4 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – JULY 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM BRI EFS MARCO CHUNG, group head of legal and managing director, CLSA GC’s role has always been about being a solution provider to the business and assessing the associated risks. Whilst the type of relevant risks evolves over the years, most strikingly in recent years, geopolitical risks almost trump everything else in big decisions. This is especially so when it comes to capital allocation decisions, which could take years to general return, and the geopolitics could change dramatically during this period. This risk could present itself in different shapes and forms, such as data law, privacy law, national security law, foreign investment law, sanctions law, and others. So, in order to assess the direction of various laws, understanding the geopolitics between the countries is important. Whilst there is no one size fits all approach, awareness, and education of these issues at the Firm are key, especially since most people are not historically accustomed to thinking of these issues when making business decisions. Even our lawyers need to see beyond the most immediate black letter of the law. This can be achieved in a couple of ways. Firstly, sufficient training at the Firm from top to bottom, so hopefully, this gets factored into their decision-making. Secondly, given that our lawyers would typically be across all key transactions and decisions, I would expect them to be the gatekeepers and flag these issues when they see them. Thirdly, I would expect us to bring in an external consultant when the issue is sufficiently thorny. I am increasingly seeing nonlaw firms, which are staffed with former government officials to provide these consultancy services. In my view, to successfully navigate this, the calculus in people’s decision-making will need to evolve. DANIEL LO, chief legal officer, Cake Group Operating within the nascent Web3 industry means we are highly susceptible to geopolitical events, especially with crypto regulation and markets. This is especially so since the fallout from FTX, Terra FORUM CERTAINTY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD As the Sino-U.S. tech war shows no signs of letting up, the conflict in Ukraine grinds on, and new terminologies, including “friend shoring” arise, knowledge of geopolitical events and trends increasingly becomes necessary for in-house lawyers to provide advice beyond business strategies. ALB talks to GCs in Asia about how they are steering their companies steadily through the stormy geopolitical landscape. MARCO CHUNG DANIEL LO AS THE SINO-U.S. TENSIONS PERSIST WITH MOUNTING SECURITY RISKS IN EUROPE, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO MEET THE CHALLENGE OF THE EVER-CHANGING GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN ORDER TO CHART A SOUND LEGAL STRATEGY TO HELP YOUR ORGANISATION STAY COMPLIANT WHILE ACHIEVING BUSINESS GOALS? Image: Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock.com
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