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China (PRC)

Peter Zhang, general counsel for Greater China with Sony Ericsson, discusses the ever-increasing importance of the in-house team.

Asian-Counsel: How did your career lead you to your current role as general counsel at Sony Ericsson in China?
Peter Zhang: The position of general counsel plays an increasingly important role in business, and so it requires a lot of skill and breadth of experience. Over the past seventeen years, I have developed a wide range of experience across various practice areas including M&A, compliance, anti-trust and competition, trade and commerce, litigation and arbitration, risk management and control, commercial negotiation, employment and IP protection. I have also worked for multinational companies (including Ericsson, Unilever and Yahoo) and as a private practitioner with a Hong Kong law firm. This experience has allowed me to develop perspectives from both a client and a private practitioner point of view. Knowing the law per se is not enough – our business needs a partner, not merely a legal engineer. The role is to facilitate the business so it is conducted legally and properly, without preventing the deal or business opportunity.

The role of general counsel cannot be defined by how many direct reports he has or how many contracts he reviews. The objective of the position is to secure operational opportunities and ensure they are legally maximised without compromising the company’s compliance and whilst minimising the risk-exposure. The nature of the role is always evolving and as such, there is always the room for improvement and innovation. A general counsel needs to be very responsive and able to drive innovation in a fast changing environment.

AC: What is the current composition of the Sony Ericsson in-house team?
PZ: The entire legal and IPR team is lead by Jonathan Pearl, the Chief Vice President of Legal and IPR, who is a fantastic leader and great lawyer. In China, the legal team consists of four members who cover all aspects of legal support for Greater China. You can imagine how challenging it is for such a lean team to handle all legal support and control in one of the most strategic markets for the mobile industry.

AC: Is there such a thing as a ‘typical day’ for an in-house practitioner at Sony Ericsson?
PZ: Every day is new. However, there are two questions that the in-house team members must always ask themselves: what value can we add to the business and what is the legal risk that we must strive to avoid?

AC: What qualities does Sony Ericsson look for in candidates for in-house roles?
PZ: Different companies have different criteria. We love to see in-house candidates who are not only expert at law but who can also add value through working in a team and who can be deal-makers, not deal-killers. Both of these criteria require candidates who are realistic, responsive, passionate and innovative. The in-house lawyer also needs to take ownership and possess a risk-management and performance-driven approach. The lawyer must possess a legal mind in order to get things done.

AC: How has the in-house role evolved during your years in practice?
PZ: By looking at the booming in-house market, you are able to develop a sense of the evolution of the role. In the last ten years, both the legal and operational environments have changed significantly, and more and more companies are placing increased importance on the in-house role. The position of general counsel at Sony Ericsson is integrated into the senior management team, and plays an important role in the decision-making process. Nowadays, the company requires more complex services within a tighter budget. I have witnessed the in-house role shift from being reactive to proactive, from being a fire-fighting to fire-prevention vehicle – the team is now involved in matters from an early stage, rather than called after something has happened, and receives greater support from senior management.

AC: Do you have any tips for how in-house teams can cope with tighter budgets in light of economic conditions?
PZ: Cost-effectiveness is one major consideration, in addition to providing accurate and pragmatic advice, that in-house teams always need to be mindful of, especially during the financial crisis. Allowing for knowledge transfer to the business team, rather than repeatedly consulting, can save a lot of time and training employees is one very efficient method of doing so. Teams can also create user-friendly templates for the business to utilise as another way to reduce in-house duplicated work on basic contract review.

As the general counsel, you have to allocate your limited resource effectively so that right lawyer is assigned to handle the right matters with the highest efficiency. In-house lawyers are unlikely to be expert at all areas, therefore we will also seek external assistance on certain issues and of course, you have to control those costs as well as ensure reliable counseling. A general counsel needs to know when to engage external counsel and who to engage, because the individual lawyer does matter more than a firm. When dealing with cases, legal judgment and business judgment shall both be taken into consideration – you have to control your overall burden and liabilities, to find best way to resolve cases within the framework legally allowed. AC

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