经过两个多月的调研和评选，2023 ALB China十五佳新科技公司法务团队榜单出炉。在中国，新科技公司拥有广阔的发展空间，也面临着趋严的监管。工作于这一领域的法务团队如何应对快速变化的发展环境？部分上榜团队与ALB分享了他们的思考。

“近年来，科技行业的快速发展给公司法务带来了许多新的挑战和机遇。新科技公司的崛起，不仅改变了行业的格局，也给法务团队带来了更高的要求。

在业务能力方面，新科技领域的法务团队具有卓越的表现。他们能够为公司的战略发展提供有效的法律支持，为公司的业务拓展提供必要的法律保障。在技术创新方面，这些法务团队积极探索新的法律技术手段，运用大数据、人工智能等技术提高法律风险管理的效率和准确性。”

以上文字是某大语言模型平台对于“新科技公司法务团队”给出的概述。虽未达到百分百的精准客观，但生成式人工智能（AIGC）对当下科技发展状况、法务团队作用、公司发展和法务相互影响的理解和表述，与ALB评选本次榜单的初衷和意义高度吻合，甚至“想”到了法务团队已开始积极使用法律科技产品。

以AIGC为代表的人工智能技术在今年初掀起了全球性的浪潮，除此之外，半导体、芯片、生物医药、新能源、智能制造等诸多新科技领域也在中国不断快速演进，改造着中国传统的行业格局和经济格局，因此备受关注，带来不少热点议题。

高科技、新技术已成为中国新兴经济的重要特征。中国国家统计局明确指出：新兴经济是以新产业、新业态、新商业模式为主体，由互联网和新技术革命推动的，以信息化和产业化深度融合、商业模式和体制机制创新、人力资本的高效投入和减少对物质要素的依赖为标志的一种经济形态。ALB本次榜单聚焦的新科技公司都具有上述特点，契合了新经济的发展趋势。

经国家统计局核算，2022年中国“新产业、新业态、新商业模式”经济增加值约为21万亿元，比上年增长6.5%，相当于国内生产总值（GDP）的比重为17.36%，这一数字在过去三年不断提升，可以看出新冠疫情未能阻挡新兴经济的发展势头。

在资本市场，科创板和创业板已成为A股IPO的主舞台。据中国《金融时报》，去年科创板、创业板IPO数量分别为123家、148家，合计占比63%，两者首发筹集资金总额合计占A股IPO总筹资额的73%，充分体现了资本市场对科技创新企业及新兴产业的支持。

而在技术快速更迭，新产业、新业态、新商业模式不断出现时，势必有相应的风险和监管规则随之而来，如何确保新科技公司的健康、安全发展，引起多方关注。以AIGC为例，中国网信办联合七部委发布的《生成式人工智能服务管理暂行办法》于8月15日起施行，成为全球首部针对AIGC监管的法律文件。

保驾护航的重担毫无疑问首先落在了公司法务团队的身上，而商业需求、创新需求与合规需求之间的博弈，也不断改变着新科技公司法务团队的成长脉络。

法务的角色

今年上榜的15个新科技公司法务团队分别来自15个不同的细分行业领域，其中既包括电商、医疗、在线教育、互联网金融、物流等服务业企业，还有与科技紧密结合的农业科技创新、智能制造、超材料技术与制造等一、二产业公司。在地域分布上，分别有6家公司总部位于长三角和京津地区，另有3家公司总部位于珠三角。

从团队规模上看，5家公司的法务团队人数在5至10人之间，5家人数在11至20人，2家人数在20至30人，另3家人数在50至100人之间。

从成立时间上看，只有4家公司的法务团队成立于2015年之前，其余11个团队均在2015至2020年间组建。

在发展脉络上，上榜的法务团队有着很相似的成长故事。尤其那些隶属于“初创企业”的团队，最初公司往往只设置一名法务人员“单枪匹马”，工作内容也较为传统、有限。而伴随着新科技公司不断成熟，技术和产品飞速迭代，合规、投融资、知识产权、争议解决等业务需求急速增长，法务团队规模日益扩大，重要性也越发凸显。

