Any large company today that is engaged in international business operates in an environment with ever-increasing complexity. From the challenges posed by the intricacy and volume of regulatory changes and their global, multijurisdictional impact to the incredibly rapid pace of technological change and its many effects on businesses, in-house legal teams have never faced greater challenges. To mitigate the volume of new legal risks that businesses face, such as rapidly evolving privacy or anti money laundering regulations in various regions, it is vital that legal counsel is delivered in a way that is unified and consistent.
As a General Counsel (GC) in an international, independent commodities trading company focused on oil and gas, with a presence in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, I have found it both fascinating and thrilling to observe how my role has developed since I joined the Group nine years ago.
My GC position encompasses various roles. I act as an advisor on commercial transactions and compliance, an advocate in HR matters, a mentor, and more generally as a confidant and sounding board across the group. The lessons I learn on a daily basis are ones that anyone working as part of a similar in-house, international legal team will recognise and can also benefit from.
The pandemic provided a range of new challenges for all in-house legal teams, but negotiating and coordinating different moving restrictions across multiple jurisdictions also provided a fresh perspective on the challenges we face day to day.
It is vital that legal counsel is delivered in a way that is unified and consistent.
Building trusting personal relationships in a digital world
These past two years have been ones in which we have all learned a huge amount. In many ways, the way we do business has been reshaped by the pandemic. Its legacy in terms of how we approach business in the future is likely to be long-lasting. For in-house legal teams, used to developing good working relationships with external legal advisors through in-person interaction, there has been a major readjustment.
Web-based video calls have become the norm for business communication across the board, but for legal teams, where building trust based on personal connections and interactions is all-important, they initially posed real challenges – especially in new working relationships.
For me, a key lesson from this was the importance of engaging with external legal advisors through more calls with greater frequency, compared with in-person meetings. Understanding and trust can be built through video calls but there is a definite need for substantial time investment, which is something we have all had to get used to.
In my experience, the best law firms are the ones who are focussed on client service, and the pandemic reinforced that. The firms we have had the best relationships with were retained as we trusted them more.
Establishing a coordinated global legal structure in a post-COVID world
In a post-COVID world, establishing and maintaining a coordinated structure to control the legal affairs, priorities and policies of a multi-jurisdictional group in a cohesive fashion takes on even greater importance. As GC, it is my responsibility to deliver this, and I do so with the help of over 30 law firms globally. That means I have to manage relationships with these teams while leading various matters, projects and disputes. The group needs a unified centre to account for challenges arising from language, cultural and time differences between local legal teams. Having a unified centre also makes dealing with multiple legal systems, regulatory requirements, and business priorities more manageable.
In my experience, the best law firms are the ones who are focussed on client service, and the pandemic reinforced that.
Adopting this approach will result in cohesion in the delivery and quality of legal services, reduced risk of inadequate legal support for specific areas of the law across geographical regions, and enhanced knowledge sharing across the entire legal team.
To enhance knowledge sharing, teamwork and communication, we recently implemented a new system that is used across the Group to share templates, manage external counsel costs and share drafts. This has increased our efficiency and strengthened communications, both internally and with external stakeholders. The software is worth the investment, no matter how small our team.
In my view, personal relationships are fundamental to establishing coordinated, global legal teams. The great majority of the appointments of law firms in our unified team came as a result of a personal recommendation, which developed into strong working relationships.
Finding the right legal talent at a local level
A high-performing, multi-jurisdictional legal team relies on good local counsel. Finding the right legal talent at a local level is one of the most important challenges a global GC will face. Sometimes you may encounter language barriers. Other times, the bigger challenge is finding counsel that have niche specialities and other times it is explaining internal strategy to external parties. Identifying and appointing the right local legal talent is made much easier if you have a referral from a trusted source. Personal referrals provide much better insights than your own research as you have an opportunity to ask about the capabilities of the firm you are looking to appoint. It can greatly speed up the process of finding appropriate talent to have a trusted source broker an introduction. It is therefore vital to build strong relationships in each jurisdiction.
Legal systems in the East and the West are often quite similar, in that written or common law rules are applied to the legal question. A major difference, however, is found in how different regions look at certain actions. For example, certain civil law matters that would be negotiated as a civil dispute in Europe are actually classified as criminal matters in the Middle East. This changes the way you consider business in the Middle East, as the repercussions can be more extensive compared to the same transaction in Europe.
It is the role of the GC to work out and implement the appropriate approach, navigating and asking the right questions.
Finding the right legal talent at a local level is one of the most important challenges a global GC will face.
Trust your instinct
As a GC, one of my biggest pieces of advice is to learn to trust your instinct. As an in-house GC, you do not have access to the same expansive resources available in private practice, such as a team of legal assistants, paralegals, and associates. Therefore, you must learn how to hone and trust your instinct. This pays off, as you learn to make quick and effective decisions based on what you think is right, all the while instilling a sense of confidence in your in-house legal team.
Mentors play an important role in any legal practitioner’s career. As an in-house GC, and thus the firm’s most senior lawyer, my mentors tend to be the partners in the firms I work with. They understand my role, appreciate that I am on my own and support me, offering advice or acting as a sounding board for ideas. This is important to me and has been an important factor in the development of my legal instinct.
Looking ahead – lessons from the pandemic
Working across a broad range of jurisdictions is challenging during normal times but has been especially so over the course of the pandemic. That said, it has also been a time of great learning. The talented and dedicated in-house professionals and the global team of external advisors that I work with pulled together through this difficult period, and enhanced our ways of working, which we will build on in the future.
Being a GC in a multijurisdictional group does come with challenges due to the complex, multi-faceted nature of the role and the number of stakeholders you need to engage with, but at the same time it is highly rewarding.
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Tracy Wong, General Counsel
12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2 #21/01-02, Singapore 018961
Tel: +44 (0)20 3862 0820
Mercantile & Maritime is an independent commodities trading company headquartered in Singapore. Its in-house team advises clients on matters across the oil and gas sector, supporting international businesses from its branches across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Tracy Wong leads the Mercantile & Maritime Group’s Legal Department and is a key member of the projects and energy team. She advises upon a wide range of commercial, corporate finance, M&A, energy, and oil & gas matters. She is also experienced in alternative dispute resolution, including the mediations and non-judicial conflict resolution.
