THE MACALLAN ALB HONG KONG LAW AWARDS: MAYER BROWN JSM, CITIGROUP EMERGE BIG WINNERS
NOVEMBER 2015
ASIA EDITION
MCI (P) 178/01/2015
ISSN 0219 – 6875
KDN PPS 1793/07/2013(025520)
ASIA'S TOP
LARGEST LAW FIRMS
INSIDE
CRYSTAL BALL
Offshore law irms look
ahead to what the year
2016 will bring
CARTELS TARGETED
The Philippines’
landmark Competition
Law analysed
BRIGHT SPOTS
Corporate lawyers stay
busy in military-ruled
Thailand
n BIG STORY
3
n LEAGUE TABLES
4
PAGE 20
PAGE 46
PAGE 48
n APPOINTMENTS
n DEALS
6
16
®
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business
CONTENTS
“AS IT BECOMES
CLEAR TO BUSINESSES
THAT REGULATORS
ARE SERIOUS ABOUT
ENFORCEMENT, WE
EXPECT THEM TO
ACT PRUDENTLY
AND CONSULT LEGAL
COUNSEL, GIVEN THE
SERIOUS FINES AND
PENALTIES UNDER THE
NEW COMPETITION
LAW AND THE SEVERE
REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE
THAT CONVICTION
WOULD BRING.”
COVER STORY
32
Asia’s Top 50
Largest Law
Firms 2015
Baker & McKenzie,
Clifford Chance,
Linklaters, Mayer
Brown and Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer
are the five largest
international law firms in
Asia, with Dacheng Law
Offices, Beijing Yingke
Law Firm, Zhong Yin Law
Firm, Kim & Chang and
DeHeng Law Offices the
largest Asian firms.
Arlene M. Maneja,
Sycip, Salazar, Hernandez & Gatmaitan
46
FE ATURES
Choppy waters
18
The shipping industry has been hit hard
by the global commodities meltdown,
with two dry bulkers seeking bankruptcy
protection in September and Maersk
recently cutting its proit forecast. But there
is still a reasonable amount of work to
keep shipping lawyers busy, inds Ranajit
Dam. With additional reporting by Aaron
Sheldrick, Keith Wallis and Ole Mikkelsen
2016: An offshore view
Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest
economy, has been stuck in a rut ever since
the political unrest there began more than
two years ago. The military junta, in power
since May last year, has been attempting to
revive the economy with mixed results, but
there’s still enough work to keep lawyers
50
In the irst part of a series of innovations
disrupting the legal profession, Ranajit
Dam looks at how cloud-based legal
management software is revolutionising
the way litigation and arbitration are being
conducted.
20
46
Following some two decades of efforts, the
Philippines inally enacted its Competition
Law earlier this year. Ranajit Dam speaks
to local lawyers about the impact it is
expected to have. With additional reporting
by Manuel Mogato
Silver linings
busy, inds Ranajit Dam. With additional
reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak
In cloud we trust
The offshore legal industry looks back on
some of the key legal and business trends
of 2015, and how these will shape and
inluence the year to come. By Chris Horton
Cartel crackdown
1
48
‘The key things are adaptability,
hustle and grit’
54
Yong Kai Wong, managing director and
head of legal and compliance at CITIC
Capital, was included in ALB’s Asia 40
Under 40 for 2015 as well as a joint winner
of the of the In-House Lawyer of the Year
Award at The Macallan ALB Hong Kong
Law Awards 2015. He speaks to Ranajit
Dam about how his career has been so far,
what’s it like to manage an in-house legal
team, and the things that most inspire him.
The Macallan ALB Hong Kong
Law Awards 2015
Mayer Brown JSM and Citigroup stood
out from the crowd at The Macallan ALB
Hong Kong Law Awards on Sept. 11, taking
home the Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year
and In-House Team of the Year awards,
respectively.
NEWS
BRIEFS
—
—
—
—
—
—
56
The Big Story
League Tables
Deals Spotlight
News
Regional Update
Appointments
3
4
6
10
14
16
EVENTS
IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
—
Hong Kong
70
CONFERENCE
—
SE Asia Project Finance
72
2
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER
Amantha Chia
[email protected]
MANAGING EDITOR
Ranajit Dam
[email protected]
DEPUTY EDITOR
Kanishk Verghese
[email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Eileen Ang
[email protected]
JOURNALIST
Shangjing Li
[email protected]
COPY EDITOR
Karuna Jainpalli
[email protected]
CONTRIBUTOR
Chris Horton
SENIOR DESIGNER
John Agra
[email protected]
TRAFFIC / CIRCULATION MANAGER
Rozidah Jambari
[email protected]
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Shyanne Chen
Advertising Sales Manager
(Indonesia and Malaysia)
(65) 6870 3253
[email protected]
BIG
IS BEAUTIFUL
A
ccording to the ALB Asia Top 50 Largest Law Firms Rankings 2015, there are
now an astounding eight irms in the region with 1,000 lawyers or more – and
not all of them are Chinese, with Korea’s Kim & Chang slotting into fourth
place. Numbers across the region are also healthy: Deacons, Hong Kong’s
largest irm, has more than 200 lawyers; ive Japanese irms have more than 300;
Singapore’s Big Four all have upwards of 275. Even countries like Malaysia, Indonesia
and the Philippines have irms with over 100 lawyers.
This is more than just an ego-bolstering vanity exercise. The needs of clients – and
the clients themselves – are diverse, and as the market grows increasingly competitive,
in-house buyers of legal services will seek eficiencies and cost-saving through “onestop shops” as opposed to irms specialising in just one or two practice areas. As a
result, the war for talent will only get more heated, as irms try to both attract and retain
the best lawyers. And that in turn can only mean better legal services and more client
satisfaction in the long run.
Henry Cheng
Account Manager (Hong Kong, Korea)
(852) 2847 2016
[email protected]
Yvonne Cheung
Account Director (China)
(852) 2847 2003
[email protected]
Amy Sim
Sales Manager (Japan, Singapore, Taiwan)
(65) 6870 3348
[email protected]
RANAJIT DAM
Managing Editor
Asian Legal Business
Thomson Reuters
[email protected]
Sardor Yangibayev
Sales Executive
(Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
(65) 6870 3190
[email protected]
SENIOR EVENTS MANAGER
Julian Chiew
[email protected]
SENIOR AWARDS AND OPERATIONS MANAGER
Tracy Li
[email protected]
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS is available by subscription. Please visit WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM for details.
Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission
of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as ALB can accept no responsibility for loss.
MCI (P) 178/01/2015
ISSN 0219 – 6875
KDN PPS 1793/07/2013(025520)
THOMSON REUTERS
18 Science Park Drive Singapore 118229 / T (65) 6775 5088 / F (65) 6333 0900
10/F, Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong / T (852) 3762 3269 / F (852) 2154 6425
www.thomsonreuters.com
BRIEFS
11.2015
3
INSIDE LEAGUE TABLES 4 / DEALS 6 / NEWS 10 / REGIONAL UPDATES 14 / APPOINTMENTS 16
THE BIG STORY
Sobering lessons
NEVER MIND THE MISTRIAL – THE DEWEY CASE SHOWS THE
LEGAL INDUSTRY REALLY NEEDS TO START LOOKING INWARDS
By REYNOLDS HOLDING with Reuters Breakingviews
F
ormer leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf
may skate, but law firms are on
thin ice. A New York jury couldn’t
decide whether the defunct legal
shop’s bosses cheated lenders with dodgy
accounting. Prosecutors blew it, but the
case highlights the bloat, greed and intransigence at many big firms.
Manhattan’s district attorney’s office
didn’t walk away empty-handed. Seven
Dewey employees pleaded guilty to fooling creditors with accounting tricks. Yet
prosecutors failed to prove the firm’s former chairman, executive director and chief
financial officer knew of the misconduct,
leading to a mistrial on the major charges.
A redo is unlikely, given the trial consumed
five months of jurors’ time.
It’s unclear whether the alleged wrongdoing was even illegal. Backdating checks,
counting partner contributions as revenue
and other shenanigans may cross the line
but don’t stray far from typical numbercrunching methodologies. Few rules govern
law-firm accounting, and criminal charges
of breaking them look like overkill.
Dewey’s leaders were, however, guilty of
egregious judgment. In 2007, they merged
two respected firms – Dewey Ballantine
and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae –
into a 1,300-attorney behemoth meant to
compete with the best but crippled by clash-
ing cultures. Superstar partners were lured
from rivals with guaranteed compensation.
Home-grown grunts fled when the recession
brought pay cuts and IOUs. Management
borrowed some $250 million – on the basis
of allegedly fraudulent financials – and
ended up bankrupting the place.
Dewey’s conduct was extreme but not
that unusual. Some 70 law firms have
merged in 2015, more than during the first
three quarters of any year in almost a decade, according to consultancy Altman Weil.
Dentons and China’s Dacheng combined to
become a 6,600-attorney giant. Poaching
of rainmaking partners is rampant, though
large-firm debt is down, according to Citi
Private Bank.
Yet bigger is anything but better for
clients seeking lower fees, personal attention and conflict-free counsel. More corporate work is going in-house. Do-it-yourself
shops like LegalZoom, attorney networks
like Rimon and rent-a-lawyer services including De Novo Legal have stolen lowerend business.
These developments won’t persuade
boards to entrust major cases to anyone
but the Cravaths and Skaddens of the world.
But even those firms must change. The
Dewey trial’s message: Only the nimble
and tech-savvy will escape a harsh verdict
from clients.