本次上榜的法务团队中，无论规模大小、成立时间长短，均体现出专业设置完善、功能一应俱全的特点。运动科技品牌Keep的开发公司——北京卡路里信息技术有限公司于2018年设立法务部，目前有11名成员。“团队不能算大，但是非常精简、能打，没有一块‘赘肉’。”法务负责人梁敏说。

据梁敏介绍，Keep法务部在纵向设立法务BP组，负责各个业务线的综合法律事务，如合同审核、咨询、培训等；横向则面对全公司业务分成知识产权组、诉讼组和投融资组，针对专利、商标、著作权、域名、侵权监控、诉讼维权、投融资等模块均有清晰的分工。

以科技赋能金融服务的度小满科技（北京）有限公司则在2018年组建了法律合规部。法律合规部总经理邢璟向ALB介绍道：“法律合规部下设业务BP团队和职能BP团队，其中业务团队纵向支持信贷、理财、支付、保险、金融科技、供应链金融六大业务赛道，职能团队横向管理劳动行政、投融资、消费者权益保护、印章证照、知识产权、反洗钱、数据合规和企业安防八大领域，业务团队和职能团队互相支撑，一方面，职能团队强化集中管理，优化资源配置；另一方面，业务团队分领域实施、有针对性的细化完善合规要求，实现效率和效果兼顾，形成矩阵化管理模式。”

优秀的法务团队在地位和职能不断明晰的同时，也探索和展现出一些团队“气质”。梁敏表示，Keep法务部成员不仅有学法律的，还有理工、计算机、外语等专业背景的成员。“我们是一个大融合的部门，大家负责的业务不同，工作风格也不同，但团队风格是简单、阳光的，管理扁平化，保持合作关系，不存在压迫感。”

“法务部坚持‘工作可以累身，但是不要累心’的原则，我努力做到让整个部门平等、不卷，避免内耗。”梁敏说。

类似的特质也存在于度小满法律合规部。“我们的团队具有很高的专业性、复合性，多数成员具有国内外一流高校硕士学位，具有传统金融、互联网金融、咨询机构、大型跨国公司、高等院校等多种背景。”邢璟表示，“团队还持续打造学习型组织，跟踪国内外前沿立法及理论动态，在多项会议及刊物中发表了专业文章，参与多项学术研究课题及标准制定。在公司CEO和CRO的指导和影响下，还鼓励大家多涉猎管理、历史、文化、心理等领域书籍，提升人文素养。”

数据合规

今年榜上有名的公司来自不同行业、处在不同发展阶段、面对不同业务和监管需求，各个法务团队因此重点关注的内容有所不同，但他们都表示：合规是当下各团队工作的重中之重。

度小满的邢璟表示，他和团队所注重的合规不仅是传统意义上狭义的合规，更突出“大合规”理念，将合规、法务职能有机结合，公司发展过程中各项业务都会被纳入到全面合规的整体框架中，“合规先行”已经成为公司重要的经营理念。“度小满的BP团队分工不同，但每个团队都在履行大合规的相关职能，这是每个团队的首要职能。”

梁敏表示，Keep始终把法律合规放在很高的位置，高标准、严要求对待一切相关业务。在两个月前，Keep正式在港交所主板挂牌上市，成为名副其实的“运动科技第一股”。这一 “高光时刻”的背后，也是对法务部成立多年来在法律合规上的持续努力的认可。

Keep和度小满作为数据密集型、用户数据保护至关重要的两家新科技公司，都将数据合规视为最高优先级工作。

在上市过程中，Keep不仅聘请了多家律所作为公司律师、券商律师，还专门聘请环球律师事务所作为数据合规中国法律顾问，属港股IPO项目首例。

“数据合规在Keep一直处于很高级别，我们成立了数据合规委员会，Keep的CEO担任委员会会长，亲自带头数据合规项目。过去两年间，法务部与外部律所团队合作，对Keep的所有产品进行数据合规层面的梳理，按照法律法规要求将不同数据分级分类管理。” 梁敏补充道，法务部还组织了合规地图项目，把公司全部业务潜在风险作出详尽梳理、描述与分列，明确具体管控节点和相应的责任人，并推进整改。

