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

As international contractors, we often encounter multi-jurisdictional disputes. Even though almost all international construction contracts we enter – whether bespoke or standard – incorporate offshore jurisdiction as a means of dispute resolution (such as through an international arbitration provision), this does not mark the end of the dispute resolution process.

Dealing with offshore jurisdictions often necessitates involvement with onshore jurisdiction, whether during the enforcement stage, legislative adjudication, or when seeking interlocutory orders.

The most significant case our team has recently been involved in occurred when we were involved in multiple jurisdictions at the same time. The challenge emerged while collaborating with external law firms operating within the local jurisdiction; although we were compelled to cooperate with them due to their expertise, they failed to meet the standards of international arbitration practice.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

As international contractors, we often work with local firms that possess expertise in local law practice. It is crucial for them to meet the standards of internal practice while leveraging their expertise in the local law practice and their strong presence in that market. In this regard, Wong & Partners’ practice and expertise, both in local and international matters, align with our values.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

In the long term, I expect AI-powered tools to be able to assist with legal research, contract analysis, and document review, thereby making routine tasks easy, improving accuracy, and increasing efficiency within legal teams. However, in the short term I believe it may not happen unless issues of confidentiality are adequately addressed.

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

The problem we face as in-house counsel is that we often report our work to non-legal management, which can lead to doubts about the hourly bills. To address this, I frequently request external law firms to provide a draft bill in advance of the final bill. This allows for billing flexibility and helps ensure transparency and understanding for non-legal management, although it does involve additional, non-billable hours.