MISTRIAL DECLARED
The judge overseeing the criminal case
against three former executives of defunct U.S. law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf
declared a mistrial following over three
weeks of jury deliberations.
The jury sent a note to the court
saying for the third time it was deadlocked on the major counts against
former Dewey Chairman Steven Davis,
Executive Director Stephen DiCarmine
and Chief Financial Officer Joel Sanders,
including grand larceny, scheme to defraud and violating New York’s securities
law, the Martin Act.
The three defendants were accused
of using illegal accounting adjustments
to mask the firm’s teetering finances
between 2008 and 2012 and convince
lenders and investors, including Bank
of America Corp and HSBC Holdings
Plc that the law firm was still healthy.
Jurors issued partial verdicts in the
case in the preceding two weeks, acquitting all three defendants on several lesser counts of falsifying business records.
Davis, DiCarmine and Sanders still
face related civil charges brought by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They will likely have a harder time
defending their case against the SEC,
which faces a lower burden of proof.
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
4
NORTH ASIA LEAGUE TABLES
CHINA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
HONG KONG ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
FANGDA PARTNERS
FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER
VALUE
($mln)
VALUE
($mln)
DEALS: 53 MARKET SHARE: 8.4
RANK
VALUE
($MLN)
LEGAL ADVISOR
DEALS: 19 MARKET SHARE: 54.7
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
RANK
LEGAL ADVISOR
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
2
King & Wood Mallesons
24,136.7
47
4.9
2
Linklaters
64,610.3
14
28.1
3
Skadden
24,042.7
29
4.9
3
Skadden
50,482.2
5
22.0
4
Grandall Law Firm
20,296.6
41
4.2
4
Guantao Law Firm
46,115.1
2
20.1
5
Freshields Bruckhaus Deringer
19,636.6
14
4.0
5
Stikeman Elliott
45,823.8
4
19.9
6
Jingtian & Gongcheng
18,332.1
15
3.8
6*
Allens
45,410.8
1
19.8
7
Kirkland & Ellis
16,880.5
12
3.5
6*
Bennett Jones
45,410.8
1
19.8
8
Jun He Law Ofices
16,310.4
15
3.3
8
Baker & McKenzie
17,598.7
8
7.7
9
Clifford Chance
12,811.2
11
2.6
9
Herbert Smith Freehills
17,505.7
8
7.6
10
Linklaters
12,511.6
8
2.6
10
Allen & Overy
12,092.7
5
5.3
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
JAPAN ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
SOUTH KOREA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
KIM & CHANG
MORI HAMADA & MATSUMOTO
VALUE
($mln)
VALUE
($mln)
DEALS: 89 MARKET SHARE: 60.6
DEALS: 93 MARKET SHARE: 18.5
RANK
RANK
LEGAL ADVISOR
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
LEGAL ADVISOR
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
45.9
2
Bae Kim & Lee
33,904.1
42
2
Debevoise & Plimpton
17,302.2
6
14.7
3
Lee & Ko
23,419.6
63
31.7
3
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
15,490.5
4
13.2
4
Herbert Smith Freehills
17,664.9
2
23.9
4
Sullivan & Cromwell
14,726.9
10
12.6
5
Yulchon LLC
13,039.6
32
17.7
5
Skadden
14,480.0
6
12.3
6*
WongPartnership LLP
11,238.8
1
15.2
6
Freshields Bruckhaus Deringer
14,155.4
9
12.1
6*
Gilbert + Tobin
11,238.8
1
15.2
7
Nishimura & Asahi
13,466.5
49
11.5
6*
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
11,238.8
1
15.2
8
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
11,041.8
65
9.4
9
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
7,536.3
2
10.2
9
Sidley Austin LLP
10,611.8
3
9.0
10*
Freshields Bruckhaus Deringer
6,426.1
1
8.7
10
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
7,540.9
2
6.4
10*
Ropes & Gray
6,426.1
1
8.7
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
Series1
390
Series2
358.8
3,500
340
290
240
190
140
3,000
273.8
202.6
110.7
114.1
126.2
123.6
146.7
95.3
113.6
135.7
93.8
117.4
123.2
143.9
143.3
169.6
192.6
192.2
90
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
40
No. of Transactions
Rank Value US$ Billion
ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND
0
1Q 11
3Q 11
Notes:
1Q 12
3Q 12
1Q 13
3Q 13
1Q 14
3Q 14
1Q 15
3Q 15
NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn
deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan. Data range is from 1 January to 26 October 2015
Data accurate from 1 January to 26 October 2015
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
BRIEFS
5
SOUTHEAST ASIA LEAGUE TABLES
SINGAPORE ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
MALAYSIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK;
NAUTADUTILH
ALLEN & GLEDHILL
VALUE
($mln)
VALUE
($mln)
DEALS: 23 MARKET SHARE: 33.1
RANK
LEGAL ADVISOR
DEALS: 1 MARKET SHARE: 7.5
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
RANK
LEGAL ADVISOR
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
2
WongPartnership LLP
5,522.2
16
13.0
3
Baker & McKenzie
781.9
6
7.1
3*
Hogan Lovells
4,550.0
1
10.7
4
Herbert Smith Freehills
685.0
3
6.2
4.6
3*
Morrison & Foerster
4,550.0
1
10.7
5
Hogan Lovells
508.5
2
3*
White & Case LLP
4,550.0
1
10.7
6
Allens
482.6
2
4.4
6
Latham & Watkins
3,336.3
5
7.8
7*
PwC Legal LLP
464.3
1
4.2
4.2
7
Skadden
3,242.2
1
7.6
7*
Linklaters
464.3
2
8
Shook Lin & Bok LLP
2,939.9
11
6.9
9
Rajah & Tann LLP
446.8
1
4.1
9*
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
2,235.0
1
5.2
10
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
222.1
1
2.0
9*
Debevoise & Plimpton
2,235.0
2
5.2
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
INDIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
MIDDLE EAST ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS
LATHAM & WATKINS
AZB & PARTNERS
VALUE
($mln)
VALUE
($mln)
DEALS: 5 MARKET SHARE: 39.4
DEALS: 78 MARKET SHARE: 29.5
RANK
LEGAL ADVISOR
RANK
VALUE
($MLN)
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
VALUE
($MLN)
LEGAL ADVISOR
DEALS
MARKET
SHARE
2
Weil Gotshal & Manges
41,082.4
3
38.5
3
Kirkland & Ellis
41,040.5
3
38.4
2
Khaitan & Co
2,504.9
36
9.2
4*
Tulchinsky Stern & Co
40,500.0
1
37.9
3
Sullivan & Cromwell
2,294.4
2
8.4
4*
Debevoise & Plimpton
40,500.0
1
37.9
4
Davis Polk & Wardwell
2,230.1
3
8.2
4*
Sullivan & Cromwell
40,500.0
1
37.9
5
Luthra & Luthra Law Ofices
2,173.3
18
8.0
7
Linklaters
15,068.6
9
14.1
6
Ashurst
2,156.1
1
7.9
8
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
14,345.7
2
13.4
7
Amarchand Mangaldas
1,910.7
15
7.0
9
8
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
1,574.6
21
5.8
10*
9
Weil Gotshal & Manges
1,507.4
2
5.5
10*
10
J Sagar Associates
1,478.1
36
5.4
10*
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
Ashurst
12,107.4
2
11.3
Slaughter & May
11,082.0
2
10.4
Webber Wentzel
11,082.0
4
10.4
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
11,082.0
1
10.4
(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)
ANY SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA & MIDDLE EAST INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND
Series2
81.2
64.7
47.3
36.4
1Q 11
64.8
62.8
53.8
3Q 11
42.4
81.1
53.3
49.0
45.6
46.5
43.1
46.6
1Q 14
3Q 14
1Q 15
35.8
31.9
43.0
25.2
1Q 12
3Q 12
1Q 13
3Q 13
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
No. of Transactions
Rank Value US$ Billion
Series1
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
3Q 15
NOTES:
League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn
Notes:
deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. Geographic
coverage includes SOUTH EAST ASIA: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste; SOUTH ASIA: India, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka;
MIDDLE EAST: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen. Data range is from 1 January to 26 October 2015
6
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE
DEAL NAME
$2.5 BILLION
IPO
CHINA HUARONG ASSET
MANAGEMENT’S HONG KONG IPO
• TheIPOhasalreadysecured
$1.62 billion in commitments from
cornerstone investors, including
property developer Sino-Ocean
Land Holdings and State Grid Corp
of China.
• ProceedsfromtheIPOwillbe
used to develop Huarong’s
distressed assets management and
investment business.
$5 BILLION
Medco Energi’s
acquisition of the
Indonesian assets of
Lundin Petroleum
China Huarong
Asset Management’s
Hong Kong IPO
Unisplendour’s
proposal to invest
in U.S. data storage
business Western
Digital
M&A
REYNOLDS AMERICAN’S SALE OF
ITS NATURAL AMERICAN SPIRIT
CIGARETTE BUSINESS OUTSIDE
THE U.S. TO JAPAN TOBACCO
• The deal will include Natural
American Spirit’s associated
trademarks and business units
mainly in Japan and Europe, where
operations will go on as usual.
• JapanTobacco,33.4percentowned
by the Japanese government, has
been steadily making overseas
acquisitions as it competes against
Philip Morris International and
British American Tobacco.