“即使上市项目已完成，数据合规工作将持续进行，我们会不断跟进国家法律法规的变化，这既是Keep公司的合规要求，也是对用户应尽的责任和义务。”梁敏说。

邢璟观察到数据合规领域监管日趋严格，执法力度不断加强，数据相关立法的缜密性、先进性在很多方面处于世界领先水平，还出现了以“亿元”为单位的巨额罚款，而数据合规工作本身涵盖了数据从收集、存储、使用、加工、传输、提供、公开、删除的全生命周期管理。

“度小满所在金融领域处理的信用信息、生物信息等种类多、敏感度高，一旦泄露后果十分严重。快速识别数据合规风险和确保数据合规成了悬在公司头上的‘达摩克利斯之剑’。”邢璟表示，度小满法律合规部以《网络安全法》《数据安全法》《个人信息保护法》三大法为依据，及时跟进数据保护领域监管动态，确立数据合规工作的蓝图和框架，从数据管理制度体系、数据处理全生命周期管控和搭建用户个人信息权利响应机制三个方面统一规划、分层次开展数据合规工作。

利用技术工具

除了在合规领域积累了丰富经验，上榜的15个法务团队都以各自的方式探索了新技术、取得了新成绩。

“作为一家新科技公司的法律合规部门，我们在日常工作中非常重视科技的力量。”邢璟表示，度小满以风险为导向，专注于智能决策和分析，综合利用大数据、人工智能等技术对可疑交易监测识别分析工作进行创新，主要解决可疑交易识别的准确性问题，不断完善反洗钱交易监测系统，其中部分监测模型预警上报率已达到95%以上。度小满自主研发的反洗钱系统及数字化治理下的反洗钱管理体系建设案例获评信通院“企业数字化治理先锋实践案例”。

度小满还研发了电子印章管理系统和电子档案管理系统。电子印章管理系统采用“用户—角色—权限”三维权限管理模型，使印章申请、制作、管理、使用等权限分离，从而加强印章安全管理，在实现印章的全生命周期线上化管理的同时，提升用印效能，升级风险控制水平。

“电子档案管理系统利用计算机技术，可以储存庞大的档案数据和档案信息，还可以满足多样化的需求。系统化的管理可以实现不同系统的对接打通，明显提高了档案存储和调取的便捷性，同时也提升了档案信息的利用率和共享性。”邢璟说。

“除此之外，我们也在积极探索AIGC技术，运用法律3.0的基本思路，利用技术措施实现规制目的。今年五月度小满正式宣布开源国内首个千亿级中文金融大模型‘轩辕’，这背后的科技伦理、知产保护、数据合规、权利确认等方面，我们法律合规工作人员都发挥了重要的作用。”邢璟补充道。

Keep法务部在2019年就引入了电子签章、时间戳等技术手段，同时搭建了智能合同审核、专利管理系统、商标管理系统。“今年我们在重点推版权管理系统和AI机器人功能，AI机器人功能会嵌入到工作软件中，帮助回答公司小伙伴的常见法律问题和流程性问题，以减少法务部的简单重复工作，提高效率。”梁敏说。她还表示Keep法务部对新产品新技术很感兴趣，不断寻找和尝试可以提高人效的工具。

下一步计划

据梁敏介绍，Keep法务部不断拓展可发力的方向，帮助公司降低运营成本、提高经营效率。“目前法务部已通过诉讼，帮助公司追回上千万欠款，挽回了巨大财务损失”。

近几个月来，Keep针对线上赛事活动相关黑灰产业成立了“狙黑”专项工作组，就违规无偿获取线上活动参赛资格、骗取活动奖励等谋取不当利益的各类“薅羊毛”行为予以严厉打击，已对一名犯罪行为人采取了刑事强制措施，相信对其他犯罪嫌疑人是很强的震慑。

