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

Recently, the in-house legal team drafted, negotiated and finalised a Joint Venture Agreement with another property developer worth RM160 million. The team also have been responsible for strategising the company’s position in various legal disputes, for example, in two projects worth more than RM30 million, and in another we successfully agreed a settlement that saved the company around RM10 million.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

To go beyond the law is a mindset and skill set that any legal advisor in the modern in-house industry should keep in mind. Pure legal advice will not help companies and legal professionals to go far. It is important to understand the needs of the business before any legal advice is given, for example, commercial factors and the position of the company should certainly be taken into account when providing legal advice and assessing legal risks.

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

I believe that communication is always key in building strong relationships with business partners, whether it be internal colleagues or external counsel. In-house lawyers should pick up the phone when they need to and not just merely look at the paperwork. I would advise that in-house lawyers make an effort to understand the real concerns of business partners, it was surprising to us how much important information we received from a single phone call.