‘Planting’ her flag on in-house law – Choo Suit Mae

Before the centralisation of the legal functions within the Sime Darby group, there were two legal departments at the head office – Group Legal, Strategy which advised on M&A transactions, fundraising, projects and corporate exercises (of which I was head) and Group Legal, Corporate Services, which had oversight of litigation/contentious matters and managed the group’s intellectual property issues. In 2010, the two legal departments were consolidated and I was designated Group General Counsel. The heads of the legal department of each of the core businesses/divisions also report to me directly. At head office, I have assigned ‘champions’ to look after each of the core businesses/divisions. The teams possess different experience and skills sets – ranging from M&A and transactional work to litigation – and have worked on multi-jurisdictional deals. This structure has enhanced reporting (and facilitated the escalation of legal issues/risks so that immediate action can be taken to address them), standardisation of advisory work, optimisation of resources, in-house training, and career development. The entire legal team now comprises 46 lawyers and we operate very much like a legal firm within the organisation.

AMC: How do you add value to your company?
Choo Suit Mae: I would say my international experience and having practised for more than 25 years as external legal counsel. The ability to pick up salient legal issues quickly, apply them in a business deal and offer solution-oriented advice – which are skills you accumulate as an external practitioner. I think generally, in-house clients tend to respect advice if given by someone who’s been ‘round the block’ so to speak, and has successfully closed many cross–border transactions. Other strengths include the ability to stand one’s ground and not to be intimidated by the business team who sometimes pull rank; responsiveness; cross-functional collaboration; and ability to see the big picture. I am also a member of the Group Investment Committee, which comprises senior management, and the legal, risk and strategy functions. This committee reviews and discusses new investment proposals from the business units before they are tabled to the board. Deliberations of the committee are documented and attached to the board papers. This will assist the board in their decision-making as critical legal issues as well as highlight other business risks upfront.

AMC: What challenges have you perceived in your current role?
Choo Suit Mae: One of the major challenges is to keep abreast of the changes in the laws and regulations in the many jurisdictions where the Sime Darby group operates, as well as industry trends in our five core businesses. On top of that, we need to address the expectations of key stakeholders such as major shareholders, the board, senior management and employees. Sometimes, these interests are not always aligned. In relation to human capital, it is a challenge to retain high-performing individuals (since we have to compete with the legal industry on remuneration and compensation), and to keep them engaged and inspired. With the opening up of the lucrative legal market to international law firms in Malaysia, the war for talent will be intensified further. The Malaysian government, through TalentCorp, has implemented various initiatives to stem the brain drain, and to encourage professionals studying or working abroad to return to work in Malaysia.

AMC: Can you describe how legal practice has changed as the market has developed and clients have become more sophisticated?
Choo Suit Mae: To some extent, the role of external lawyers has changed in tandem with the different requirements expected of in-house counsel. Increasingly, in-house counsel’s role has graduated from being merely that of an adviser to a strategic partner; therefore we expect external counsel to spend more time understanding our business, commercial objectives and be more business savvy and anticipate issues, rather than just providing legal advice. We select external counsel based on those qualities in addition to the usual criteria such as expertise, reputation and responsiveness. We treat external counsel as part of the legal team so that the legal input can be as seamless as possible. We take ownership of the legal function, so if our internal clients are unhappy about the quality of the legal services or advice given, we will have to deal with their complaints and grievances – it can be quite a delicate balance – ensuring that the commercial objectives and the legal issues are aligned. It boils down to good communication, but sometimes we do encounter ‘bloody-minded’ individuals who refuse to listen…

AMC: Can you describe a typical work day?
Choo Suit Mae: Since the Division legal teams are located at different business locations, it is important that I talk to them on a regular basis. We have fortnightly meetings at the head office in KL and the overseas teams dial in. I spend a fair amount of time attending management meetings and also spend quite a lot of my day on administrative matters, which is necessary given the size of the team and support staff. Whenever the group embarks on a major corporate exercise/investment, I sit through meetings with the deal team and external counsel – advising and reviewing the structure, brainstorming on critical issues, project execution and post-closing/integration matters. Due to the nature of the work, it is hard to have a typical day as each day brings with it a new set of challenges and surprises. I suppose ultimately, it is how well you prioritise and manage people and issues.

AMC