“同时，Keep法务部与业务、技术部门在长期磨合后形成了高效合作。法务团队尽早介入新业务、新技术的开发，给出明确的方向和意见，确保互相理解，这是避免矛盾、降低成本的有效方式。而法务团队自身要不断细化分工和对齐目标，也要了解团队成员的成长需求，给予特定的帮助。”梁敏如此总结。

度小满法律合规部也在法务工作不断深入的过程中明确了未来的方向。“首先，我们判断金融科技行业已经步入成熟市场。成熟市场是指已经存在大量的竞争者和产品，产品成熟度高，市场竞争激烈，市场规模已趋于稳定，增长速度受限的市场。与非成熟市场相比，成熟市场的环境和规则不同，企业面临的核心风险不同，监管要求不同，企业合规部门的作用也将不同。”邢璟说。

“基于这样的判断，度小满企业合规风险管理策略将从两方面入手，一是顺应监管要求，收紧合规策略，彻底完成向‘合规风险厌恶型’的转变；二是严守红线，在防范‘灰犀牛’的过程中避免出现‘黑天鹅’。”邢璟表示。

关于这方面的观察和思考，邢璟专门撰写了署名文章《成熟市场环境下互联网金融企业合规风险管理策略》，将于近日公开发表于《中国经济评论》，他期待以持续的思考与分享，接受各位专家同仁的斧正，并与大家一道探索新科技公司法务工作的最佳实践。

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2023 ALB China Top 15 New Technology In-House Teams

 

After over two months of extensive research and careful consideration, the 2023 ALB China Top 15 New Technology In-House Teams list has been revealed. In China, companies in the new technology sector have ample room for growth, but they are also contending with increasingly stringent regulations. How do the in-house teams in this domain adapt to the swiftly evolving landscape? Several award-winning teams share their insights with ALB.

 

“In recent years, the exponential growth of the technology industry has brought many new challenges and opportunities to in-house teams. The rise of new technology companies has not only transformed the industry landscape, but also raised the bar on in-house teams.

In terms of professional capabilities, new technology in-house teams have shown outstanding performance. They are capable of providing effective legal support for the strategic development of their organizations as well as necessary legal safeguards for the companies’ business expansion. In terms of technological innovation, these in-house teams actively explore new legal technology, and employ big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve the efficiency and accuracy of legal risks management.”

The above text is an overview generated by a Large Language Model to describe “new technology in-house teams.” Although it is not 100 percent accurate and objective, the understanding and expression by AI-generated content (AIGC) of current technological developments, the role of in-house teams and the mutual influence of company development and in-house legal work are very much aligned with the original intention and significance of this ALB list. In fact, the AI-generated text has even “considered” the fact that in-house teams have begun to actively use legal technology products.

AI technology represented by AIGC set off a global wave at the beginning of this year. In addition, many other new technology fields such as semiconductors, chips, biomedicine, new energy and smart manufacturing are also making rapid strides in China, transforming the country’s traditional industry structure and economic landscape, and generating huge attention and many hot topics.

High-end and new technologies have already become important features of China’s emerging economy. The National Bureau of Statistics has made it clear that the emerging economy is based on new industries, new business formats and new business models, and driven by the Internet and new technological revolution. It is an economic format characterized by in-depth integration of information technology and industrialization, innovation of business models, institutions and mechanisms, efficient investment in human capital and reduced dependence on material factors. All the new technology companies spotlighted by ALB’s list exhibit such characteristics and are in harmony with the development trend of the new economy.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the economic value-add of China’s “new industries, new business formats and new business models” reached approximately 21 trillion yuan ($2.89 trillion) in 2022, up 6.5 percent over the previous year and equivalent to 17.36 percent of total GDP. The continued rise of this figure over the past three years is proof that the momentum of the emerging economy has not been hampered by the pandemic.

