What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

As part of the contribution to the business, NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam’s legal team oversees providing best-in-class legal advisory to the other departments and divisions to sustain the company’s market position and support our rapid growth in Vietnam.

There are quite a few significant projects we have worked on in the past year, and I will mention a few here.

We standardised NAB’s contract templates for essential and daily operations, which ensures compliance with local regulations and NAB’s internal policies. The aforementioned materials enable our company to minimise external legal expenses while making the best use of our limited resources and time.

The team also uplifted the comprehensive checklists of critical obligations and provided detailed guidance and advice to the associated departments or divisions regarding operating in the Vietnamese market for an IT company and obtained required licenses to assure NAB’s business operations in Vietnam while supporting the development strategy and expansion of the company.

Additionally, we reviewed and uplifted critical local privacies, SOPs and procedures.

Finally, we provided comprehensive legal advice to the associated departments and divisions during their daily operations, especially throughout the setup stage, which required a variety of assessments to evaluate comprehensively the feasibility of the project leading to a smooth and effective implementation.

Based on your experience, what is the key to collaborating successfully with business partners?

From my past experience as an in-house counsel across various industries, there are three common critical components to successfully collaborate with business partners. First and foremost, our business partner’s expectations should be completely and clearly understood. Once we have a full comprehension of their demands, we know what must be achieved and how to undertake it effectively while still addressing the matter with the highest possible standard. Secondarily, our recommendation should not just include legal advice but also solutions for maximising revenues while minimising risks. Finally, and most importantly, attitude at work; it is important to keep in mind that we are part of the business and are here to assist with its success. As a result, the in-house counsel should stand from the business partners’ perspectives in order to strike a balance between regulatory compliance and commercial objectives. 

How do you motivate and manage the other members of your legal team well?

“Understanding – Accompanying – Listening” are my key drivers to encourage and manage the other members of my legal team.

Firstly, “understanding” means spending the necessary time observing and thoroughly comprehending each team member’s personality in order to interact and manage appropriately. As each person has distinctive characteristics, it is our responsibility to ensure that our team can operate in an harmonious environment. 

Secondarily, “Accompanying,” once having comprehended my team members’ personality traits, I always seek ways to involve them in different kinds of tasks that are the most appropriate for their experiences. It is of significant importance to encourage them to explore the work, step outside of their comfort zone and keep faith in them so that they can be the best version of themselves.

Finally, “listening”. In our hectic schedules, we strive to set aside time to listen, understand, and engage together about our concerns, opinions, and so on. This helps to get the involvement of every individual and drives a united team moving forward.