GC Spotlight: Janet Tang discusses why LegalTech is about accessibility and empowerment.

Featured in our GC Spotlight Series this month is Janet Tang, who oversees all legal matters across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for ENGIE in South East Asia. Janet leads a team of 12 legal counsels in supporting over 2,000 employees of ENGIE in South East Asia to help customers with their transition towards carbon neutrality. 

Janet specialises in mergers and acquisitions and large scale infrastructure projects, including district cooling schemes, utility-scale solar and wind farms, and data centres. Janet joined ENGIE in 2017 and has successfully supported ENGIE in South East Asia in securing and implementing numerous critical projects for ENGIE in the South East Asia region such as the acquisition of several companies and the development of large-scale district cooling systems, solar projects, and data centres.

Recognised in the GC Powerlist 2024 for her contributions to the legal industry, Janet has been acknowledged for her leadership and expertise in navigating complex legal and regulatory landscapes.

Prior to ENGIE, Janet was with an Australian multinational construction, property and infrastructure group focusing on construction. Prior to her in-house experience, Janet was a Malaysian qualified advocate & solicitor focusing on complex infrastructure projects and cross border M&A transactions.

Janet holds an LLM in Corporate Governance from University of Manchester, United Kingdom. 

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

I am the General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer for ENGIE in South East Asia, overseeing legal matters across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. I lead a diverse team of 12 legal counsels supporting the delivery of renewable energy and infrastructure projects that drive the transition toward carbon neutrality.

My journey into law began with a passion for politics, leading me from private practice in cross-border M&A and infrastructure projects to an in-house role with an Australian construction group. Joining ENGIE in 2017 was a natural next step — a chance to be part of something meaningful, global, and forward-looking. While not quite a politician, I’m still changing the world in my own way!

Outside of work, I’m passionate about women’s empowerment, and inclusion more broadly. I love organising sessions that bring people together, whether it’s for women’s empowerment, a leadership circle, or simply meaningful conversation. When I’m not doing that, you’ll probably find me in the playground or exploring a foreign city, spending quality time with my family, or enjoying some well-deserved me time!

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

As GC, one of the key challenges is balancing business partnership with managing legal, ethical, and reputational risks, especially in a fast-evolving, highly regulated industry like energy. At the same time, embedding ethics as a lived value across the organisation requires consistency, strong leadership, and cultural buy-in. I address these by building deep, trusted relationships with the business, staying proactive, and investing in my team. I also believe in the power of synthesis making complex legal issues clear and relatable, enabling decisions that are not just legally sound, but truly strategic.

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

For me, LegalTech isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about accessibility and empowerment. The right tools can help demystify legal and ethics processes for non-lawyers, making it easier for everyone in the business to do the right thing without needing a legal degree. For example, our gift and hospitality declaration tool simplifies decision-making, and our ethics dashboards give leadership real-time visibility to act early. We’re also pushing to digitise 100% of contracts by 2026 — not just to save time, but to make legal support more seamless, responsive, and embedded in the way we work. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t just automation — it’s enabling better, faster, and more ethical decisions across the board.

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

In the next 5 years, I see legal teams playing an even more strategic role in driving the energy transition. With increasing regulatory complexity around climate, carbon, and ESG disclosures, legal will need to lead the way, not just keep up. We’ll also be expected to provide sharper, faster insights supported by tech, automation, and data, especially in areas like compliance, ethics, and project execution.

There will also be a shift in how we define value in legal services. It’s no longer just about legal accuracy, but about enabling responsible growth, building ethical business cultures, and being trusted business partners. Talent-wise, we’ll need purpose-driven, tech-enabled, and commercially attuned lawyers who understand infrastructure, energy, and global business, but also lead with empathy and integrity.

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

While ALSPs are often the perfect interim solution for covering workload surges or temporary absences, but they can also provide more permanent solutions by offering specialised, ongoing legal support. For example, they can manage recurring, high-volume tasks such as compliance monitoring, contract management, or due diligence, allowing in-house teams to focus on more strategic, high-value work. By embedding ALSPs as a regular part of our operations, we can access a flexible, cost-effective resource pool without the long-term commitment of hiring permanent staff. This also enables us to quickly adapt to changes in workloads and jurisdictional requirements, ensuring that we always have the right expertise in place when needed.

6. Your favourite tune? And why? 

If I had a theme song, it might just be ‘September’ by Earth, Wind & Fire — joyful, bold, and unforgettable. This song reminds me that in every project, every challenge, and every celebration, there’s a rhythm that drives us forward. In the work I do, I try to lead with that same energy: driven by purpose, always dancing to the beat of what’s possible, and making every moment memorable.