In the capital market, the STAR Market and the ChiNext have become the main stages for A-share IPOs. According to China’s Financial News, the number of IPOs on STAR Market and ChiNext stood at 123 and 148 respectively last year, accounting for 63 percent of total IPOs. The combined amount of funds raised by IPOs on those two markets accounts for 73 percent of the total amount raised by A-share IPOs, testament to the support the capital market has lent to technology innovation enterprises and emerging industries.

Rapid technological updates and the continuous emergence of new industries, new business formats and new business models are inevitably accompanied by corresponding risks and regulatory moves. How to ensure the healthy and safe development of new technology companies has sparked much discussion. Take AIGC as an example. The Interim Administrative Measures for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China and seven ministries and commissions came into effect on Aug. 15, making it the world’s first legal document on AIGC regulation.

The burden of supporting and safeguarding business has undoubtedly fallen first on in-house departments, while the tussle among business needs, innovation needs and compliance needs is constantly changing the growth trajectory of new technology in-house teams.

IN-HOUSE TEAMS

This year's 15 winning in-house technology teams come from 15 different industry segments, including e-commerce, healthcare, online education, Internet finance, logistics, and other service companies. They also encompass companies in primary and secondary industries closely related to technology, such as agricultural technology innovation, smart manufacturing, and metamaterial technology and manufacturing. Geographically, six winners are headquartered in the Yangtze River Delta region and the Beijing-Tianjin region, while another three are based in the Pearl River Delta region.

Regarding headcount, the in-house teams of five companies consist of five to ten members, while another five teams have 11 to 20 members. Two winning companies each have an in-house team of 20 to 30 people, and the remaining three companies boast an in-house team with 50 to 100 members. Only four winning companies established their in-house teams before 2015, with the remaining 11 teams all set up between 2015 and 2020.

The winners this year have gone through a very similar growth journey. In particular, for teams belonging to "start-ups", those companies initially often had only one in-house counsel to perform relatively traditional and limited work alone. As new technology companies continue to mature and technologies and products undergo rapid iteration, needs for compliance, investment and financing, intellectual property, dispute resolution, etc., grow rapidly. Accordingly, in-house teams are constantly expanding, and their importance is increasingly prominent.

Regardless of their size or history, all winning teams this year have a robust professional setup and can cover comprehensive functions. Beijing Calorie Information Technology Co., Ltd., the developer of the sports tech brand Keep, set up its in-house department in 2018, and the team currently has 11 members. "Although our team is not big, it is very streamlined, capable, and 'fit,'" says Liang Min, its legal director.

According to Liang, vertically, Keep’s in-house team has set up legal BP groups to be responsible for the full range of legal services needed by each business line, such as contract review, advisory, training, etc. Horizontally, the team is divided into IP, litigation, and investment and financing groups to cover the entire company’s business, with clear divisions of tasks for patent, trademark, copyright, domain name, infringement monitoring, litigation and rights protection, investment and financing, etc.

Du Xiaoman Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, which empowers financial services through technology, set up its legal and compliance department in 2018. According to Xing Jing, the general manager of the department, “the Legal and Compliance Department currently has business BP teams and functional BP teams. Specifically, business teams vertically support credit, wealth management, payment, insurance, fintech, and supply chain operations, while the functional teams horizontally manage labor administration, investment and financing, consumer rights protection, business seals and licenses, IP, anti-money laundering, data compliance, and corporate security. Business teams and functional teams support each other. On the one hand, functional teams strengthen centralized management and optimize resource allocation. On the other hand, the business teams implement the compliance requirements in different fields and refine them in a targeted way to achieve both efficiency and effect, and to form a model of matrix management.”

With increasing clarity in their status and functions, high-performing in-house teams will also explore and exhibit some unique team “style.” Liang says that Keep’s in-house team has legally trained members but also members with professional backgrounds in engineering, computer science, and foreign languages. “We are an inclusive team. Everyone is responsible for different business areas and has different working styles. However, the style of the whole team is simple and upbeat, with flat management and a cooperative atmosphere. There is no sense of oppression within the team.”

