Team size: 60

Key team members: Eoin Gillen (general counsel, Asia Pacific) Emmanuelle Hardouin-Deleuze, Ronnie Cheung, Jessie Fok, Mark Herz, Thomas Leung, Jennifer Chow, Matthieu Feld, Angela Hui, Deborah Wang and Carmen Cheng

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

BNP Paribas’ Hong Kong legal team comprises 60 legal professionals providing comprehensive legal support in all areas of corporate and investment banking, and private wealth management. Most lawyers in the team led by Eoin Gillen have a regional mandate, supporting Asia Pacific jurisdictions in which BNP Paribas has a presence.

Eoin Gillen leads the Asia Pacific legal team. He has worked towards creating a dedicated legal department where management of legal risks and delivery of legal support are achieved in a highly efficient and professional manner, leveraging BNP Paribas’s global resources and internal expertise, as well as engaging with a range of technology tools.

Providing expert legal support to a range of banking products and working closely with Asia Pacific businesses are highly regarded lawyers for debt and equity capital markets, co-headed by Jessie Fok and Mark Herz.

The team fosters and maintains close partnerships with the business by participating in transactions and effectively managing legal risks in real time. The team prides itself on these interactions and perceives a broader role in helping to shape the bank’s strategy.

Given the size and global nature of BNP Paribas’ legal department, the team has developed a focus on systematic reporting, audit, and control of legal risks.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Playing an integral part in the digital transformation of the bank, the team has also adopted and embraced new technologies in a risk-controlled and legally compliant manner. By deploying several proprietary document automation solutions, the team has successfully industrialised production of legal documentation across standardised products, enhancing the delivery of legal services in a smarter and more technologically advanced manner.

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives?

We play a leading role in realising the ESG ambitions of the bank while also embracing the core CSR values of BNP Paribas through charity fund-raising initiatives.

Lawyers regularly participate in a mature in-house pro-bono programme which sees them interfacing directly with beneficiaries through the provision of training, research and other legal supporting activities in partnership with NGOs.

Finally, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee actively promotes the creation of an inclusive working environment in which diversity is celebrated for all concerned, and the team has partnered with external organisations to generate internship opportunities for the benefit of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds or who have physical disabilities.