Parkway Pantai’s
proposed JV with
Shanghai Broad Ocean
Investments to set up
a tertiary hospital in
Chengdu, and a lease
agreement between
the JV and Chengdu
Ruifeng Real Estate
Development Co
Reynolds American’s
sale of its Natural
American Spirit
cigarette business
outside the U.S. to
Japan Tobacco
$15 BILLION
M&A
MERGER BETWEEN MEITUAN.COM
AND DIANPING HOLDING
• Alibaba-backedMeituanand
Tencent afiliate Dianping are
teaming up to create China’s
dominant player in offering services
such as inding deals at local
restaurants, booking cinema tickets
through smartphones, as well
as group-buying of coupons and
accessing ratings, similar to those
offered by Groupon and Yelp.
• Themergedcompanycouldbe
valued at $15 billion or higher,
marking the largest merger in
China’s Internet industry based on
combined valuations.
IMAX China’s
Hong Kong IPO
Merger between
Meituan.com and
Dianping Holding
VALUE
(US$ MLN)
DEAL TYPE
Indonesia
N/A
M&A/
Energy
Jones Day
Indonesia
N/A
M&A/
Energy
Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer
Hong Kong,
China
2,500
IPO
Kirkland & Ellis
Hong Kong,
China
2,500
IPO
Haiwen & Partners
Hong Kong,
China
2,500
IPO
King & Wood
Mallesons
Hong Kong,
China
2,500
IPO
Cleary Gottlieb Steen
& Hamilton
China, U.S.
3,780
M&A
Hogan Lovells
China, U.S.
3,780
M&A
Zhong Lun Law Firm
China, U.S.
3,780
M&A
Allen & Gledhill
Singapore, China
N/A
Joint
Venture
Commerce & Finance
Law Ofices
Singapore, China
N/A
Joint
Venture
WongPatnership
Singapore, China
N/A
Joint
Venture
Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer
Japan, U.S.
5,000
M&A
Jones Day
Japan, U.S.
5,000
M&A
Freshields Bruckhaus
Deringer
China,
Hong Kong
248
IPO
Shearman & Sterling
China,
Hong Kong
248
IPO
Commerce & Finance
Law Ofices
China,
Hong Kong
248
IPO
Haiwen & Partners
China,
Hong Kong
248
IPO
Maples and Calder
China,
Hong Kong
248
IPO
Davis Polk & Wardwell
China
15,000
M&A
Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom
China
15,000
M&A
Han Kun Law Offices
China
15,000
M&A
Tian Yuan Law Firm
China
15,000
M&A
FIRM
JURISDICTION
Gibson, Dunn
& Crutcher
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
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: Connect with Asian Legal Business
SPONSORED ARTICLE
7
AZMI & ASSOCIATES
PRIVATE FUND IN LABUAN
Mutual funds in Labuan are regulated under Labuan
Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 (“LFSSA”) and
Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities Act 2010
(“LIFSSA”).
Serina Abdul Samad
Partner, Capital & Debt Market,
Azmi & Associates
(603) 2118 5000 Ext 5003
[email protected]
Moo Eng Thing
Partner, Capital & Debt Market,
Azmi & Associates
(603) 2118 5000 Ext 5018
[email protected]
WHAT IS MUTUAL FUND?
According to the LFSSA, mutual fund or fund is deined as:
“a Labuan company, a corporation incorporated under the
laws of any recognised country or jurisdiction, a partnership, a
protected cell company, a foundation, or a unit trust which—
(a) collects and pools funds for the purpose of collective
investment with the aim of spreading investment risk;
and
(b) issues interests in a mutual fund which entitles the
holder to redeem his investments that is agreed upon by
the parties and receive an amount computed by reference
to the value of a proportionate interest in the whole or
part of the net assets of the aforesaid types of entities,
as the case may be, and includes an umbrella fund
whose interests in a mutual fund or units are split into a
number of different class funds or subfunds and whose
participants are entitled to exchange rights in one part
for rights in another”.
When you invest in a mutual fund, you are pooling your
money together with other investors by buying units or
shares of the fund i.e. depending on whether the fund is set
up using a company, partnership, unit trust, etc.. The monies
pooled from you and other investors are then managed by a
portfolio manager who manages the fund on a day-to-day
basis, deciding when to buy and sell investments according
to the investment objectives of the fund. Funds are
structured with varied investment objectives. Certain funds
will only invest in Shariah compliant companies, Asean
companies (but exclude debt instruments), high growth but
well-established businesses, Asia Paciic region companies
(with majority positions in buy-outs), European companies
(in which positive “transformation” can be achieved) whilst
others invest in all sectors with key sectors focus (but
exclude certain sectors).
There are two (2) types of mutual funds – Private Fund and
Public Fund.
Private Fund is not offered to the general public and is a
mutual fund (a) whose securities are owned or held by (i) not
more than 50 investors where the irst time investment of
each of such investors is not less than RM250,000 or such
other sum as may be prescribed by the Labuan Financial
Services Authority (“LFS Authority”) or the equivalent in
any foreign currency; or (ii) any number of investors where
the irst-time investment of each of such investors is not less
than RM500,000 or such other sum as may be prescribed
by the LFS Authority or the equivalent in any foreign
currency; (b) which is designated as a private fund under
regulations made under the LFSSA.
Public Fund, on the other hand, is a mutual fund other than
a Private Fund.
A: 14th Floor, Menara Keck Seng
203 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
T: (603) 2118 5000
E: [email protected]
W: www.azmilaw.com
WHY PRIVATE FUND IN LABUAN IS A VIABLE OPTION?
(1) Comprehensive legislations and guidelines, i.e. the
LFSSA, LIFSSA and Guidelines On The Establishment
Of Labuan Mutual Funds Including Islamic Mutual
Funds are in place.
(2) Flexible private fund structure where the private fund
can be in the form of a Labuan company, a corporation
incorporated under the laws of any recognised country
or jurisdiction, a partnership, a protected cell company,
a foundation, or a unit trust.
(3)
No prior approval/consent of the LFS Authority is
required prior to the private fund carrying on business
or arranging or administering its affairs. However, a
private fund, prior to its launching, is required to notify
the LFS Authority in writing setting out the details of
the scope and nature of its business.
Further, there is a need to lodge an information
memorandum through either one of these licensed
entities, i.e. Labuan trust company, Labuan bank,
Labuan investment bank or Labuan fund manager.
A one-off lodgement fee of RM2,000 is required to
be paid to the LFS Authority for every information
memorandum lodged with the LFS Authority.
(4) Fund manager carrying on fund management activities
is not required to be licensed.
(5) Fund administrator carrying on fund administration
activities is not required to be licensed.
(6) Has access to the beneits offered under Double Tax
Agreements entered into by Malaysia.
(7)
No withholding tax on dividends.
(8) No stamp duty on instruments related to Labuan
business activities1.
(9) Private fund carrying out non-trading activities2 is not
subject to tax; whilst, if carrying out trading activity3,
the private fund has the option of either paying a lat
tax rate of RM20,000 or 3% of net proit as per audited
accounts. If the private fund carries out both trading
and non-trading activities, it is deemed to be a trading
activity and same tax treatment as those undertaking a
trading activity.
(10) Income tax is exempted in Malaysia for:
• DividendsreceivedbyLabuanentities;
• DividendsreceivedfromLabuanentitieswhichare
paid, credited or distributed out of income derived
from a Labuan business activity or income exempt
from tax;
• DistributionsreceivedfromLabuantrustsand
foundations (including both Islamic) by the
beneiciaries; and
• DistributionsofproitsbyLabuanpartnerships
(including Islamic partnerships).
1
“Labuan business activity” generally means a Labuan trading
or a Labuan non-trading activity carried on in, from or through
Labuan in a currency other than Malaysian currency, by a Labuan
entity with non-resident or with another Labuan entity.
2
An activity relating to the holding of investments in securities,
stock, shares, loans, deposits or any other properties by a Labuan
entity on its own behalf.
3
Includes banking, insurance, trading, management, licensing,
shipping operations or any other activity which is not a non-trading
activity.
8
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE
$1.5 BILLION
M&A
COMCAST CORP’S AGREEMENT TO
ACQUIRE A MAJORITY STAKE IN
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN
• Comcast,whichownsUniversal
Studios and Universal Theme Parks
through its NBCUniversal unit,
will buy 51 percent of USJ Co – the
holding company for the theme
park operator – from Goldman
Sachs, Korean private equity irm
MBK, U.S. hedge fund Owl Creek
Asset Management and other
owners.
• ThedealmarksComcast’sbiggest
investment outside the U.S.
$4.6 BILLION
DEAL NAME
FIRM
JURISDICTION
VALUE
(US$ MLN)
DEAL TYPE
Comcast Corp’s
agreement to acquire
a majority stake in
Universal Studios
Japan
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Japan, U.S.
1,500
M&A
Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer
Japan, U.S.
1,500
M&A
Cravath, Swaine
& Moore
Hong Kong, China
2,000
IPO
Slaughter and May
Hong Kong, China
2,000
IPO
Sullivan & Cromwell
Hong Kong, China
2,000
IPO
Haiwen & Partners
Hong Kong, China
2,000
IPO
King & Wood Mallesons
Hong Kong, China
2,000
IPO
J. Sagar Associates
India
184
M&A
Khaitan & Co
India
184
M&A
O’Melveny & Myers
China
4,600
M&A
Simpson Thacher
& Bartlett
China
4,600
M&A
Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom
China
4,600
M&A
Fangda Partners
China
4,600
M&A
Conyers Dill
& Pearman
China
4,600
M&A
Walkers
China
4,600
M&A
Mayer Brown JSM
China
N/A
Restructuring
Wachtell, Lipton,
Rosen & Katz
China
N/A
Restructuring
Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer
China
36,000
M&A
Sullivan & Cromwell
China
36,000
M&A
AnJie Law Firm
China
36,000
M&A
Commerce & Finance
Law Offices
China
36,000
M&A
Haiwen & Partners
China
36,000
M&A
Zhong Lun Law Firm
China
36,000
M&A
China Reinsurance
(Group) Corporation’s
Hong Kong IPO
Reliance Capital’s sale
of a 14 percent stake in
Reliance Capital Asset
Management to Nippon
Life Insurance
M&A
ALIBABA GROUP’S OFFER TO
ACQUIRE YOUKU TUDOU
• Alibaba will buy the roughly fourifths of Youku Tudou that it does
not already own for $26.60 per
American depositary share, and will
be the sole owner of the company if
the non-binding proposal succeeds.
