and cybersecurity. Besides advising on the legal risks and drafting new policies, I have also led the creation of a task force comprising the various department heads to meet on a weekly basis and presented various times to our hotel general managers and staff to explain the importance of data privacy,” says Liam.

“I do note that there is a tendency on the part of some to slip into complacency when it comes to data privacy so my role also includes cajoling people into action,” he says.

Fredrick says that his team at Schneider Electric addresses cybersecurity, data privacy and related compliance, including that the GDPR at both the global and local levels.

“Our lawyers are in continuous communication with legal colleagues in numerous other countries to ensure that there is a consistent, comprehensive approach on these important issues,” says Fredrick.

“Additional work and reading is required to stay informed on evolving laws in our region and elsewhere globally. In that regard, law firm publications and newsletters are usually a great source of useful information,” he notes.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

For those starting their careers, the in-house route can make for great training.

“Lawyers starting out now can hopefully see that there are excellent training and development prospects, even early on, if they move in-house. This means that in-house teams are becoming just as adept at training as law firms. When it comes to direct commercial experience, in-house can’t be beaten,” says Evans.

He also reflects on how things have changed in the last couple of decades.

“At the start of my career, I believe that the role of an in-house lawyer was quite different. The last 15-20 years has seen an increasing reliance on in-house advice and company lawyers are increasingly being relied on for broader roles. I wouldn’t have done anything differently as I am indebted to the training and development I experienced at law firms,” Evans notes.

Fredrick urges young lawyers to seek out quality mentors.

“Find those who are interested in your professional development and willing to give you work assignments that challenge your current abilities. I have been fortunate to work with and for colleagues—both legal and commercial—who taught me so much about what is required for “success” as a lawyer,” says Fredrick.

“Understand that being correct about the law is only the initial step. Pair that with resolving the issue and providing a solution to the challenges at hand thus contributing to the success of your client.”

The legal business is hard work and sacrifices often made on the personal front.

But Bannon tells young professionals it is not all doom and gloom.

“I did appreciate at the start of my career that I was going to miss an awful lot of dinners, weekends, birthday parties, etc. but I didn’t appreciate back then that those items would be vastly outweighed by the positive, and sometimes unique, experiences, places and people you get the opportunity to meet along the way,” he says.

Liam reminds young lawyers to enjoy what they do for work.

“You did not sign up to be an office drone spouting legal terms upon command. Take it from the perspective that I will serve an important role within the firm or company I am with and can take joy from the fact that my job, at any point of my career, will never be boring as I will always be faced with new challenges,” says Liam.

“Keep learning: never stop learning. Never ever think you know it all because it is impossible to. Never shirk from new or unconventional challenges. Stay open and stay hungry,” he adds.

Bannon also emphasized the need to keep learning.

“Learn as much as you can and from different voices. Stay informed—but don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know. Prepare for meetings as much as possible. Become an expert in something no-one likes or is interested in,” he points out.

“But be polite—that is often remembered long after the debate on legal issue has passed and it will pay dividends for you in the long run,” says Bannon.

THE ALB IN-HOUSE 25

METHODOLOGY

The ALB In-house 25 list has selected its lawyers based on the following criteria—self-submissions, recommendations from law firms, awards and accolades won in the past year, and market feedback.

THE LIST