About

When discussing her transformation of the EY ASEAN legal department, general counsel Eunice Chew makes it clear that her main objective was to build a high performing team delivering exceptional client service: ‘The key change was to make the team more proactive to client needs rather than to react to client demands, with the intent of speed to market. We divided our load based on key focus accounts of EY so that each counsel would have a working knowledge of EY’s client, EY’s strategy in respect of the client and the EY client’s approach to procurement of services and our legal terms’. Chew is also constantly looking out for ways that technology can enhance the performance of her team and hopes to implement in the near future a system that takes care of repetitive asks of the legal team so that counsel’s time is freed up to focus on higher risk areas. In the role since 2014, and with EY since 2013, Chew has not only worked through significant regulatory and litigation matters across ASEAN, she has also supported EY’s acquisitions of businesses such as Adelphi Digital, Xynapse and Brightree, as well as the admission of Atlas Asia Law Corporation as an independent member firm of the EY global network. Chew picks out the three major lessons she has learned from her experience at EY that have improved her as a legal professional: ‘First, I received an education in great stewardship from leaders in the business, which I bear in mind as my team continues to grow from the three of us in 2014 to our team of 11 today. Second, being among the best and brightest minds in professional services means opening one’s eyes to the full myriad of implications in taking a certain position, which drives a more precise strategy. Third, a fast moving business requires a general counsel to be quick on her feet, succinct and accurate in her view. Layered with the diverse businesses of EY, this training has certainly improved me as a legal professional.‘