Team size: 24

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The past year has been extremely fruitful for our team, in tandem with the recovery of the economy. The business undertook a bold transformation across our products, implemented IT support overhaul and moved into a cloud-based software defined network. We supported these new initiatives that required deep knowledge of technology at the edge, adapted to working deftly on a hybrid basis, and embraced an agile way of working to pivot and adjust to the dynamic business needs. A highlight was the winning of the English Premier League exclusive broadcast rights for Singapore for 6 years. This multi-million-dollar unprecedented deal was distinctive as StarHub became the first in the world to stream this league live on a multi-platform basis with rich immersive features.

We also completed three significant M&A transactions to acquire majority stakes in MyRepublic Broadband, and in HKBN JOS, both in Singapore and Malaysia. The due diligence and negotiations were conducted largely online due to travel restrictions, presenting us with new challenges. However, these were positive experiments that yielded good outcomes for the business.

The year also saw a significant leap in our legal support for ESG, in advisory to StarHub on its sustainability charter on energy abatement agreements, renewable energy arrangements, ESG governance, impact to fiduciary duties, green bond issuance and green washing guardrails.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Digital adoption accelerated with the pandemic, and materially changed the way legal services and support are rendered. The team learnt to adjust to collaborations and negotiations on a virtual basis and enhanced their real time drafting skills. The support ecosystem towards a digital economy also accelerated, with widespread paperless adoption from board meetings to everyday business operations, with e-documents and virtual due diligence now par for the course. A corporate legal team will need to be adaptable to these changes, be open to adopting new technology and new ways of learning and working. In all, a mindset change will be required to succeed in the new economy.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use? 

It would be useful for law firms to have greater flexibility in the way law firms support us, beyond the billable hours and secondment. We have seen the emergence of alternative sourcing, sharper project-based work which gives more headroom for in-house teams to scale up or down. As sustainability becomes mainstream, more legal expertise and support in this area will also be timely.