Team size: Three

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

As the company’s head of legal, I was able to manage, negotiate and complete an extraordinarily complex acquisition of the Tuaspring Power Plant for US$270m and a US$2bn refinancing simultaneously. With the addition of the Tuaspring Power Plant, YTL PowerSeraya has added about 400 MW of additional generation capacity, which leads to greater revenue and opens up more opportunities for business expansion. The refinancing has also ensured security of cash flow for the company.

In addition, I was involved in the successful management of several disputes. Examples include the Denka Court of Appeal case for liquidated damages that resulted in a US$37m outcome.

Further, I was substantially involved in my company’s successful bid for the import of energy from Malaysia and in driving several renewable energy projects to help the company expand its green effort.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Given the rapid change in business needs, I believe openness to continuous learning and development is one of the key skills that a corporate legal team needs to succeed. A niche transaction could arise, or the relevant company may look to invest in a new business. This may require the team to develop its legal knowledge and expertise in a new area in response.

Another skill that is required is business acumen. This skill is valuable for all corporate lawyers, as corporate legal advice often has a substantial influence on the profitability of companies. Lawyers should think like business owners.

Finally, I think corporate lawyers should become more familiar with legal technology and automation. Legal technology has the potential to streamline time consuming legal processes and improve productivity.

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

In my opinion, the best way you can build a strong relationship with business partners is in demonstrating a good understanding of the business. Business partners (whether internal stakeholders or external partners) will not take you seriously or trust you if they find that your advice is only grounded in legal principles, without due consideration of commercial. This usually boils down to mindset: see yourself as part of the business and not as a detached advisor.

In addition, I strongly believe in keeping things simple and concise whenever possible. There is usually no need to use fancy legal jargon in most commercial settings. The better business partners understand you, the better your relationship will be with them.