Team size:    30

Bio

As Group Head of Legal at CITIC CLSA, Marco runs the legal function globally, covering all 14 jurisdictions globally where CITIC CLSA has offices.   In the words of a nominator, “[the team led by Marco] is extremely knowledgeable and efficient in processing and instructing on complex dispute matters, and it is a team that … knows how to balance commercial and legal issues when making decisions. The team also covers a large geographical footprint, which makes it even more impressive.”

Other than running Legal at CITIC CLSA, the Group has also appointed Marco as an executive director of a HKEx mainboard listed company, CLSA Premium Limited.  Marco has helped to transition the company from a financial institution into a healthcare company.

Marco also has substantial arbitration experience.  He has recently been appointed to the Panel of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration and the Panel of South China International Arbitration Center (HK). He is admitted as a Solicitor in (i) New Zealand; (ii) Australia (New South Wales); (iii) Hong Kong; and (iv) England and Wales.

Team Summary
Given the global footprint of CITIC CLSA, the lawyers in Hong Kong (which is the headquarters offshore) are required to manage a range of issues arising from the Bank Holding Company Act, Volcker Rules, AIFMD and other US and EU regulations.  Furthermore, given CITIC CLSA’s parent is CITIC Securities, there is also the CSRC angle.  This makes the job more challenging but yet rewarding for our lawyers. 

Our team covers all the business lines at CITIC CLSA, covering Equities, Derivatives, Fixed Income, Investment Banking, Asset Management, Private Equity, Commodities, Futures, Fund Administration and Wealth Management.  Whilst our lawyers in Hong Kong have a global mandate, they also work with our regional lawyers located in some of our key jurisdictions.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure organisational resilience?

During periods of instability, a GC’s role would go far beyond just compliance with laws and be a trusted advisor to management.  The key is to ensure the company can weather all key changes to come.  In the current climate, this would mean the GC would need to be well versed with at least geopolitics, financials and technological changes. 

How do you balance being a legal risk manager with being a strategic business enabler, and where do you see the biggest tensions?

Geopolitical risk appears prominently in all major decision making these days.  The risk can present itself in different shapes and forms, such as data law, privacy law, national security law, foreign investment law, sanctions law, and others.  Given the importance of this, my view is that awareness and education of these issues at the firm is key, especially since most people are not historically accustomed to thinking of these issues when making business decisions.   To achieve this, I ensure that there is sufficient training at the firm from top to bottom, so that hopefully, this gets factored into their decision making. Given our lawyers would typically be across all key transactions and decisions of the firm, our lawyers are gatekeepers and flag these issues when they see them; and bring in an external consultant when the issue is sufficiently thorny. 

How do you see AI and automation reshaping the legal profession, and how are you leveraging technology in your own legal team?

I continue to explore the use of technology such as automation, autobot, to further enhance efficiency of the legal services provided to the firm.