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

We have created a Responsible AI Framework; with ChatGPT and the like conquering the world fast, the legal team has moved quickly to help develop a responsible framework for business use. We have also worked on consumer FinTech initiatives meant to offer more choice and flexibility for the consumer.

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?

Hard not to talk about generative AI in this context (and full disclosure: the first part of this answer was partially written with the help of ChatGPT as test case). This will probably make other technologies pale in comparison in terms of impact. AI-powered tools should be able to reduce low value work. In concrete terms, it’s expected they can automate various repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as contract analysis, legal research (better than some law firm associates…), and due diligence. AI algorithms can quickly sift through vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and provide valuable insights, allowing legal teams to focus on more strategic and complex matters. Other areas coming to mind are legal analytics using automated tools, as well as document automation using natural language processing and machine learning. Blockchain has also been touted as a tool that could revolutionize contract management. The Agoda legal team has been focusing on business applications around generative AI but it experimenting a bit with some of the newest tools and we are excited about future opportunities. For now, CLM is done with more traditional tools, although blockchain is not entirely new. We are testing, measuring and will decide but I expect the most recent technology of generative AI will in fact move the fasest and be the most transformative. One thing I don’t see happening overnight is AI coming close to human judgement just yet but who knows.

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

It’s absolutely essential to be part of the business. The legal team is not some separate advisor, but an integral part of the business. The business partner is not really a “client” but a stakeholder, part of the wider business. There are a few steps in-house teams can take to build and enhance relations, including open and transparent communications, a deep understanding of the business and strategic objectives, all while engaging with the respective business owners. In addition, try not only to understand the business but also the company’s strategic objectives and treat the company like it’s your own. To foster a better understanding, make sure to also raise awareness around issues; this can be through training, workshops and other means. Finally, a timely response or at least ETAs to manage expectations will go a long way. We do the occasional feedback survey too to have our finger on the pulse.

What are some of the main legislative or regulatory changes that have impacted you?

Everything to do with the internet is in the regulatory crosshairs, but what is a recurring theme in the last few years is a wave of regulations in the competition law and consumer law space. Although different in scope, they are related and the regulating authorities are often the same. We are working hard to keep up with what’s out there and on the horizon. The EU continues to set global regulatory standards and although we are based in Asia, we expect regulations like DMA and DSA to spread in localised versions to Asia and will deal with them accordingly.