TWO Singaporeans are among Asia's top 25 in-house lawyers, according to a leading regional law journal.

Temasek Holdings' Ms Lena Chia and Pacific Internet's (PacNet's) Ms Deborah Foo were singled out by Asian Legal Business, along with legal eagles from Japan to India and Australia.

Ms Chia, managing director of the legal and regulations division at Temasek, heads a team of 25 lawyers dealing with regulatory compliance and transactional mergers and acquisitions, among other things.

The magazine quoted her as saying that law firms wishing to work for Temasek should provide quality service and prompt response.

They 'should be able to provide robust and commercially acceptable solutions rather than academic and purely legalistic advice'.

Ms Chia, 43, added yesterday that the recognition 'would not have been possible without the opportunities provided by the company and the tremendous support from the legal team and everyone at Temasek'.

Ms Foo, PacNet's company secretary and group vice-president (legal), provides strategic advice across the group, including on corporate governance issues.

Her tip for in-house success: Think outside the box, stand up for what you believe in and at all times protect your company's interest.

Ms Foo, in her mid-30s, said she was very pleased and honoured to be on the list. 'Being an in-house counsel allows me to be involved in the operations and decision-making process, which is more suited to my personality than being in private practice,' she said.

The magazine polled 100 law firms across the Asia-Pacific and called for nominations from 10 economies, based on criteria that included business savvy, deals undertaken and legal knowledge.

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