Team size: Eight

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

Recently, we have worked on a wide spectrum of matters. To name a few, we have acquired substantial stake in a maritime port in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, situated along major shipping lines. In addition, we have, through our European affiliate, entered an entirely new business venture in the renewable energy sector. We have also managed complex issues with a few of the bigger players in the same industry and aided in the strategizing and negotiation processes to achieve the best outcome for our group of companies.

Did the pandemic lead to a lasting increase in the interaction your legal team has with the strategic plans of the company?

Definitely. Due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, the performance, or the inability thereof, of contractual obligations, became a paramount priority to address, to mitigate any sort of legal risk exposure in a quick and amicable manner so that the relationship of the parties and the flow of the business were still preserved. The pandemic also provided for many sound opportunities which the legal team could capitalise and leverage on to boost our business efficacy. The company realised that without a sharp and sound legal team, the pandemic or any other type of disruption would have most definitely caused a detriment effect to the group.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

We are presently working towards digitalising our contract’s management and workflows. We believe that we should leverage on the current technology available to us, to enhance our internal contractual processes and documentation management. I believe I speak on behalf of all my peers when I say that the pandemic has propelled us forward to seriously consider tech solutions to assist in our legal workflows, to efficiently provide sound solutions and mitigate risks.