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

Previously, we worked on catalytic projects such as constructing Legoland in Malaysia and coastal highways. The legal team worked on the related agreements. For education, we prepared and advised on building lease and transfer models and leasing agreements with a few of our education partners, such as Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia and the University of Reading Malaysia. Our three main core businesses are property development, property investment and education. We are currently working on corporate matters such as share transfers between related companies and joint venture companies and development agreements with partners.

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives?

Yes, we also worked on other company initiatives, among others, compliance, ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG, as these are important aspects for the company’s overall success and making the company and the employees socially accountable to society. Recently, the team participated in a CSR program called Baca L.A.B (Literasi Alaf Baharu) Programme, in which we were tasked to assist tutors in selecting, registering and teaching children who are behind in their reading and writing in Bahasa Melayu.

What steps does your team take to ensure effective communication and collaboration with external counsel and other stakeholders during the dispute resolution process?

The first step is to communicate transparently with external counsel and other stakeholders. The external counsel and other stakeholders need to understand the expectations and concerns of the company so that the external counsel and other stakeholders can provide legal advice and resolutions that suit the company’s needs.

It is also essential to ensure the same group of personnel liaises with the external parties to avoid communication breakdown and maintain communication efficiency. Multiple groups attempting to communicate the same information usually result in miscommunication and ineffective communication. Other than that, we shall ensure that our side already ascertained the terms that we are willing and able to compromise on and the terms that we would not budge on before moving forward with the dispute resolution process. This will help guarantee consistency and ensure our goals and interests are achieved and protected.

Lastly, we must ensure regular updates of the case progress so that everyone involved in the dispute resolution process is aware of the status of the dispute and adjust the direction along the way after taking instruction from the company, if and when necessary.

How does the in-house legal team contribute to the overall dispute resolution strategy of the organisation?

The in-house legal team contributes quite early on to the organisation’s overall dispute resolution process strategy. As the in-house legal team is always mindful of the company’s priorities, risks, and opportunities, during the drafting of the agreement, the legal team will incorporate terms and conditions which suit the company’s needs.

The legal team will typically analyse the dispute from legal aspects, assess the risk and legal consequences of the action, and advise the company to make informed decisions. The in-house legal team also needs to ensure that the decision made by the company is accurately reflected in the written agreement/documentation prepared by the external counsel. Other than the aforementioned, the in-house legal team can also be on the team of personnel that oversees liaising and communicating with any external parties to ensure the legal aspect of the communication is well covered.