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

I have been involved in several significant cases, some of which are now continuing before the Court of the first instance, and the Supreme Court. These lawsuits encompass a variety of topics, including those pertaining to the environment and labour matters. Particularly, the environmental lawsuit is very complex and challenging since the case will set some remarkable precedents in the Court of Thailand. I have been involved in the cases and assisted the team led by Weerawong C&P to plan the strategies and arguments to be discussed in the case proceedings. The outcome of the case is promising, but it will be very interesting to see the legal interpretation of the Court in all the issues concerned.

Because of the crisis caused by Covid-19, most of the hearings have also been postponed as a result of the considerable impact that the crisis has had on the judicial procedures in Thailand. Since the beginning of 2022, we have been back on track with the Court on our regular schedule. The dilemma caused by Covid-19 has an effect not only on the hearing schedule but also on the preparation of the cases themselves. For example, it requires bringing in foreign experts to conduct on-site measurements in Thailand, which was blocked for approximately two years, and coordinating with specific authorities during the lock-down measurement.

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?

Contract management technology will have the greatest impact on the role of in-house counsel. I discovered that the contract management system may assist an in-house legal team as a group in using the same contract standard, subject to the applicable law. The contract management system enables us to track the existing contract’s lifetime, as well as the alerts and notifications system to keep track of the contract’s history. This technology will increase the number of in-house legal staff and the risk of human error in the near future. To address the demands of non-English-speaking countries, however, this technology requires additional development.

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

Resilience is the most important skill for the modern in-house industry, as this position regularly faces organisational challenges. To handle these situations with resilience, an in-house lawyer must be able to face and adapt to obstacles in order to overcome them. The resilience ability would enable an in-house lawyer to adapt to any circumstance, such as the Covid-19 epidemic, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the global supply chain crisis. Furthermore, an in-house lawyer with resilience skills would be innovative and develop new problem-solving techniques. This emerges from the skill that such a person will need to face reality, evaluate themselves, and then find a new solution to a problem, which would be necessary for a successful in-house lawyer in the coming decade.