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?

The recent few years have been full of challenges for the entertainment and hospitality sector. In such periods of instability and crisis, in addition to being the first port-of-call as and when crisis arises, legal teams should play a pivotal role in streamlining a constructive exchange of views across different functions within the organisation to devise the most optimal business solutions.

The legal team should be open minded in seeking new ideas, be creative and always stay one step (or a few steps) ahead to prepare for multiple possible outcomes. Only with a “one-step-ahead” attitude adopted, can we maintain resilience to all uncertainties and even enable us to turn crisis into opportunities! This approach accords with the “Above & Beyond” overall sustainability strategy of Melco Group, which aims to drive the Group to be an adaptable and forward-thinking business.

We are lucky enough that our management has, even through the challenges of the pandemic and beyond, remained unwavering, supporting teams across the Group in embedding sustainability considerations throughout all activities. The legal function has taken on the role of keeping our management and executives apprised on the latest updates to the relevant sustainability compliance requirements and trends across jurisdictions where we have business operations, coordinating on our global sustainability compliance program and arranging necessary training to teams so that we are always ready to go “Above & Beyond”. With the legal team working hand-in-hand with colleagues across the Group, our requirements and expectations on sustainability can be enshrined in our Group’s operations, and along our value chain, which is important to ensure organisational resilience in the long run.

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

The operation of a multi-jurisdictional organisation is often associated with different challenges, whether local and cross-border ones. The challenges intensify for a dynamic company like Melco that continues exploring new opportunities to expand the geographical footprint of the Group – from Asia to Europe and beyond. While it is critical to ensure business acumen is applied, as a strategic business enabler, in-house counsel must not lose sight of the key legal risks when pressing ahead with business negotiation. The “key” legal risks vary from transaction to transaction, and from party to party – there is no “one size fits all” test. One must stay on top of the business discussion, not just limiting it to the legal side, to fully comprehend the evolving business dynamics and deal drivers to ensure the legal advice is aligned with business strategy all the time.