About

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

The most important commercial transactions in China are the ones related to joint ventures. We have a few manufacturing joint ventures with a couple of Chinese state-owned enterprises who compete with each other. These joint ventures were established based on the then applicable market conditions, valuations and corporate visions. Chinese markets change rapidly and profoundly, and as a result we have to rethink our China strategies, including realigning the shareholders’ interests and priorities, and at the same time sorting out legal issues and be ready for exit scenarios. Our legal team is fortunate enough to get closely involved in every critical step. The most important litigations are employment-related. As a foreign invested enterprise (FIE), we have experienced some difficult times in the past few years due to a changing regulatory environment and competition. Employment-related disputes are on the rise. Some of the disputes involved mass layoffs and calculated planning and execution. Some other disputes
were small in claim amounts, but went to the core issue of whether our business model may continue.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

No matter an individual counsel or an in-house team, our priorities always need to be the following two things: to proactively protect and shield the company and our business partners from harm, and to wisely (with good judgment) advise our business partners on how to grow our business. The simplest and best way to accomplish these goals is to talk to them. We need to know what our business partners are working on, understand their language, and provide solutions that work. We will use our ears to listen, but more importantly, our voices to speak. The latter in many cases is crucial, as a strong relationship with business partners is unlikely to be achieved if in-house lawyers do not have the courage to raise objections when the bottom line is clearly at risk.

What political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted the company and you recently?

We have seen some changes in the procurement policies in certain industries where our company does business. Some of these changes are related to requirements on IP ownership, local content, and foreign investors, and have given more advantages to Chinese companies, as opposed to FIEs. In addition, the rapidly changing global economic environment, in particular, the trade war between China and the US, has resulted in additional costs in the way we do our business. The US-China trade war, in combination with the US sanctions against some Chinese companies, have created uncertainties and risks in the way we do business with the affected Chinese companies, both in China and in markets outside China. Our team has learned to be more risk-averse when engaging with state-owned enterprises and government officials.

Do you have any effective techniques for getting the most out of external counsel, in terms of how to instruct them?

Typically, I do not ask external counsels to write long memos. Emails with advice prepared in bullet points are sufficient in almost all cases. In cases where we have to use long memos, we have phone calls to explain requests and follow up with clearly written instructions. Limit direct communication between business partners and external counsels to the largest extent possible, because business partners typically do not know how to speak the language that external lawyers are used to. In-house lawyers need to serve as an interpreter for business partners, and know how to summarise valid requests for external lawyers.

What is the most challenging feature of working within your company’s industry?

Knowing the appropriate level of risk that the company finds tolerable is the most challenging part. The level of risk varies from case to case and client to client. Working together with business teams to identify and analyse risks as well as working out solutions that the company can accept and use to grow the business is challenging but fulfilling.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

There is substantial uncertainties on where the global economy will lead to and whether the Chinese market will remain robust in the coming years. Intense cost control will very likely become a norm for many industries. More work will be insourced rather than outsourced to external lawyers. In-house lawyers’ roles will expand, in terms of geographical coverage and scope of responsibilities. There will be higher demand for generalists.   FOCUS ON… The past year has been a year of transition – a theme that’s been continuing for our company and our industry over the last several years. Change has challenged and tested my team and myself, but has also presented opportunities and issues for us to solve and missions to fulfil. We share the same feeling that the in-house career has proved to be a dynamic, interesting and a good investment for all of us. There is a much broader scope of job responsibilities, and in most cases, much more interesting work to do. Most importantly, we have had the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds and with more diverse personalities, most of whom we enjoy spending time with. Aside from work, we experience all of the good things and challenges that life provides in the ordinary course. Our families grow and our children will grow older. We’ll have time with friends and we’ll deal with whatever setbacks and surprises come our way. Each of us, as an individual, has a list of things we want to accomplish in the world in the coming years. We support each other in work and life as we always do, with a smile, laughter and care.