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

SAS is a market leader in Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence software. We aim to transform a world of data into a world of intelligence and continue to lead the market by helping customers make decisions with the most trusted analytics. My role is to support the company by providing legal advice and assistance regarding software and professional services agreement. I also manage legal business matters pertaining to the company for a number of in-house clients in a responsible and ethical manner. Our major wins in Thailand are relating to provide software and services to comply with compliance and regulatory requirements such as anti-money laundering, and fraud and international financial reporting standards including both IFRS9 and IFRS17 for major banks and insurance companies. The key is to drive and optimise the customer’s business, including by providing the ability to know the impacts on changes in accounting for financial instruments. In addition to our daily role, SAS has announced its intention to be ready for an initial public offering (IPO) by 2024. SAS Legal team including myself will be integral in leading SAS toward IPO readiness by make sure we are educated and prepared for this new stage in SAS’ future, as the US securities regulations are complex and can be difficult to navigate and apply without specialised training.

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?

A contract lifecycle management system was introduced by SAS last year, utilising the DocuSign application. By giving clients shorter, more concise contracts with a click licensing mechanism, the technology automates and streamlines customer contracting, enabling deals to finish more quickly. We save all our client’s contracts, subscription agreements, and other paperwork in one easy-to-access spot for SAS. It has proven to be quite effective and cost-efficient in completing transactions more quickly and with fewer negotiations. By now, everyone at SAS is aware that sending Universal Terms Order Forms (UTOFs) via DocuSign ensures that our contracts are swiftly and easily signed by our clients.

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

Being a valuable business partner requires an in-house lawyer to establish and maintain a trusted relationship. An in-house lawyer must be a trusted advisor who is knowledgeable about business and the law in addition to being able to establish rapport quickly, put others at ease, and win approval from their peers. We can achieve solid relationships throughout the organisation by adopting proper interpersonal styles to create effective relationships with internal partners and interacting with people in a way that encourages openness and trust and gives them confidence in one’s goals.