• ThedealmarksAlibaba’seffort
to broaden its portfolio into the
ilm industry, as it aims to make
U.S ilms and TV shows available
to more than a third of China’s
population.
$36 BILLION
M&A
THE TRANSFER OF CHINA MOBILE,
CHINA UNICOM AND CHINA
TELECOM’S TELECOM TOWERS AND
ASSETS TO CHINA TOWER CORP
• Thethreetelcoswilltransfertowers
and related assets to China Tower
Corp.
• ChinaMobileowns38percent
of the joint venture, while China
Unicom and China Telecom have
28.1 and 27.9 percent, respectively.
The remaining 6 percent is held
by China Reform Corp., a stateowned assets holding company that
focuses on corporate governance.
Alibaba Group’s
offer to acquire
Youku Tudou
Yum! Brands’ plan to
spin off its China
restaurant operations
The transfer of
China Mobile,
China Unicom and
China Telecom’s
telecom towers
and assets to
China Tower Corp
10
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
NEWS
Kadir Andri
partners depart
to set up Malaysia
boutique
A
A woman walks past the Air Asia logo at its sales centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
AirAsia’s potential management-led
buyout faces headwinds
A
irAsia founder Tony Fernandes
may find it tough to take the
budget airline private due to
large funding needs as potential partners worry about a floundering
Malaysian economy and a weak regional
aviation market.
Reuters exclusively reported that AirAsia’s founders were talking to banks to
secure financing for a management-led
buyout, which could be launched this year.
Fernandes and his business partner Kamarudin Meranun, who together own about
19 percent of AirAsia through a holding firm,
would need about $800 million to take it
private, based on a 25 percent premium,
analysts said.
“We think it is a challenge to secure
financing,” Maybank analyst Mohshin Aziz
said in a report.
Fernandes founded AirAsia in 2001 with
two aircraft and it has since become Asia’s
largest budget airline with a fleet of over
170 Airbus jets serving Thailand, Indonesia,
Philippines and India.
But after the 2008 financial crisis and
the growth of Jetstar Asia and Lion Air,
AirAsia’s business has been hit.
AirAsia has come under scrutiny since
June when GMT Research issued a critical
report questioning its accounts and warned
of high debt levels, driving its shares down
to seven-year lows.
Fernandes has steadfastly backed AirAsia’s finances. He said in June the airline
could easily raise $1 billion by sale and
lease back of aircraft and that it had investments worth $500 million.
But AirAsia’s valuations are still cheaper
than smaller rivals. It is trading at less
than six times expected earnings for the
next twelve months, while Philippine rival
Cebu Air is trading at more than 7 times,
according to Thomson Reuters data.
“It would make one of Asia’s most overleveraged airlines even more leveraged,”
GMT’s founder Gillem Tulloch told Reuters,
referring to a possible debt-funded buyout.
Like its Asian peers, AirAsia’s sales are
largely in local currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit, which has lost 17 percent
this year, while costs are mostly in U.S.
dollars. AirAsia had net debt of 10.5 billion ringgit ($2.4 billion) as of June 2015.
“The founders may not have the financial muscle to launch a privatization bid
on their own, so a consortium together
with another airline or PE fund is more
likely,” said Jian Bo Gan, an analyst with
brokerage CLSA.
AirAsia said it had no knowledge of a
privatization.
drian Chair and Putri Norlisa Najib, two partners of Malaysia’s
Kadir Andri & Partners (KAAP),
are leaving to start a boutique
law firm called Putri Norlisa Chair (PNC
Law). The partners are being joined by
corporate associate Constance Low as well
as their respective teams.
PNC Law is expected to launch in October and will initially have 11 fee-earners.
Chair led the special projects and infrastructure unit at KAAP, and his experience
on domestic and cross-border transactions
included work at the government-to-government level.
Putri, who previously worked with Eversheds in London, has experience in cross-
REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad
border financing, with a particular focus
on acquisition finance, project finance and
maritime finance. She also has an advisory
practice.
The New York-qualified Low previously
worked with in Linklaters in New York
and London.
“We are sorry to see both Putri Norlisa
and Adrian leave and form the new firm together, but nonetheless we wish them well,”
said Julian Mahmud Hashim, a founder
partner of KAAP. “We remain confident as
the core corporate and banking partners
responsible for the accolades over the years
are still with KAAP. We are well placed to
continue what is a significant and trusted
brand for corporate and banking.”
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Oh-Ebashi opens
Nagoya ofice
O
saka-headquartered law firm
Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners has
launched an office in Nagoya, its
third in Japan and fourth overall.
Partners Motonobu Wakabayashi and
Shinji Hosono are the resident attorneys
at the new office, which will serve the
Chubu/Tokai region.
Other partners will be based both in
the firm’s Nagoya and Osaka offices: Takamitsu Shigetomi, who specialises in IP law;
Daisuke Mure, whose focus is labour law;
and Kagenori Sako, whose work mainly
covers antitrust law.
Oh-Ebashi also has offices in Tokyo
and Shanghai. According to the ALB Asia
Top 50, the firm currently has 118 lawyers,
including 41 partners.
BRIEFS
11
Thailand’s TOT told to seek up to
$2 bln compensation from AIS
T
hailand’s military government has
asked state-run telecoms operator
TOT to seek 72 billion baht ($1.99
billion) in compensation from a
telecoms firm founded by former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra over changes
to concession contracts.
TOT should seek the compensation from
Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) before its
contract expires on Sept 30, Information
and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Uttama Savanayana told reporters.
ICT ministry and TOT could be charged
with neglect of duty if they decide not to
take action, Uttama said.
TOT officials were not available for immediate comment.
An AIS official told Reuters the company
has complied with terms of the agreement
and the amendment was in compliance
with the law in the same practice as other
operators.
In 1990, TOT granted the 25-year contract to AIS, the country’s largest mobile
operator, for the right to operate a mobile
phone network.
In 2001, the government of former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, reduced the
concession fee for AIS’s prepaid services to
20 to 25 percent from 25 to 35 percent.
AIS and its parent, Intouch Holding
Pcl, formally known as Shin Corp, were
founded by Thaksin, who was ousted in a
coup in 2006.
AIS has upwards of 35 million customers.
It was founded in April 1986.
YOUR NEXT LEGAL JOB
PRIVATE PRACTICE / IN-HOUSE
Head Patent Attorney
(Singapore)
Debt Capital Markets Lawyer
(Hong Kong)
Legal Counsel
(Shanghai)
Head of Legal
(Tokyo)
A reputable law irm is seeking a
Head Patent Attorney to join its
renowned IP practice. You will be
responsible for leading a team and
building a thriving client portfolio.
A fast-growing, in-house banking
team has a new vacancy for a
Debt Capital Markets Lawyer.
A leading international
automotive group committed to
the design and production of hitech systems and components is
looking for a Legal Counsel.
A inancial services institution
is seeking a Head of Legal to
oversee legal entities in Japan.
Please contact Davey Li
at [email protected]
or on +86 21 2322 9619.
Please contact Caroline Law at
[email protected] or on
+813 3560 1784.
You will handle a portion of M&A,
private equity and ECM work.
You will oversee the drafting of
You will ideally be a mid-level
patent speciications and patent
lawyer, common law or possibly
prosecutions while working closely PRC qualiied, with 5-6 years
with the IP litigation team on patent of relevant post-qualiication
litigation. To be considered, you
experience. Candidates either
must be a registered Patent Agent
junior or senior in terms of
with excellent academic credentials post-qualiication experience will
from a technical specialism and
be considered, and applicants
have at least 10 years of relevant
direct from private practice are
experience.
welcome to apply. Written and
spoken Mandarin Chinese skills
Please contact Negeen Pejooh
as well as English and Cantonese
(Reg ID: R1547320) at
are essential.
[email protected] or
on +65 6303 0725.
Please contact Daryl Hodes
at [email protected]
or on +852 2521 1460.
You’ll report directly to a Hong
Kong based APAC General
You’ll work closely with the Legal Counsel, and manage a team
Director providing advice and
of 5 supporting the asset
counsel to assure consistency
management company, securities,
across the businesses in China.
trust bank and bank branch.
You’ll be drafting, checking
You’ll be admitted in Japan,
and inalising relevant legal
the US or a commonwealth
documents, as well as working
country and have at least 5 years
with the business on assigned
experience as Head/Deputy Head
projects in a professional manner. of a team within a leading
inancial services institution in
You must have license/bar
Japan. High caliber bengoshi
to practice law in China with
candidates with 7 years PQE
excellent English and Chinese
at a leading Japanese irm will
communication skills with at
also be considered. Fluency
least 5 years of post-qualiication in English and Japanese is
relevant experience.
essential.
hays.com.sg | hays.com.hk | hays.cn | hays.co.jp
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
12
NEWS
Nixon Peabody, CWL Partners
consolidate Hong Kong operations
U
.S. firm Nixon Peabody has consolidated its Hong Kong operations by teaming up with local
firm CWL Partners.
