Team size: 5

What are the most significant cases, projects, or transactions that you and your legal team have recently been involved in?

The MB Vietnam project extension aimed to secure investment approval from the Prime Minister’s Office and the City People’s Committee to extend the Company’s operation at the existing land lot. It took more than three years from the first day of submitting the application to receive investment approval.

As the first joint venture using public land requesting an extension without established precedent, the project encountered significant hurdles. These included regulatory gaps, inconsistent legal interpretations, ambiguous responsibilities, and frequent changes of person in charge from local authorities to the central government.

Successfully navigating these challenges required extensive engagement, including hundreds of official communications and escalation documents submitted, involving all levels of authorities, including escalation to the Vietnam Prime Minister and General Secretary. Particularly complex issues were the varying interpretations among departments and ministries regarding whether the land where MBV is located was subject to the procedure of public asset disposition and technological assessment. Our legal team played a crucial role in overcoming this obstacle by providing thorough legal assessments and clarification and facilitating numerous meetings with the authorities to present arguments, advise the management and investors on fulfilling the requirements to achieve alignment on subsequent steps, ultimately securing the necessary approvals.

Due to the business downturn and global strategic plan, the Company had to conduct labor procedures involving changes in the organisational structure and personnel rearrangement (a labour restructuring). Our legal team supported by providing legal advice, working closely with functional departments throughout the procedures to obtain final approval, and jointly handling employee complaints, denunciations with competent authorities, and litigation cases in first-in-stance, appeal courts with positive outcomes.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

During this period of instability, I believe there are three critical focuses for our legal team to ensure an organisation’s resilience: proactive communication and alignment with stakeholders, timely legal guidance and risk mitigation, and serving as a supportive business partner. Establishing open communication channels with stakeholders to understand the evolving business situation enables our team to provide timely risk assessments and tailored advice. Simultaneously, providing stakeholders with prompt legal updates and proactive guidance is essential for navigating complex issues, mitigating risks, and ensuring compliance throughout the crisis. Lastly, being a supportive business partner means avoiding immediate rejection of new or challenging ideas and business plans, but instead, striving to find solutions that can meet business needs while safeguarding the company’s compliance position.

General counsel often speaks of the need to be strategic to reach the pinnacle of the profession. What does being strategic mean to you? 

While many general counsel emphasise the importance of being strategic to reach the pinnacle of the profession, I believe that resilience, grounded in core principles, is equally, if not more, critical for continuous professional growth. For me, this means focusing on adding value in every interaction, staying updated on relevant legal and business developments, actively engaging with stakeholders, and maintaining unwavering compliance. By consistently adhering to these principles, I strive to improve and excel in my profession each day.  

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting? 

Throughout my career as a lawyer, I’ve actively balanced legal risk and business objectives, particularly in areas with emerging legal frameworks where regulations or policies are unclear yet generally supported by lawmakers. A notable example is the implementation of e-signatures within the Company. In 2021, when we initiated this project, there was considerable skepticism regarding the viability of using e-signatures for concluding contractual documents with business partners. However, recognising the potential benefits for the Company, we conducted a thorough legal assessment, proactively engaged with competent authorities by submitting numerous inquiries for guidance, and participated in conferences and meetings to address and clarify our legal concerns, related risks with other functions. This proactive engagement ultimately led to a favorable decision to proceed with the project’s implementation.