Key Team members:  Maria Concepcion Simundac-Delos Santos, lead legal counsel; Mary Antonette Estoperes, legal counsel 

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

ING Manila’s legal team has supported and advised ING in several milestone sustainability deals. The team drafted and reviewed a multibillion-peso social loan facility agreement with a major conglomerate, a first for both ING and our client. Together with external counsels, we also provided transaction support to ING for a multimillion-dollar syndicated social loan facility agreement with a Philippine utility company, and ING’s participation as lead arranger in a multibillion-peso social bonds issuance by one of the country’s biggest banks and other sustainability mandates. 

In addition to sustainability-related deals, ING Manila Legal also advised our client-facing teams in a multibillion-dollar syndicated loan with a Philippine conglomerate (one of the biggest deals by ING in the Asia Pacific region), and the country’s first public non-sovereign bond exchange. ING Manila Legal also advised our financial markets team in facilitating the cross-border issuance of credit-linked derivatives to a Philippine resident. 

ING Manila Legal plays a key role in litigation management and providing legal advice and regulatory guidance for the entire branch covering data protection and technology, labor, regulatory compliance, banking, financial transactions, among others. ING Manila Legal also closely coordinates with the ING legal network on horizon scanning of laws and regulations and roll-out of global initiatives in the Asia Pacific Region and the Philippines. 

How do you see the role of in-house legal teams evolving in the Philippines over the next five-ten years?  

The businesses that legal teams support is evolving rapidly. Companies are forced to innovate and adopt new technologies to keep up with competitors and the industry. Because of the disruption caused by technology, the role of in-house legal teams is also changing very quickly. Instead of the typical rigid and structured legal teams, they will now be expected to be more agile to keep up with fast-paced innovations in the business. Diversity within the legal team (e.g., multi-disciplinary background and different skill sets) will be very valuable in tackling the growing spectrum of risk, compliance, operations, governance, ethical and regulatory issues arising from new technologies. 

The adoption of new technology by the businesses will also push the legal teams to innovate the way they deliver legal support to the organisation. Standardisation and use of automated solutions, online chatbots and other forms of technology-enabled legal services will increase. Legal technology will allow simple routine legal work to gradually move out of the legal team’s hands and into the business. 

Legal teams will also be more adept in the use of data analytics. Data extracted from automated systems can enable legal teams to efficiently identify opportunities for improving contracts, negotiation positions and potential friction points and risks. By leveraging on data, legal teams can potentially reduce the resources allocated to risk remediation (i.e., disputes or regulatory violation) and provide proactive, data-driven and strategic legal support. As technology advancements permeate the business and legal function, legal teams should help ensure that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are integrated into every facet of the business to achieve social responsibility and sustainable growth.   

Are the effects of AI on the legal world overplayed, or underplayed? 

AI has enormous potential in revolutionising legal operations and driving efficiency. Rather than replacing lawyers, AI will augment the legal teams by enhancing their capabilities and allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks. However, lawyers are still very cautious and mindful about fully embracing AI in their work. At present, regulations on AI are fragmented and constantly evolving. Legal issues involving data privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, algorithmic bias, and accountability for AI output are growing alongside new innovations. Legal teams would need to be vigilant in addressing these legal issues before implementing any legal innovation because of the profound impact these would have on their stakeholders. Legal teams must ensure that there is ethical AI integration, transparency, and fairness in the use of AI in the legal function. At the end of the day, lawyers must always balance AI use with their legal expertise and ethical judgment.  

The above content include the opinions of the author (Maria Concepcion Simundac-Delos Santos) and does not reflect or represent the views or opinions of ING Bank, its branches, or any of its affiliates.