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What Clients Expect of their Legal Counsel Veronica Lai 29 November 2012 Private & Confidential 2012 StarHub – All Rights Reserved
What Clients Expect of
their Legal Counsel
Veronica Lai
29 November 2012
Private & Confidential
2012 StarHub – All Rights Reserved
About StarHub
Singapore's fully-integrated info-communications company, offering Telecommunications, PayTV and Broadband Services.
Listed on the Singapore Exchange and is a component stock of the Straits Times Index and the MSCI Singapore Free Index.
Market Capitalization of S$7 billion.
About StarHub
Handling a Hot Potato.
Likely dispute resolution of significant amount, with complex legal issues, international elements.
Commercial pressures within an operating environment.
Snowed under with documentation.
Under Board and Management scrutiny to close.
Likely engaging with a Legal Department.
Profile of your Client
Likely a very Stressed General Counsel !
Great Expectations
External counsel as an Advisor and Partner.
Professional and Sound Advisory on matter at hand.
Timeliness and Responsiveness.
Support.
Appropriate Legal Spend.
Professionalism : Baseline Requirements
Subject matter expertise : Area of Law and Practice.
Experience in Dispute Resolution / Arbitration.
Cut the caveats, get to the point.
Frank assessment : warts and all.
Professionalism
Judgement call.
Strategic input : Mapping the way to the Prize.
Pre-empt surprises (as much as one is able).
Crafting the submissions, Fielding the right witnesses. Managing expectations.
Regular Updates. Agree a “checklist” or appropriate Format, and
frequency. What happened, next steps, view on costs, outstanding information
and new information needed.
Upsides that Differentiate
Industry Knowledge : More than just a lawyer.
Comfort with Technical Issues. Stretching your experts and testing your opponents’ experts.
Good EQ : Engagement at all levels.
Eliciting information and simplifying.
Networking.
Good rapport with the Tribunal.
Personal attention. Understanding the brief, working through strategy, understanding and crafting technical issues.
Telephone Webpage / Dropbox Fax / Post Email / Smart Devices
/ Tablets Access
Responsiveness
Can your Client contact counsel easily, when needed ?
Timeliness
Time sensitive advisory. Are there PR concerns ?
Mapping out timelines/ Key Milestones for planning.
Personalities to pin down.
Sufficient time to review documentation/ submissions.
When to escalate and touch the “Powers That Be” ?
Importance of a Team
Importance of a Team
Diversity and Resilience.
Depth : Strength of Middle Layer.
Breadth : Grunt work still needs to be done.
No substitute for Hard Work, even at senior level. The War Room is Real ! Details matter.
One of the most important fact General Counsels consider.
Cost Management
Your Client has a Legal Budget.
Agreeing a Ballpark estimate, keeping tab of deviations.
Don’t spring surprises : Put in place gatekeepers.
Timely reviews with your Client.
A law firm that has a long term view on cost management will have a long term relationship with the Client.
Disbursements in the Limelight
WSJ : Law Firms Face Fresh Backlash Over Fees.
The lawyer's stock in trade is the sale of legal service, not photocopy paper, tuna fish sandwiches, computer
time or messenger services.
Attorneys aren't supposed to make a
profit from soft costs.
Companies that make their own employees fly coach also expect their lawyers to do the same. Business class may be
allowed for some long-distance flights.
Many clients no longer permit attorneys to
charge their full hourly rate for travel time.
An increasing number now hire out legal work for a flat fee, leaving it
up to the law firm to figure out how to stay within budget. "The decision to take two people to a
meeting or four—that's their call.
The Arbitration Counsel : Helping To Give Method to Madness
Flexibility brings options. Options bring
decisions.
Advisory on Dispute Resolution options.
Choosing the Seat of Arbitration :
Practical Implications.
Pre-empt enforceability : Keeping the
eye on the Prize.
Finality or Appeal.
The Arbitration Counsel : Special Skill Set
Hand Holding
Hand Holding
Choice of Arbitrators.
Alive to Foreign Elements / Foreign Law Issues.
Choice of witness. Eliciting Trust.
Hand Holding
Procedural Minefields : Exhausting Escalation, Demanding Discovery, Delta with Court Litigation.
Options to optimise trial and cost manage ?
Social network amongst the industry a plus.
A Good Counsel goes beyond Legal Expertise.
Your Client relies on you heavily in an Arbitration
As Advisor.
As the Sword, Protector and Defender.
To give Heads up if there are changes in tide.
To remap Strategy as needed, good or bad.
Bad news is not necessarily “bad” if it is properly managed.
The GC network is very small.
Reputation matters : Partner or the Firm ?
Commercial Reality bites.
Food For Thought
Thank You
