Name of the most senior in-house lawyer: Guo Yanjie 

Key Team members:  Guo Yanjie, Cielo Goño, Jan David Garcia 

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

In this fast-paced and highly competitive digital economy, we foresee that the business management will have bigger expectations from their in-house counsels, beyond the usual provision of legal support and services.  In addition to the competence and reliability ordinarily required from in-house lawyers, we will be expected to broaden our spheres of influence inside and outside the Company. 

Internally, in-house counsels should constantly show their influence to the business and management teams by enabling transactions and minimizing risks instead of insisting on a rigid risk-averse perspective. More importantly, in-house counsels will be expected to have a bigger influence on external stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and professional bodies and regulators. 

In relation to our specific businesses, particularly those whose laws and regulations have yet to mature in the Philippines, the team is expected to be more creative in addressing risks while navigating through untested waters. Thus, thoughtful and adaptive approaches to novel issues are required from in-house counsels as we are the ones expected to know the nuances of our company’s businesses. 

Which recent political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted your work the most in recent years?   

Considering that data is now one of the biggest commodities in the world, the evolving rules on data privacy and cybersecurity have the most impact in our line of work. For our Company, with business interests in telecommunications, power and cloud, protection of our customers’ data is of utmost importance. With the assistance of the legal team inside and outside the Philippines, our Company and its global affiliates have created and implemented numerous policies to make sure that customer data is protected and local regulations are observed. Any violation of regulations and internal policies relating to data protection and cybersecurity are dealt with harshly in the Company.