The two firms, which have been formally associated since 2010, have formed
a new entity in Hong Kong called Nixon
Peabody CWL.
With more than 30 lawyers and legal
professionals, the combined firm offers
a wide range of legal services, including
intellectual property, disputes, investment
fund formation, M&A, Hong Kong IPOs and
corporate finance, as well as media and
entertainment matters.
CWL’s managing partner Kenneth Wong
will retain his role at Nixon Peabody CWL,
which is distinct and legally independent
from Nixon Peabody LLP, but is included
in its brand platform.
“As our clients business needs evolve
in Asia, we have a robust team on the
ground in a major financial center ready
to help our clients tackle a broad scope
of transactional and litigation challenges,”
said David Cheng, chair of Nixon Peabody’s
China & Asia Pacific practice, in a statement.
Headquartered in Boston, Nixon Peabody also has offices in Albany, Buffalo,
Chicago, Long Island, Los Angeles, Manchester, New York, Providence, Rochester,
San Francisco and Silicon Valley in the
U.S., to go with its presence in London,
Shanghai and Hong Kong.
It was formed following a merger of two
law firms in 1999.
Drew & Napier
expands IP practice
to Vietnam with
Hanoi launch
D
rew & Napier has opened an
intellectual property office in Hanoi, Vietnam under the name of
Drewmarks.
The new office will handle all aspects
of trademark, patent, copyright and design
registration work.
Drew & Napier currently has the largest
IP practice in Singapore, with the department accounting for 20 to 25 percent of
all patents filed in the country.
The firm’s IP Practice ranked in Tier 1
across all areas in ALB’s 2015 IP Rankings
published earlier this year.
MICHAEL PAGE LEGAL
Legal Counsel
Legal Counsel
Legal & Compliance Counsel
› Technology leader
› Generalist role
› FinTech startup
› Regional exposure
› Regional exposure
› Reports to the CEO
Our client is a reputable technology group offering a wide
range of innovative products. Reporting to the Head of
Legal, you will be in charge of providing legal advice and
support to the multiple business units. This encompasses
reviewing and negotiating a wide range of agreements ,
as wellas developing strategies to manage risks. You are
a Singapore qualiied lawyer with at least 5 of years Post
Qualiied Experience gained in private practice and/ or inhouse within a well-established company. Prior exposure
to the technology industry and good interpersonal skills are
required.
Our client is a highly successful organisation who has
found its own niche and footing in the space they operate
in. As a result of expanding business needs due to growth,
they are currently seeking an independent Legal Counsel
to join them. You will be responsible for the full legal
support and advice to the region in the areas of drafting,
reviewing and negotiating contracts, providing advice in
relation to corporate matters, and ensuring compliance
with regulatory requirements. You are ideally a Singapore
qualiied lawyer with at least 3 years of experience gained
in a reputable multinational and are proicient in spoken
Mandarin.
Our client is a FinTech startup which has gained
tremendous success since its inception. As part of their
expansion, they have decided to open an ofice here in
Singapore and are looking for a dynamic individual to
join them. You will participate in the establishment of the
Singapore ofice, including getting relevant licenses and
permits. You will also be responsible for compliance work,
market research, business development, and will provide
legal advice regionally. A resourceful individual with a keen
sense of commercial acumen, you are a law graduate with
at least 4 years of legal/ compliance experience.
Please contact Isis Descormiers (Reg. no: R1440080)
quoting ref: H2974940 or visit our website.
Please contact Lay-Hoon Johnson (Reg. no: R1108753)
quoting ref: H2972680 or visit our website.
Please contact Lay-Hoon Johnson (Reg. no: R1108753)
quoting ref: H3011280 or visit our website.
To apply for any of the above positions, please go to www.michaelpage.com.sg quoting the
reference number, or contact the relevant consultant on +65 6533 2777 for further details.
Get Connected. Stay Ahead.
Specialists in legal recruitment
Legal
www.michaelpage.com.sg
#15714 | Michael Page International Pte Ltd (EA Licence No.98C5473) is part of the PageGroup.
Registered Ofice: One Rafles Place, #09-61 Ofice Tower Two, Singapore 048616
SPECIALISTS IN LEGAL RECRUITMENT
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SPONSORED ARTICLE
13
FREDRIK J. PINAKUNARY LAW OFFICES
‘OUR MAIN PRINCIPLES ARE INTEGRITY, KNOWLEDGE, AND RELIABILITY’
Fredrik J. Pinakunary
Founder/Partner
A: Office 8 Building, 17th floor,
Jl Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53
T: +62 21 2933-2990
M: +62 81 6194 8290
E: [email protected]
W: www.fjp-law.com
ALB: You established Fredrik J. Pinakunary Law Offices in
2008. What would you say have been some of the firm’s
key achievements till date?
FJP: We believe in an honest practice and conducting all
of our services in accordance with the prevailing laws and
regulations. With this approach, we have managed to attract
foreign and domestic companies, who also apply the same
principles that we adhere to. Now our irm is recognized as
one of Indonesia’s leading litigation law irms, located in
a most strategic and prestigious location in Jakarta. Here
are some cases which I regard as some of the irm’s key
achievements till date, where we represented the client
named:
- Indonesia AirAsia in relation to a tort claim related to
aircraft crash QZ8501;
- The subsidiaries of Churchill Mining PLC in relation to a
tort claim;
- A subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation in relation to a tort
claim;
- Symrise AG, a public listed company on the German Stock
Exchange in relation to a tort claim;
- A subsidiary of Tata Power Company Ltd in relation to a
tort claim;
- Subsidiaries of Qatar Telecommunications in relation to a
class action claim;
-
PT Semen Gresik (Persero) Tbk in relation to an
administrative and anti monopoly claim;
ALB: What are some of the firm’s key practices today?
What have been the main growth areas in the past year or
two?
FJP: In the past two years, our irm has been heavily involved
in commercial litigation cases, such as a lawsuit led by the
legal heirs of the Indonesian debtor against our client, a
foreign company which lend more than $20 million to the
debtor. In aviation matters, our irm has not only represented
aviation companies in court hearings but also dealt with
the legal heirs of the victims of aircraft incidents such as Air
Asia and Trigana Air and provided them with compensation
available under law.
ALB: How would you describe your strategy for growing
the firm?
FJP: We will keep implementing our main principles i.e.
integrity, knowledge, and reliability. We believe that God’s
favor and grace will be key to our irm’s growth. Our irm
will be like a tree planted by the water with its roots by the
stream, it does not fear when the heat comes; its leaves are
always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never
fails to bear fruit.
Dentons, Dacheng ink merger with Gadens and Rodyk
D
entons and Chinese firm Dacheng
Law Offices are on the cusp of
finalising a merger with Australian firm Gadens and Rodyk &
Davidson, Singapore’s oldest firm.
Partners at the firms are expected to
vote on the merger later this month. If
approved, the combination would create a
firm with more than 7,000 lawyers across
125 offices worldwide, with more than 500
lawyers in Australia and 200 in Singapore.
The proposed combination, which closely
follows Dentons’ merger agreements with
Dacheng in January and U.S. firm McKenna Long & Aldridge in April this year,
would strengthen the firms’ global legal
service offering, particularly in the Asia
Pacific region.
The merger would also help the firms
benefit from a number of economic initiatives that have surfaced in the region,
including the recently sealed free trade
agreement between Australia and China,
the Trans-Pacific Partnership, China’s ‘One
Belt, One Road’ policy, and the creation of
the ASEAN Economic Community.
“This combination is about capturing
talent for the benefit of our clients, and
doing so in a way that complements the
polycentric approach and innovative spirit
on which our firm was built,” said Elliott
Portnoy, Dentons’ global chief executive
officer, in a statement.
“In [Rodyk & Davidson and Gadens]
we recognise a similar ambition to bring
clients more, to challenge the accepted
and to add value in everything we do.”
“China has continued to steadily expand
its economic and trade relationships with
both Australia and Singapore,” said Jinquan
Xiao of Dacheng.
“Gadens and Rodyk offer the experience and quality our clients want in these
markets that will only continue to grow in
importance in China and beyond.”
If the merger is approved, the new firm’s
name will be ‘Dentons’ in English and all
other languages, and 大成in Chinese.
14
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
NEWS
REGIONAL UPDATE
SINGAPORE
ABS ENCOURAGES RESPONSIBLE FINANCING
O
n 8 October 2015, the Association of Banks in
Singapore (“ABS”) issued a set of guidelines on
responsible inancing (the “Guidelines”). The
Guidelines aim to encourage banks to adopt responsible
inancing practices in their business models.
The Guidelines have been issued amidst growing concerns over irresponsible practices by companies, which
have resulted in the severe haze in recent months.
Singapore banks have been subject to increasing scrutiny after claims arose that they may be inancing such
companies.
The Guidelines briely outline the minimum standards for
responsible inancing practices, but do not set out actual lending policies
and do not carry penalties. ABS has stated that the aim of the Guidelines
is only to provide a framework for banks to form their own internal policies, which should be implemented by the end of 2017.
1. Scope of Responsible Financing
The Guidelines focus on three main areas of concern under responsible
inancing – environmental, social and governance (“ESG”), and list
out the major issues faced in each of the areas.
2. Industries at Risk
Eight industrial sectors deemed to be at higher risk of irresponsible
practices have been highlighted within the Guidelines, including the
agriculture, chemicals, forestry and energy (in particular, oil, gas
and coal) sectors. Banks are to take them into consideration when
formulating their ESG policies.