“Our principle is that ‘work can be demanding but should not be mentally draining.’ I strive to ensure equality across the whole team and avoid excessive internal competition and internal friction,” says Liang.

The Du Xiaoman Legal and Compliance Department has similar traits. “Our team members are highly professional and have interdisciplinary knowledge. Most members hold master's degrees from top universities at home and abroad, with experiences from traditional finance, Internet finance, consulting firms, large multinational companies, and institutions of higher learning,” says Xing. “Emphasizing continuous learning, our team keeps track of cutting-edge legislation and academic developments at home and abroad. We have published professional articles in a number of conferences and journals and participated in many academic research studies and standard formulation projects. Under the direction and influence of the CEO and CRO, in addition to technical books, I also encourage everyone to read extensively about business management, history, culture, psychology, etc., to improve humanistic quality.”

DATA COMPLIANCE

As this year’s winning companies hail from different industries, are at varying stages of development, or possess diverse business and regulatory needs, each in-house team naturally has different focus areas. However, they all emphasize compliance as their top priority at the moment.

Xing shares that the compliance his team focuses on is not merely compliance in the traditional narrow sense. Instead, the concept of “big compliance” is highlighted, and compliance and legal functions are integrated. In other words, all business operations in a company’s development will be included in the overall framework of comprehensive compliance. “Du Xiaoman’s BP teams have different divisions of tasks, but each is performing functions related to big compliance as the primary functions.”

Liang says Keep always prioritizes compliance and treats all relevant matters with high standards and stringent requirements. Two months ago, Keep was officially listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, making it the first sports tech stock. This “highlight moment” is also a recognition of the continuous efforts over the years by the in-house team in compliance since its establishment.

As two data-intensive new technology companies where the protection of user data is crucial, both Keep and Du Xiaoman regard data compliance as their highest priority.

During the listing process, Keep not only hired multiple firms as corporate lawyers and securities brokerage lawyers but also engaged Global Law Office as its Chinese legal advisor on data compliance, the first of its kind for a Hong Kong IPO.

“Data compliance has always been high on the agenda at Keep. We have established a data compliance committee chaired by our CEO who personally leads multiple data compliance projects. In the past two years, the in-house team worked with external law firms to monitor data compliance of all Keep products, classify and manage different data according to the requirements of laws and regulations.” Liang adds that the in-house team has also initiated a compliance mapping exercise to sort out, describe and classify the potential risks of all products, specify concrete control nodes and corresponding persons-in-charge, and push for rectification.”

“Although listing has been completed, data compliance work will continue, and we will keep constant track of changes in national laws and regulations. This is not only the compliance requirements of Keep but the responsibility and obligation to users.”

Xing has noticed increasingly tightening regulation in data compliance and continuously intensifying law enforcement efforts. Furthermore, the rigor and advancement of data-related legislation in China have been leading the world in many aspects, and huge fines have been meted out. To him, data compliance work itself covers the entire lifecycle management of data, encompassing collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, and deletion.

“The financial industry where Du Xiaoman operates handles many types of highly sensitive credit information and biometric information, the leakage of which will cause egregious consequences. Quickly identifying data compliance risks and ensuring data compliance have become the sword of Damocles hanging over the company’s head.” According to Xing, Du Xiaoman Legal and Compliance Department takes the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law as the overarching guidance, closely tracks regulatory movements in data protection, establishes a data compliance work blueprint and framework, and focuses on data management, the whole lifecycle of data processing, and the mechanism to respond to users' personal information rights.

LEGAL TECH TOOLS

Apart from accumulating rich experience in compliance, the 15 winning teams have, in their unique ways, delved into new technologies, achieved notable milestones, and gained fresh perspectives on their work.

