About

CLP Group was founded in 1901 and is one of the region’s biggest electric energy suppliers and producers, operating from Hong Kong, and serving customers in mainland China, India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Australia. The firm’s businesses include power generation, transmission, distribution and electricity and gas retail, and it is investing and developing sustainable energy. David Simmonds is group general counsel and chief administration officer, overseeing 14 lawyers and 11 non-lawyers and is responsible for the provision of legal services across the entire CLP Group. Corinne Katz, senior director of group legal affairs, heads up the legal team and reports to Simmonds. There are three legal teams based in Hong Kong that provide strategic advice and counsel in connection with the Group’s activities in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia-Pacific and Taiwan. These teams which report into the senior director of group legal affairs are headed up by the general counsel in Hong Kong, Elaine Chong, the general counsel in China, Xinhong Liu and the general counsel – international, David Fleming. A few of the key projects or transactions the legal team has been involved in in the last two years include CLP’s acquisition of a 17% interest in Yangjiang Nuclear Power Co, which owns and operates the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station located in Yangjiang City. It also has overseen a new scheme of control agreement with the government of Hong Kong for the Group’s Hong Kong electricity business, the construction of a unit at Black Point Power Station, and the establishment of the “SmartCharge” joint venture with Hong Kong Telecom for the provision of electric vehicle charging solutions. The team partners with the business to help navigate and achieve CLP’s objectives. The energy industry is highly regulated and compliance with evolving regulation and laws is fundamental to the Group’s ability to compete successfully across a number of jurisdictions. The legal team plays a key role in ensuring that legal and regulatory issues are not treated separately, but rather that they are key factors taken into consideration as part of the business’s decision-making process. About this connection to the business, Simmonds says, ‘the counsel are integrated with the Group’s businesses and the work closely with senior management and business colleagues on all major projects and material business decisions which are taken by the Group across the region. Rather than advising from the side lines our counsel work as a part of the business advising on all germane issues both from a legal/regulatory and commercial/risk perspective’.