3. Guiding Principles
As a start, ABS has proposed that banks in Singapore incorporate the
following three guiding principles into their business models:
(i) Disclosure of their commitment to support and implement responsible inancing by publishing their policy framework in their Annual
Reports and on their websites;
(ii) Allocation of resources to implement their responsible inancing
policies and internal governance controls to ensure that there are
proper procedures for responsible inancing; and
(iii) Raising of the staff’s awareness and building of management
capacity through internal staff training to inculcate “an ESG mindset”,
and working with relevant organisations and regulatory bodies to
conduct seminars for bank staff to better manage prevailing issues
and trends.
The issue of sustainable development has been brought to the forefront
in recent years due to the recurring haze problem in the region from the
agricultural practice of burning forests in Indonesia. While the Guidelines
are not prescriptive, they are a step in the right direction towards changing corporate culture and banks in Singapore should ensure that they
keep up by incorporating ESG factors into their credit-decision processes.
MS. CHOO SONG PING
Legal Associate (Corporate Practice)
T: (65) 6322 2207
F: (65) 6534 0833
E: [email protected]
Loo & Partners LLP
143 Cecil Street, Level Ten, GB Building
Singapore 069542
www.loopartners.com.sg
MS. CANDICE YONG
Legal Associate (Corporate Practice)
T: (65) 6322 2230
F: (65) 6534 0833
E: [email protected]
Japan’s TMI, Malaysia’s Chooi
& Company in alliance
M
alaysia’s Chooi & Company and Tokyo-headquartered TMI Associates – the fifth-biggest law firm in
Japan – have teamed up to expand their services
and capitalise on the long-standing bilateral ties
between the two countries.
Christopher Leong, Chooi’s managing partner, told ALB
via an email interview that the collaboration is “the first of
its kind” between a Malaysian and a Japanese law firm. TMI
and Chooi’s formal association comes after the relationship
between the two countries was elevated to a “strategic partnership,” according to a May 2015 joint statement from both
prime ministers.
Leong also pointed out that Japan is the biggest foreign
investor in Malaysia and has been one of its top three trading
partners. “Currently, there are approximately 1,500 Japanese
companies operating in Malaysia. Japanese business and investment in Malaysia presently ranges from automobile, electronics,
logistics, transportation, health, education, telecommunications,
infrastructure and financial services,” he added.
The Chooi-TMI alliance comes amid the expected wealth
of changes and opportunities that are set to be brought by
the soon-to-be launched ASEAN Economic Community. “The
association provides us both with the ability to meet increasingly complex and international demands of the legal market
place across Asia,” said Leong.
Carey Olsen opens irst Asia
ofice in Singapore
O
ffshore law firm Carey Olsen has opened its first
office in Asia with a launch in Singapore.
The Singapore office is led by managing partner
Linda Lee, formerly a partner at Allen & Overy’s Hong
Kong and Singapore offices. She is joined by senior associates
Elizabeth Killeen and Alan Hughes, who have relocated from
the firm’s BVI office.
In Singapore, Carey Olsen focuses on corporate and commercial transactions, capital markets, M&A, banking & finance
and investment funds.
“This growth represents a strategic move to build on the
significant experience Carey Olsen has with clients in Asia and
to strengthen the relationships we have already established,”
said Lee in a statement.
Apart from Singapore, Carey Olsen has offices in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, London
and Cape Town.
The firm has 43 partners who head up a total complement
of more than 200 lawyers.
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
SPONSORED ARTICLE
15
INCEIF
MUDARABAH AND THE DEBT DILEMMA
By Prof. Dr. Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha, Professor of Finance, INCEIF
Prof. Dr. Obiyathulla
Ismath Bacha
Professor of Finance
INCEIF
Debt appears to be at the root of every
financial/banking crises. In a now famous
study, Rogoff and Reinhart (2010) show that
every single financial crisis in the last hundred
years has been caused by excessive debt. That,
governments of not just poor countries but the
biggest and mightiest economic super powers
have been brought to their knees, shows how
risky an overreliance on debt can be. The
huge social costs and negative externalities of
debt induced crises is now abundantly clear.
Notwithstanding the huge costs that societies
have had to pay for their excesses with debt,
global addiction to debt appears unabated.
In a recent paper, Adair Tuner and Susan Lund
argue that since the 2008 crisis, global debt
has grown by US$57 trillion, a growth rate
exceeding GDP growth. Government debt alone
has increased by US$25 trillion with most of it
in developed countries. The debt to GDP ratio
is higher today than on the eve of the crisis in
2007. Worryingly, even in the developing world
the buildup in debt is at record levels. This is
clearly untenable.
In the absence of fiscal surpluses, governments
have had to rely on unprecedented monetary
easing to avoid a downward tailspin. While
we may have avoided the abyss, we have little
to show in terms of growth. Slow growth and
minimal returns, we are told, may be the new
normal.
What the world needs is growth without
leverage (debt). For this, we need new thinking,
outside the realm of conventional economics.
And this may be where, Islamic finance can
help, specifically the risk-sharing contracts
Mudarabah and Musharakah.
A: INCEIF-The Global University
of Islamic Finance
Lorong University A,
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
T: (603) 7651 4000
F: (603) 7651 4071
E: [email protected]
W: www.inceif.org
The Mudarabah in particular is a hybrid
instrument sharing the features of both debt
and equity. What makes it particularly suited
for today’s conundrum is that, it has the risksharing features of equity but not the leverage
inducing feature of debt. Unfortunately, the
Mudarabah story has not been well-told. At
least, not in a way that will make corporate
treasurers see how the debt-equity trade off
they have been manacled to, becomes irrelevant
with Mudarabah. Similarly policy makers in
governments are not aware that financing
infrastructure without leverage could be
possible with Mudarabah-based sukuk.
For corporations, debt, though riskier is more
attractive than equity because it’s cheaper
and more importantly avoids earnings and
ownership dilution. The dilution which is also
perpetual is probably the most painful part
of equity issuance. In Mudarabah, a financier
(rab-ul-mal), provides funding to a mudarib
based on a predetermined PSR (profit sharing
ratio). In an 80/20 PSR, the mudarib keeps
80% of profits earned and the 20% goes to the
funder. Like dividends he does not pay if there
are no profits. When a corporation in need of
funding an investment, considers Mudarabah
in-lieu of debt, a number of benefits arise. First
and foremost there is no increase in financial
leverage as there are no fixed charges. As a
result, the corporation’s overall riskiness may
actually be lowered because there is now lower
propotion debt in the capital structure. However,
given the PSR, there will be earnings but not
ownership dilution. There are two reasons for
this. First, only profits accruing from the newly
funded project is to be shared, not all earnings.
This is unlike new equity which has a claim on
all earnings, not just that of the new project.
Second, the Mudarabah funder only has
ownership claims on the asset he funded, not
the other assets of the firms, as is the case with
new equity. Furthermore, the claim is terminal,
like debt. Existing equity holders continue to
own all the assets they currently own and take
the bigger share of the profits accrued from
the newly funded project. Viewed this way,
Mudarabah financing effectively changes the
debt-equity tradeoff, makes debt much less
attractive and would be best suited to get the
world out its current rut.
Indeed, in its earlier evolution, as the
commenda in medieval Europe, Mudarabah
funded the renaissance and in a later form, as
venture capital in Silicon Valley. Given its risk
sharing features, Mudarabah could yet again, in
a revised form, offer the world a potential way
out.
16
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
BRIEFS
APPOINTMENTS
LATERAL HIRES
NAME
LEAVING
GOING TO
PRACTICE
LOCATION
TAHIRAH ARA
Berwin Leighton Paisner
Withers KhattarWong
Finance
Singapore
YILONG DU
Goldman Sachs
Latham & Watkins
Corporate
Hong Kong
ALEXANDER
FISCHER
Rödl & Partner
Reed Smith
Corporate
Shanghai
JIENI GU
Weil, Gotshal
& Manges
Ropes & Gray
Corporate
Shanghai
FREDERICK HUI
DLA Piper
Zhong Lun Law Firm
Dispute Resolution
Hong Kong
JINI LEE
Linklaters
Ashurst
Debt Capital Markets
Hong Kong
MENGYU LU
Kirkland & Ellis
Sidley Austin
Corporate Finance
Beijing
NIKHIL
NARAYANAN
Shardul Amarchand
Mangaldas
Khaitan & Co
Corporate
Delhi
STEFFEN PEDERSEN
Wikborg Rein
Thomas Cooper
Shipping
Singapore
BENJAMIN QIU
Cooley
Loeb & Loeb
Capital Markets
Beijing
FARAZ ALAM SAGAR
Economic Laws Practice
Trilegal
Dispute Resolution
Mumbai
MICHAEL WITHINGTON
Gall
Howse Williams Bowers
Dispute Resolution
Hong Kong
NAME
FIRM
PROMOTION
PRACTICE
LOCATION
JUNE CHAN
Orrick, Herrington
& Sutcliffe
Partner
Capital Markets
Hong Kong
LOUISE LIU
Orrick, Herrington
& Sutcliffe
Partner
Capital Markets
Hong Kong
MIZUHO YAMADA
White & Case
Partner
Corporate
Tokyo
NAME
FIRM
FROM
TO
PRACTICE
NEIL CARABINE
King & Wood Mallesons
Melbourne
Hong Kong
Corporate
PROMOTIONS
RELOCATIONS
18
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
SHIPPING
CHOPPY WATERS
THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY HAS BEEN HIT HARD BY THE GLOBAL
COMMODITIES MELTDOWN, WITH TWO DRY BULKERS SEEKING BANKRUPTCY
PROTECTION IN SEPTEMBER AND MAERSK RECENTLY CUTTING ITS PROFIT
FORECAST. BUT THERE IS STILL A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF WORK TO KEEP
SHIPPING LAWYERS BUSY, FINDS RANAJIT DAM
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AARON SHELDRICK, KEITH WALLIS AND OLE MIKKELSEN
REUTERS/Toru Hanai
T
his is certainly not a period of smooth
sailing for the shipping industry. In
September alone, two bulk carriers
applied for bankruptcy protection
for creditors: Global Maritime Investments
Cyprus iled for Chapter 11 protection in the
U.S. irst, followed by Japanese bulk carrier Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha. Analysts are
predicting more failures if the market for dry
freight continues to slump. The market is currently near six-year lows, and rates for large
ships carrying iron ore and coal are barely
covering operating costs this year.
