GC Spotlight: Cora Ang leverages LegalTech and process optimisation to amplify legal impact.

Featured in our GC Spotlight Series this month is Cora Ang who is the Head of Legal & Compliance, APAC at AMINA Group. At AMINA, Cora is responsible for all legal and compliance operations across the Asia-Pacific region, ensuring the company navigates complex regulatory frameworks and upholds the highest standards of practice. Her role involves providing strategic legal guidance on a multitude of issues including new product development and market entry, particularly concerning digital assets and decentralised finance.

Before joining AMINA, Cora was a Partner at HM, a boutique consultancy in Singapore, where she helped businesses align their strategies with regulatory frameworks, particularly in sustainability, fintech, and digital assets. Prior to that, she served as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at a multi-strategy hedge fund. Her career also includes legal and compliance roles at Hillhouse Group, Sidley Austin, Clifford Chance, and J.P. Morgan. She has earned recognition in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist – Hong Kong in 2023, 2024 and 2025. With a strong focus on the intersection of finance, regulatory compliance, and innovation, Cora actively contributes to the responsible adoption of Web3 technologies, supports regulatory clarity for the digital assets ecosystem, and engages in shaping policies that influence the future of decentralised finance.

Cora is a New York-qualified lawyer with an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago. She is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and an active member of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. 

1. Hi Cora, can you tell us a little about your role and journey into law? What excites you outside of work? 

My current role is Head of Legal and Compliance APAC for AMINA Bank, based in Hong Kong. After I graduated from The University of Chicago, I moved from my hometown Singapore to Hong Kong for an opportunity in capital markets at a US law firm as a paralegal. Eventually, I pursued my law degree and qualified in New York before returning to capital markets private practice in Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2017, my move in-house pivoted me to private equity and gave me exposure to the field of compliance, which led me to a GC position at a multistrategy hedge fund. After a short stint as a consultant working with Fintech and Web3 companies, I found myself at Amina Hong Kong, bridging TradFi principles in the Defi world and pushing the boundaries in all aspects of the digital assets evolution. Outside of work, I love spending time in nature and challenging myself by running ultramarathons. We are lucky to have so many trails at our doorstep in Hong Kong!

2. As a Head of Legal & Compliance, what are some of the challenges that keep you up at night? How are you addressing them? 

In a dynamic sector such as digital assets, there are many moving pieces and legal regimes are constantly undergoing regulatory iterations. This makes it challenging to provide straightforward legal advice to our business. It is therefore important to adopt an agile approach and stay aware of the latest regulatory developments that may affect the business either in risks or opportunities, especially when we operate globally and engage in cross-border activities. I always make sure to find time to participate in roundtable discussions, forums and thought leadership events to ensure that I am continuing to educate myself with any key updates and also canvass for important industry initiatives. 

3. What do you think about the use of LegalTech, data analytics and process optimisation to improve your legal department's value? 

Given we have a lean team across multiple time zones, finding we’re always looking for efficiencies is where we can derive greater value. Leveraging the tools of LegalTech, data analytics and process optimisation can essentially aid the legal team in freeing up more time to focus on supporting other functions in a more strategic manner. In the in-house context, the legal department is always perceived as a cost center, but technology solutions can move us in the right direction from of being a cost center to a value driver for the business.

4. What trends do you expect to see in the legal services industry in the next 5 years? 

"Glo-cal" focus with rising geopolitical volatility and complex cross border regulations, companies increasingly need a legal team that combines deep local expertise with global collaboration. This means navigating jurisdiction specific laws and cultures, managing multi jurisdictional strategies, anticipating geopolitical risks, and leveraging technology for efficient collaboration. Competitive advantage will favour those who integrate local insight and global reach into a unified, agile legal approach.

AI-driven legal services - the dialogue continues of applying generative AI in the context of legal work and the ethical considerations surrounding it. It is likely that there will be a transition from experimental pilots to fully integrated components of legal workflows and the impact will touch nearly every area of practice.

5. Where do you see NewLaw/ALSP fitting in the matrix of your legal department  

NewLaw/ALSP provides an advantage in filling capability gaps, increasing agility, and enabling the function to deliver more value with greater budget discipline; especially for lean legal teams such as the one we have.  

6. Your favourite tune? And why? 

Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis as I’m always inspired by epic music and this tune in particular is the one they play when you’re standing at the start line of the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc, which was a very poignant moment for me.