Key team members: Sallie Lim, James Stritch, SJ Tan, Daniel Williams, Benita Lee 

Can you talk about the legal team, outlining its responsibilities? 

The Google real estate legal team (RE Legal (APAC)) has a presence in Southeast Asia which covers offices, data centers and ancillary infrastructure, and spans a wide remit of activities including site selection, leasing, and development/construction.  

The team is led by Sallie Lim (global legal director for all of Google’s real estate) working alongside Daniel Williams (global legal director for all of Google’s data center real estate), Benita Lee (data center counsel for APAC), James Stritch (EMEA and APAC lead for Google’s office real estate) and SJ Tan (office real estate counsel for APAC).  

Almost everything we do online is powered by data centers, and Google’s data centers are entrusted with the responsibility of keeping all of Google’s products and services up and running around the world 24/7. Recent landmark transactions in Southeast Asia include developing US$850m worth of data center assets in Singapore and supporting the expansion of new Google Cloud regions in Malaysia and Thailand, enabling Google to support its growth and commercial needs.  

RE Legal (APAC) also provides advice to Google’s Real Estate & Workplace Services Team (REWS) on all corporate real estate and construction matters in APAC across a portfolio which spans locations in 18 cities. The team advises the business on acquisitions, leasing transactions, ground-up developments and fit-out projects and also to provide the full suite of asset and portfolio management advice.  

RE Legal (APAC) assists the business in the negotiation and execution of all real estate and construction agreements, as well as resolving legal issues as they arise and ensuring that Google continues to meet its legal and regulatory obligations as an owner and occupier of the built environment. Working with cross-departmental teams, RE Legal (APAC) plays an integral support role to meet Google’s objective to design and occupy vibrant and sustainable places to work and to be a responsible neighbor in the communities within which it is located. 

A recent landmark transaction for the RE Legal (APAC) team has been the development of Google’s campus in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District in Taiwan, which is Google’s largest hardware research and development center outside the United States.