As China leads the world in developing and investing in clean energy technologies to curb carbon emissions, Hong Kong-listed GCL-Poly Energy Holdings have established itself as one of the top green energy operators in China and one of the leading polysilicon and wafer suppliers in the world. The company’s in-house legal department has expanded and evolved as the company has grown.
Starting from one person in 2001, the in-house team now consists of 15 lawyers across the Shanghai, Suzhou and Hong Kong offices, handling legal affairs and managing legal risks of a company that owns 21 subsidiary & associated power plants, a solar farm and several polysilicon and wafer facilities. The team has been selected as a finalist for the “Foreign Company In-House Team of the Year” award at the 2010 ALB China Law Awards, for being a first-class advisor to its company and the significant progress it has achieved over recent years.
Susan Wu, the company’s chief legal officer for the power sector, is the founding member of GCL-Poly’s in-house legal team. Previously worked at a Shanghai law firm, she joined as the company’s first in-house lawyer in 2001 and helped build up the in-house team to its current capacity. Wu sees a correlation between her team’s success and the senior management’s respect for the rule of law. “The CEO and senior management team’s commitment to integrity and legal compliance forms a foundation for the in-house legal team to excel,” says Wu. “The team’s legal understanding, business acumen and depth and strength of technical expertise, in turn, are the key factors determining the success.”
Many obstacles and challenges can exist on the road to success. Wu believes her team’s main challenge lies in achieving the right balance between safeguarding the company’s legal compliance and proactively supporting business growth. “For a dynamic company like GCL-Poly, we are constantly seizing exciting opportunities to achieve growth. Naturally one must be alert that every potentially rewarding project comes with commensurate risks,” says Wu. “We work closely with our company’s management, and other functional departments to formulate appropriate business strategy, and assist them in achieving and executing new business goals.”
To reach the right balance, Wu says, in-house counsels must strive to be value-adding members to the management teams and not constant alarmists. “In-house counsels, with their particular knowledge of the industry in which their company is engaged in, must be more innovative than external counsels. They should be more able to devise viable solutions for potential projects to move ahead and become successful business units,” she says.
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