Featured in our GC Spotlight Series this month is Till Lembke, who is the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH). He was seconded to HSH through KorumLegal and then joined HSH as Legal Counsel in 2018. He then returned as Senior Legal Counsel after a stint of working as an associate in the corporate department of a US law firm with a focus on a wide range of commercial and regulatory work in the technology, media and telecommunication sectors. Prior to first joining HSH, Till worked in private practice in both London and Hong Kong, as well as for a leading business ethics consultancy focusing on compliance, ethics and corporate responsibility. Till holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese and Politics from SOAS, University of London, and an LLM in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution from the University of Hong Kong. He is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and in Hong Kong.
1. Hi Till, can you tell us a little about your role and journey into law? What excites you outside of work?
I currently head the Company Secretarial and Legal Team at the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited. As the name suggests, we handle the Group’s legal, leasing and com sec matters, including corporate governance, contract reviews, litigation, IP issues, leasing for our HK operations, and general trouble shooting. My journey into law started with realising that studying law would allow me to continue the student lifestyle for a few more years after finishing my undergraduate degree, and then realising that it would allow me to get jobs in Hong Kong, the dream city I wanted to move to. So I stuck to law, and made it to Hong Kong. The sounds and sights of the city is what excites me outside of work – I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than to go for a trail run on Lantau, a dip in the ocean afterwards, and then enjoy a beer back in the city, watching the world walk by.
2. As a GC, what are some of the challenges that keep you up at night? How are you addressing them?
The sheer breadth of issues to consider and keeping on top of the constantly evolving regulatory landscapes can definitely mean long nights. But one of the ways to address the whirlwind of matters is to make sure you do get a good night’s sleep, so I do my best to not let them keep me up for too long. I also find that it helps thinking about the potential impact of the latest AI developments or the geopolitical vicissitudes if you step away from your desk and go for a run along the harbourfront.
3. What do you think about the use of LegalTech, data analytics and process optimisation to improve your legal department’s value?
I think the potential of it is tremendous, and I do think that legal departments can benefit from deploying LegalTech to cut down on routine work, optimise research and template creation, and have access to the institutional knowledge in a far more efficient way. I also think it can help significantly in training and making legal knowledge palatable and accessible to the wider company; the FAQ chatbot trained on internal policies is one example. However, the value in the company including the legal department lies in its people – and tech solutions themselves are not the be-all and end-all. The true value of technology lies in its ability to enhance human engagement; if LegalTech doesn’t enhance how colleagues feel about and engage with their work, it can become cumbersome and meaningless. Ultimately, technology is there to serve us, not the other way around.
4. What trends do you expect to see in the legal services industry in the next 5 years?
I don’t think we’ll see a wholesale revolution of the legal services industry (5 years is not enough for that), and won’t see a replacement of lawyers by AI. But we will see a replacement of those lawyers who don’t use AI effectively. I also think that the legal services industry will see a restructuring in its approach to training the next generation – and that training in-house will become more attractive, as the evolving LegalTech minimises routine / grunt work, and challenges legal departments to focus on the bigger picture and strategy. Gaining early exposure to the difficulties of commercial decision-making, how a business operates, and how to practically apply the law is going to become the more important training – not the ability to spend the night manually sifting through thousands of documents in a data room.
5. Where do you see NewLaw/ALSPs fitting in the matrix of your legal department?
I see NewLaw/ALSP as providing dedicated help for specific projects, and in particular in helping out with short-term personnel support – effectively a more cost-effective alternative to having a secondment from a law firm. In addition, ALSPs are also great at keeping more traditional law firms on their toes.
6. Your favourite tune? And why?
Life’s too varied to settle on one favourite tune. I have a kaleidoscopic taste in music, from Serge Reggiani to Grand Corps Malade, from Andy Lau to Lily Allen.
KorumLegal is a boutique legal consultancy committed to providing value innovation in legal service delivery. The legal services industry is continuing to change with ‘NewLaw’ – and clients are seeking more innovative and cost-effective solutions without compromise on experience and quality