In late October, A.P. Møller-Maersk cut
its 2015 proit forecast by 15 percent, blaming a slowdown in the container shipping
market that suggests a weakening global
economy. The Danish conglomerate operates Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company which transports
roughly 20 percent of all goods on the
busiest routes between Asia and Europe,
making it a key bellwether of global trade.
Analysts say Maersk’s problems also stem
from overcapacity in the shipping industry,
which appears to be worse than previously
anticipated and is driving down freight rates.
Andrew Rigden Green, a Hong Kongbased shipping disputes partner with
Stephenson Harwood, says that the shipping industry has certainly seen better days.
“It’s not the most proitable market, as the
bulk sector is suffering quite signiicantly
because of low commodity prices. People
are therefore not willing to pay high freight
rates. There are a number of pressures, on
ship owners in particular, to continue to pay
back loans that they’ve borrowed and to be
able to inance their ships, and yet freight
rates remain low. There hasn’t been the
expected rise in consumer rates across the
more developed markets that would spur an
upturn in container shipping, either.”
That said, it’s not all gloom for the industry. “Fortunes are quite mixed,” adds Rigden
“WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO MELD WITH OTHER
PRACTICES WITHIN OUR FIRM SO WE CAN
PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES TO THE TRADE
PRACTICES AS WELL AS THE SHIPPING
PRACTICE. THE KEY HAS BEEN TO BE
ADAPTABLE IN THAT AND NOT BE FOCUSED
ON WHAT PEOPLE WOULD’VE CALLED
‘BREAD-AND-BUTTER’ OR ‘RUN-OF-THEMILL’ SHIPPING WORK.”
Andrew Rigden Green, Stephenson Harwood
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
Green. “One of the things, for example, that
has been positive in the last few years has
been the capacity of medium-sized container
ships. They haven’t suffered in the same
way as the guys who went into the mega
container ships, and they’ve been able to
keep a more balanced book in terms of
proit and loss.”
However, even medium-sized container
ships have their challenges. “They are feeling
more competition from the outside providers,” says Rigden Green. “The non-Asian
based shipping lines are coming into the
market and putting a little bit more pressure
there on the freight rates.” Finally, he notes
that in the bulk sector, all the players are
suffering from the slowdown of imports of
commodities by China. “There’s not been
the same demand, but in some cases it’s
the new normal, and people are beginning
to adjust to that,” he says.
LAWYERS BUSY
With the global commodities meltdown set
to continue, the shipping industry can expect
to see more bankruptcies. “If such a market
is sustained, we can expect a few more companies to be in line,” said Jayendu Krishna,
director at Drewry Maritime Advisors, in a
Reuters report. However, despite the ilings,
some market experts say a rebound in dry
bulk could be swift. “I agree dry bulk looks
gloomy, but we feel we’re much closer to
the end of this part of a downcycle than
we are to the beginning,” said Martin Rowe,
managing director of Clarksons Platou Asia,
according to a Reuters report.
Regardless of the state of the market,
lawyers still have a reasonable amount of
work to keep them occupied. Both the shipping disputes and shipping inance practices
at Stephenson Harwood’s Hong Kong ofice
have remained hectic, according to Rigden
Green. “A mixed practice including maritime
insolvency has been keeping us busy,” he
says. “This includes protecting ship owners
from becoming insolvent by assisting them
to restructure, as well as working through
insolvency situations.”
Additionally, the fact that the irm’s shipping practice is closely related to its trade
practice has helped. “One of the challenges
for lawyers is that claims managers and insurers have become more sophisticated, and
they are beginning to manage the claims inhouse,” says Rigden Green. “And sometimes
the perceived cost of legal services is high,
so people don’t want to give out instructions
to private practice lawyers. We’ve been able
to meld with other practices within our irm
SHIPPING
19
SHIPPING GETTING ANTI-COMPETITIVE
FOR SMALLEST STATES, UN SAYS
By TOM MILES
Shipping mergers are leaving an increasing number of countries serviced
by too few suppliers to ensure a competitive market, the U.N. trade and
economic think tank UNCTAD said on
Wednesday.
Globally, there is now an average of
15.7 companies offering regular container shipping services to each country,
a number that has declined steadily
from 22.1 in 2004, said UNCTAD in its
annual Review of Maritime Transport.
“I don’t see any reason why this
trend would not continue,” says Jan
Hoffmann, head of trade facilitation at
UNCTAD and coordinator of the report.
The three biggest irms – Maersk
Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company,
and CMA CGM – have 35 percent of
the world market, the report said. At
the start of this year, the top 20 irms
controlled 83 percent of container shipping capacity globally, and all their new
orders were for bigger vessels.
“The average vessel size per country will continue to grow and so we
expect there will be fewer companies
in individual markets, and this is an
increasing challenge for the smallest
players,” Hoffmann says.
When a country has fewer than four
suppliers, it risks getting squeezed because there is less pressure on shippers
so we can provide legal services to the trade
practices as well as the shipping practice.
The key has been to be adaptable in that
and not be focused on what people would’ve
called ‘bread-and-butter’ or ‘run-of-the-mill’
shipping work.
He notes that the irm’s shipping inance
partners are also extremely busy. “This surprises them because the general outlook
of the market seems so negative, and yet
they are seeing more new lendings coming
online, and it’s not restructuring; this is new
business. So where there are insolvencies, or
hiving down, or restructurings in one sector,
we are seeing that creating opportunities
for either new players, or players who are
to compete by cutting costs, he adds.
There were now 32 such countries,
up from 22 in 2004. Most are small
island states such as Kiribati, Micronesia
and Samoa. But the list also includes
Iceland, Qatar, Iraq, Latvia, Eritrea,
Montenegro and Cambodia.
“It’s getting more challenging for
the smallest players. For the big ones
– China, Europe – whether you still
have 20 countries competing or 15, it
doesn’t matter, you still have a choice.
But when it goes down from three to
two, or from two to one, then you have
a critical situation.”
There was no “government of the
seas” with powers to protect small
states against such monopolies, and it
was a tricky problem to solve, he says.
But small island states – many of
which are seen to be at risk from global
warming and rising sea levels – could
push for tighter environmental standards, which would force many older
ships to be scrapped and help to curb
the cost pressure that was contributing
to the shrinking number of shipping
irms.
“It would be good for the shipping
industry and for the environment if
we had more stringent environmental
regulations that would encourage ship
scrapping,” he says.
expanding their business in other sectors.
There has been some consolidation or hunkering down for a little while, but people
are beginning to expand their leets again,”
says Rigden Green.
And he expects this to continue. “A few
years ago, shipping wasn’t necessarily one
of the leading practices in our Hong Kong
ofice,” he says. “Now it is one of the integral
parts of our business, both in the disputes
sector and the ship inance sector. There
were only three of us a year ago, and now
I am managing nine associates. Similarly,
on the inance side the number has gone
up from four to nine. As a irm, these are
the bright spots for the future.”
20
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
I
f you’re working in offshore legal in Asia,
you should be forgiven for feeling that
2016 has snuck up on you – it has been
a busy year, to say the least.
As the Asian market’s allure shifts from
quantity to quality, the spoils are becoming
signiicantly larger, which has spurred both
new entrants and expansion by established
irms. While short-term growth may seem
all but assured, there are, as always, clouds
on the horizon that may introduce or amplify risk.
The challenges and opportunities awaiting individual irms and the entire industry
next year will have their roots in the events
of this year. This is an opportune time to
look back on the year that was in order to
better understand what lies ahead in 2016.
AN OFFSHORE VIEW
THE OFFSHORE LEGAL INDUSTRY LOOKS BACK ON
SOME OF THE KEY LEGAL AND BUSINESS TRENDS OF 2015,
AND HOW THESE WILL SHAPE AND INFLUENCE THE YEAR
TO COME. BY CHRIS HORTON
“THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST IN THE
OFFSHORE FIRMS ESTABLISHING OFFICES
IN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE IN
ADDITION TO THE ESTABLISHED PLAYERS
BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME OF OFFSHORE
WORK BEING GENERATED IN THIS REGION.
IT IS A VERY INTERESTING TIME AND OF
COURSE THE COMPETITION IS INCREASING.”
Matt Roberts, Harneys
TAKING STOCK OF 2015
There were several notable developments
in offshore legal counsel in Asia this year,
says Matt Roberts, a partner at Harneys’
Hong Kong ofice.
“In terms of offshore trends, apart from
Harneys, we saw a number of offshore irms
look to Asia in terms of developing their
expansion plans,” says Roberts. “Certainly,
there is a lot of interest in the offshore
irms establishing ofices in Hong Kong and
Singapore in addition to the established
players because of the volume of offshore
work being generated in this region. It is a
very interesting time and of course the competition is increasing, which is always great
news for consumers of offshore services.”
