It was the late 1990s and Ms Suzanna Barrett had just returned from law school in the United Kingdom, ready to build a career in the law.
What awaited her, she puts it bluntly, was a “nightmare”. “I had wanted to do 50% corporate, 50% litigation, but the day I joined, the two litigation lawyers quit, so I was thrown all their files. I was a junior lawyer with one month’s experience and had 300 files to manage. The courts were calling all the time, ‘Where are you? Where is this, where is that?’”
She remembers standing at her Suntec office window, watching the hotel bellhop next door open car doors with a genuine smile, and thinking: at least he enjoyed his job.
“I did not.” She left—but gave the law one last chance.
The Right Leader
“I interviewed for an in-house role at PSA International, where I met Ms Arlene Oei, the head of legal at the time. She really took a chance on me, given how fresh-faced I was. But she trusted me and took the time to mentor me.”
Mentorship didn’t always mean handholding—or a pleasant experience. Suzanna recalls being sent to negotiate a US$250 million deal with the Portuguese government. “We went back and forth till two in the morning. Then when I updated the team at home, I was told, ‘Why did you do it like this and not this way!’ It was hard work, but I learnt a lot.”
That taste of an in-house role was pivotal, and she went on to roles as General Counsel for MNCs in the UK and Singapore—including the space sector.
“People think space law is just technology law with a view. It’s not. Spectrum rights, export controls, orbital slots. If a satellite 10,000km from Earth fails, lawyers must plan for that.”
The lesson? Technology was never the hardest problem.
“The hardest part of any equation, anywhere, was always people. Tempers. Egos. Especially when millions are on the line. And the hardest part of that? My own journey—finding time and motivation for reflection so I can grow to be a wiser counsellor.”
That insight, and a very Singaporean thirst for efficiency, drives her to simplify processes as an in-house counsel. At one technology company, she inherited a sprawling Master Services Agreement underpinning billions in global revenue. She condensed it dramatically, cutting it to two pages. This, she adds, is the value in-house counsel can bring.
“The in-house legal department is Charlotte the spider in the middle of the web of the company’s operations. We interact with multiple stakeholders and issues—management, sales, operations, finance, risk, and more—and we use our legal knowledge, our clarity of thought and communication skills to make business operations run smoothly.”
“If we do our job well, we build trust and establish partnerships across the organisation—because business is all about people and
relationships.”
Mindful About AI
Today, Suzanna works on AI Governance. As part of the SCCA’s Wellness Chapter and the GC360 Roundtable on Human Decision‑Making (March 2026, with Stanford and Harvard), she is advocating for higher judgment when it comes to AI.
She challenges, “Past generations smoked, drank, and ate to excess—without thought—and paid with their health. We are wiser now. But we’re consuming AI output without scrutiny. We must learn healthy AI habits. That’s how we build a brighter future together.”
What are these habits?
“1. Mindful tech use. Set boundaries. Unplug. Your health comes first.
2. You are in control. AI sounds clever but may be wrong. It has breadth, not depth.
3. Educate yourself. Use multiple sources. Learn your AI’s limits and biases. Keep updated.
4. Play with AI. Be curious. Start projects with kids or teams. Make it inclusive. Build a learning community.
5. Always question AI output. Are its assumptions correct? Is there a better answer? Especially for high‑stakes legal matters. On a lighter note, I taught my 85‑year-old father how. Now, to our family’s relief, he uses five AIs for regular deep theological debates.”
She concludes, “Resilience isn’t toughing it out. Courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s choosing curiosity. AI is here to stay, so let’s learn more about ourselves and AI and thrive together. It’s our next adventure.”
Connect with Suzanna on LinkedIn.