“As the legal and compliance department of a new technology company, we attach great importance to the power of technology in our work,” shares Xing. Du Xiaoman, being risk-oriented, places a strong emphasis on intelligent decision-making and analysis. The company extensively utilizes big data, AI, and other technologies to innovate the monitoring, identification, and analysis of suspicious transactions, primarily focusing on enhancing the accuracy of identifying suspicious transactions and continually refining the AML transaction monitoring system. Some monitoring models have already achieved an accurate early warning rate of 95 percent. Du Xiaoman’s proprietary AML system and the case study of building an AML management system under digital governance have received the ‘Pioneer Case of Enterprise Digital Governance’ award from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Du Xiaoman has also developed an electronic seal management system and an electronic archives management system. The electronic seal management system adopts a three-dimensional access management model of “user – role – authority” to segregate authority for seal application, production, management, and use, thereby reinforcing seal security management. This enables online management of all aspects, enhancing seal use efficiency and elevating the level of risk control.

“The electronic archives management system employs computer technology to facilitate the storage of vast archive data and information. It can cater to diverse needs. Systematic management now enables connection with different systems, significantly improving the convenience of saving and retrieving archives while enhancing the rate of utilization and shareability of archived information,” says Xing.

“In addition, we are actively exploring AIGC technology and attempting to leverage technological measures to achieve regulatory objectives by following the basic ideas of Law 3.0. In May, Du Xiaoman announced the open-source Chinese financial model 'Xuanyuan,' and our teammates played a crucial role in scientific and technological ethics, IP protection, data compliance, and other aspects.”

Keep’s in-house team introduced technology tools such as e-signing and time stamping in 2019 and established systems for AI contract review, patent management, and trademark management. “Our focus this year is on advancing the copyright management system and AI robot function. The robot function will be integrated into work software to assist us in answering common legal questions and procedural inquiries from colleagues, streamlining the simple and repetitive tasks of the in-house team, and enhancing efficiency,” says Liang. She also shares that Keep’s in-house team is deeply interested in new technology and continuously seeks and experiments with tools that can enhance human performance.

NEXT STEP

According to Liang, the Keep Legal Department continues to expand its business services to help the company reduce costs and enhance efficiency. “The in-house team has successfully recovered over 10 million yuan through litigation, preventing the company from incurring substantial financial losses.”

In recent months, Keep has established a dedicated task force to target underground activities related to online events and competitions, taking decisive action against those who violate event rules to obtain online event entry qualifications for free, defraud event rewards, or engage in other activities to gain improper benefits. Specifically, the team has assisted public security organs in implementing criminal coercive measures against one perpetrator, a move believed to act as a strong deterrent to other criminal suspects.

“Simultaneously, the in-house team has cultivated an efficient partnership with business and technology units after long-term collaboration. We aim to be involved in the development of new services and technologies as early as possible to provide clear directions and opinions, ensuring mutual understanding between the in-house team and the business and technology units. We believe this is an effective way to avoid conflicts and reduce costs. The in-house team itself must continually refine the division of tasks and work objectives. It should also grasp the needs of team members for professional growth and offer targeted assistance.”

Du Xiaoman Legal and Compliance Department has also refined its future focus as in-house work continues to deepen. “Firstly, it is evident to us that Fintech has matured. In a mature market, there is a significant number of competitors and products, with high product maturity, intense market competition, a relatively stabilized market size, and limited growth. Compared to immature markets, a mature market operates in a different environment and adheres to different rules. Therefore, the core risks faced by enterprises in a mature market are different, regulatory requirements vary, and the role of corporate compliance departments will also evolve,” says Xing.

“Based on this assessment, Du Xiaoman’s corporate compliance and risk management strategy focuses on two aspects. Firstly, we will enhance compliance in line with regulatory trends to complete our transition to compliance tilted towards risk aversion. Secondly, we will strictly adhere to red lines to avoid ‘black swan’ events while preventing ‘grey rhino’ incidents.”

In fact, Xing has authored a signed article titled "Compliance and Risk Management Strategies for Internet Finance Enterprises in a Mature Market Environment" to share his observations and thoughts in this regard. The article will soon be published in China Economic Review. He looks forward to ongoing exchanges of ideas with experts and peers, collaborating with everyone to explore best practices for new technology in-house teams.