Contributed by Mike Lee and H R Dipendra
It is no longer a secret that General Counsel play a pivotal role in the ever-growing global economy. With that with mind, IMLC 2012 presented the delegates with a panel of vibrant speakers comprising Henry Leong (Asia Pacific Counsel, GE Water & Process Technologies), Mohamed Nasri Sallehuddin (Director, Legal, Khazanah Nasional Bhd) and Firdous Jan Mohamed (General Counsel, Asia Pacific, Schlumberger). The session was moderated by Stephen Maloy (Senior Advisor, ZICOlaw).
On the question of whether the company constantly outsources legal-related matters to external counsel, Mohamed Nasri said, “Khazanah has interests in many areas, so a lot of work has been outsourced because we may not have the required knowledge on our interests. Also, we help local law firms by giving them ones that usually would not be found in Malaysia”, citing the example of Asia’s first Legoland Theme Park in Malaysia.
Henry and Firdous shared the same sentiment in that both companies only engage external counsel to provide specific advice or expertise in certain areas of work.
It is no longer a secret that General Counsel play a pivotal role in the ever-growing global economy. With that with mind, IMLC 2012 presented the delegates with a panel of vibrant speakers comprising Henry Leong (Asia Pacific Counsel, GE Water & Process Technologies), Mohamed Nasri Sallehuddin (Director, Legal, Khazanah Nasional Bhd) and Firdous Jan Mohamed (General Counsel, Asia Pacific, Schlumberger). The session was moderated by Stephen Maloy (Senior Advisor, ZICOlaw).
On the question of whether the company constantly outsources legal-related matters to external counsel, Mohamed Nasri said, “Khazanah has interests in many areas, so a lot of work has been outsourced because we may not have the required knowledge on our interests. Also, we help local law firms by giving them ones that usually would not be found in Malaysia”, citing the example of Asia’s first Legoland Theme Park in Malaysia.
Henry and Firdous shared the same sentiment in that both companies only engage external counsel to provide specific advice or expertise in certain areas of work.
“Boring work must go out, so as not to waste in-house manpower”, commented Stephen while concurring with Firdous.
In approaching the cost factor on whether to engage external counsel, Nasir highlighted that cost may be a factor but never a determining factor. “If the in-house counsel is not capable enough, then it is safer to outsource to external counsel rather than taking the risk.”
Stephen continued the session by asking the panel, “What would it be if there is one thing the external counsel can do to give value-added service to their client?”
“A short, concise and not long-winded 20-page opinion!” was the answer by Firdous, acknowledging the importance of external counsel’s counsel to save their client’s time. Nasir pointed out that external counsel must be able to convey legal points in layperson-friendly terms when dealing with their clients.
All three speakers shared the same view in approaching the question on who to hire as their in-house counsel. A team player with good communication skills, the ability to stay calm and react appropriately, and with a positive learning attitude and leadership skills, were stated as some of the key characteristics.
When asked about the various ways to develop and grow the in-house lawyers, Nasir noted that “hiring is difficult, retention even more so”. In line with that, a mentoring scheme, constant training, and knowledge management are important to develop these lawyers, especially the young ones who often have varying expectations.
“We have to understand the aspirations of candidates and see how they can make a positive contribution to the companies, notwithstanding self-development throughout their career with us”, said Henry. A wholesome and 360-degree development package across various disciplines such as finance, human resources and operations, is the common strategy taken by these companies in developing their in-house lawyers.
When asked if Malaysian lawyers are competitive enough as compared to the neighbouring countries, Firdous commented that Malaysian lawyers give fairly good advice but lack good understanding of their business. This poses a great challenge to lawyers when dealing with their clients. Interestingly, Firdous noted that Malaysian lawyers are one of the cheapest she has dealt with (pun intended).
On the question of secondment from law firms to their client-companies, posed by Chew Seng Kok (Regional Managing Partner, ZICOlaw), Nasri pointed out that it is a form of recognition to the firm for its ability to second their counsel to their client-companies.
“It is part of national service,” quipped Nasri who helms the legal department of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, an investment holding arm of Malaysian government.
Henry added that secondment benefits the firms, the personnel and the companies as it helps to develop a better partnership prospect between the parties. Recognising the potential risk behind secondment ie losing a key talent in one’s institution, Stephen emphasised that parties should perceive secondment as a long-term investment. “Losing your lawyer to a good client is definitely better than losing him to your competitor,” said Stephen.
Nasri noted that one of the biggest challenges facing him today is the ever-changing legal framework and the myriad of newly-introduced pieces of legislation in Malaysia, whose provisions are often lack clarity. Cross-border regulatory and compliance issues and intellectual property-related issues are amongst other key challenges faced by General Counsel in the ever-growing global economy.
In approaching the cost factor on whether to engage external counsel, Nasir highlighted that cost may be a factor but never a determining factor. “If the in-house counsel is not capable enough, then it is safer to outsource to external counsel rather than taking the risk.”
Stephen continued the session by asking the panel, “What would it be if there is one thing the external counsel can do to give value-added service to their client?”
“A short, concise and not long-winded 20-page opinion!” was the answer by Firdous, acknowledging the importance of external counsel’s counsel to save their client’s time. Nasir pointed out that external counsel must be able to convey legal points in layperson-friendly terms when dealing with their clients.
All three speakers shared the same view in approaching the question on who to hire as their in-house counsel. A team player with good communication skills, the ability to stay calm and react appropriately, and with a positive learning attitude and leadership skills, were stated as some of the key characteristics.
When asked about the various ways to develop and grow the in-house lawyers, Nasir noted that “hiring is difficult, retention even more so”. In line with that, a mentoring scheme, constant training, and knowledge management are important to develop these lawyers, especially the young ones who often have varying expectations.
“We have to understand the aspirations of candidates and see how they can make a positive contribution to the companies, notwithstanding self-development throughout their career with us”, said Henry. A wholesome and 360-degree development package across various disciplines such as finance, human resources and operations, is the common strategy taken by these companies in developing their in-house lawyers.
When asked if Malaysian lawyers are competitive enough as compared to the neighbouring countries, Firdous commented that Malaysian lawyers give fairly good advice but lack good understanding of their business. This poses a great challenge to lawyers when dealing with their clients. Interestingly, Firdous noted that Malaysian lawyers are one of the cheapest she has dealt with (pun intended).
On the question of secondment from law firms to their client-companies, posed by Chew Seng Kok (Regional Managing Partner, ZICOlaw), Nasri pointed out that it is a form of recognition to the firm for its ability to second their counsel to their client-companies.
“It is part of national service,” quipped Nasri who helms the legal department of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, an investment holding arm of Malaysian government.
Henry added that secondment benefits the firms, the personnel and the companies as it helps to develop a better partnership prospect between the parties. Recognising the potential risk behind secondment ie losing a key talent in one’s institution, Stephen emphasised that parties should perceive secondment as a long-term investment. “Losing your lawyer to a good client is definitely better than losing him to your competitor,” said Stephen.
Nasri noted that one of the biggest challenges facing him today is the ever-changing legal framework and the myriad of newly-introduced pieces of legislation in Malaysia, whose provisions are often lack clarity. Cross-border regulatory and compliance issues and intellectual property-related issues are amongst other key challenges faced by General Counsel in the ever-growing global economy.