Harneys itself has continued to place
importance on the Asia market, where it now
has a bigger-than-ever presence in Hong
Kong, as well as a new ofice in Singapore
and representative ofices in Shanghai and
Tokyo.
With expansion comes new hires, and
Harneys has made several important additions to its Hong Kong ofice, including
counsels Marc Parrott, Junko Shiokawa,
Bronwyn King and Raymond Ng, as well
as senior associate Ellie Crespi-McCarthy.
The Shanghai ofice is now led by Kristy
Calvert, while the new Bermuda ofice is
led by Sarah-Jane Hurrion and Mike Burns.
“We have had some fantastic lawyers
join the irm, and that is indicative of the
trend in the market for offshore law irms to
attract some of the best and most talented
lawyers from the premium U.S., UK and
Asian law irms,” Roberts says.
Rising compe- CONTINUE D O N PAG E 22
Harneys is pleased to
announce our expansion
into Shanghai.
HARNEYS | Shanghai
Harneys’ new Shanghai representative oice provides a client liaison
function supporting the Hong Kong oice’s supply of legal transactional,
restructuring and litigation services as well as Harneys Fiduciary into the
PRC. Harneys’ Asia based lawyers speak a range of languages including
Mandarin, Shanghainese and Cantonese. For more information contact:
Kristy Calvert | Managing Director, China
email: [email protected]
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cyprus
Hong Kong
London
Mauritius
Montevideo
Sao Paulo
Shanghai
Singapore
Tokyo
Vancouver
Mauritius service provided through an association with BLC Chambers.
harneys.com | harneysid.com
22
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
A trader walks inside the trading hall during afternoon trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
“JAPAN’S FIRST CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE CAME
INTO EFFECT ON JUNE 1, 2015. WHILST THESE REGULATIONS
DO NOT APPLY TO THE REGULATION OF NON-LISTED
INVESTMENT FUNDS, THEY PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR
SOME OF THE STANDARDS THAT MIGHT BE ADOPTED BY
THE INDUSTRY.” Nicholas Plowman, Ogier
tition aside, he
says other big issues this year included
an increase in offshore regulatory work,
speciically in connection with FATCA/CRS
automatic information exchange and reporting requirements, plus a downturn in
debt capital markets work, particularly from
China.
On a more positive note, equity capital
markets work and M&A activity have been
steady. Harneys has observed a continued
interest in the use of offshore fund vehicles,
especially Cayman PE vehicles, to facilitate
Asia-based outbound investments, particularly from China, Roberts says, as investors
there become worried about the performance
of their investments and look overseas for
more stable investment opportunities.
Nicholas Plowman, a partner at Ogier’s
Hong Kong ofice, notes an increasing focus
on compliance and regulation both onshore
and offshore, with an emphasis on corporate
governance, and cited Japan as an example.
“Japan’s irst corporate governance code
CO N T I N UE D F RO M PAGE 20
came into effect on June 1, 2015,” Plowman
says. “Whilst these regulations do not apply
to the regulation of non-listed investment
funds, they provide a framework for some
of the standards that might be adopted by
the industry.”
Leon Santos, group partner at Collas
Crill’s Singapore ofice, says much of this
year’s activity has been in response to the
shifting risk landscape.
“Slowing growth rates, political uncertainty, regulatory and tax changes were
front and centre for many regional clients,”
Santos says. “These factors have driven
restructuring and new structuring plans as
people sought to mitigate risk.”
For example, he says, many businesses
are expanding across the ASEAN region.
“Singapore is one of the fastest-growing
markets for inancial services, and we have
seen many new players looking for capital
from, or to invest in, different markets setting up offshore structures for funds and
investments.”
Greg Knowles, partner and head of corporate at Maples and Calder’s Hong Kong ofice,
says that 2015 saw continued strong activity in equity capital markets with Cayman
Islands company listings on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange. Maples and Calder recently
acted as Cayman Islands counsel to IMAX
China Holding in connection with its initial
public offering and listing on the HKSE,
raising HK$1.92 billion. IMAX China’s listing
is the irst by a major global brand in Hong
Kong since 2011. Other Chinese businesses
that have listed on NYSE/NASDAQ utilising
a Cayman Islands company as the listing
vehicle include Baozun, eHi Car, iDreamSky,
Momo, Xunlei and Wowo. Earlier this year,
Maples and Calder also advised on the
listing of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited on
the HKSE. This transaction was followed in
June by the spin-off and separate listing of
Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited.
“The increase in IPOs has led to an increase in interest in trusts for founders of
listed companies CONTINUE D O N PAG E 24
ogier.com
To the p int.
Legal services in
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Guernsey
Hong Kong
Jersey
Luxembourg
Shanghai
Tokyo
We get straight to the point, managing
complexity to get to the essentials. It is a
collaborative approach. We listen actively,
asking the right questions, focused on
what really matters. We deliver targeted,
pragmatic advice with absolute clarity.
24
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
People talk in front of a Baidu’s company logo at Baidu’s headquarters in Beijing. REUTERS/Jason Lee
“SLOWING GROWTH RATES, POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY,
REGULATORY AND TAX CHANGES WERE FRONT AND
CENTRE FOR MANY REGIONAL CLIENTS. THESE FACTORS
HAVE DRIVEN RESTRUCTURING AND NEW STRUCTURING
PLANS AS PEOPLE SOUGHT TO MITIGATE RISK.”
Leon Santos, Collas Crill
and trusts for
managers and employees of such businesses,” says Maples partner and Head of
Trusts for Asia Richard Grasby. “Cayman
Islands and BVI trustees, including private
trust companies, are very commonly used.
PRC law irms are looking at offering private wealth services and we have also had
interest from PRC inancial institutions in
establishing trust companies themselves.”
Debt capital markets has also been active,
Knowles added, with many listed Cayman
Islands and BVI issuers raising substantial
sums, including Baidu, China SCE Property
Holdings, Ctrip.com, HNA Tourism Finance
and Sino-Ocean Land, among others. Maples
and Calder also saw plenty of M&A activity
this year. The irm was involved in the Didi
Dache merger with Kuaidi Dache, The Link
Real Estate Investment Trust’s acquisition
of Corporate Avenue 1 and 2 in Shanghai,
and the DianPing Holdings merger with
Meituan.com.
There has also been a signiicant increase
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 22
in the number of litigation-related matters
emerging from mainland China, observes
John Trehey, partner and head of litigation
at Maples and Calder’s Hong Kong ofice.
“This marks a change in the traditional or
cultural perception of litigation as destabilising or inharmonious and a move towards
the use of the courts of the Cayman Islands
and BVI to achieve business objectives on
the basis of their now-widespread reputation as commercial, stable and predictable,”
says Trehey.
China isn’t the only place where longheld attitudes are changing.
“We have seen a pronounced surge this
year in fund formation projects for clients
who are targeting fund raising from Japanese
investors,” says Anthony Webster, partner
and head of private equity at Maples and
Calder’s Hong Kong ofice. “This appears
to be driven by an increase in interest from
Japanese investors wishing to gain exposure
to international equities, bonds and alternative assets.”
Webster adds, “A feature of many of these
funds is that they are running increasingly
complex strategies, designed to enhance
returns, including but not limited to currency overlay and covered call strategies
which generate additional income and which
can be used to pay out a regular monthly
distribution. These are now a staple feature
of funds that are targeted at Japanese investors. In addition, we are also beginning
to see some green shoots in the form of
interest from Japanese pension funds that, in
an attempt to gain higher yielding returns,
are now similarly looking to increase their
exposure to alternative assets.”
David Lamb, partner and irm co-chairman at Conyers, Dill and Pearman’s Hong
Kong ofice, singles out two developments
as being deining trends for the past year.
“We’ve seen increasing demand for
dispute resolution services in the region,”
Lamb says. “Additionally, there has been an
increase in shareholder activism, although
that is not conined to the Far East.”
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: Connect with Asian Legal Business
WHICH TRENDS WILL HOLD?
Lamb says that he expects growing demand
for litigation services in Asia to continue
through 2016. He also says that the growing value of M&A activity involving Asian
companies should also hold steady. In the
irst half of 2015, Asia-related M&A deals
totaled $590 billion, a 74 percent year-onyear increase, according to Mergermarket.
A trend within this trend is China’s growing appetite for deals abroad. In the irst
half of this year, China’s outbound M&A
activity reached a record $23.8 billion, up
13.9 percent year on year. Geographically
speaking, the top targets for M&A activity
within Asia in the irst six months of 2015
were China ($151.1 billion, up 16.4 percent
year on year), Hong Kong ($106.5 billion,
up 255.8 percent) and South Korea ($62.9
billion, up 80.1 percent).
“We anticipate this trend will continue,
although the rate may slow due to the recent
depreciation of the Chinese renminbi,” notes
Lamb. “Offshore vehicles will continue to be
used throughout Asia, both for structuring
investments into and for investments outside
OFFSHORE
of the region. Outward bound M&A is likely
to continue to increase over the next couple
of years and it is expected that offshore
vehicles will continue to have a part to play
in these transactions.”
Knowles of Maples and Calder sees four
trends maintaining momentum into 2016:
the internationalisation and sophistication
of mainland Chinese irms, growing Chinese
wealth, increasing Asian interest in Ireland
as an offshore destination and a growing
number of IPOs.
Not surprisingly, the PRC, which includes
mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau,
is the main thread running through these
four trends.
“PRC irms are not yet at the stage
where they match U.S. or UK irms in terms
of sophistication or size,” Knowles says.
“But we are seeing them becoming more
sophisticated year on year, with mergers
happening between PRC and international
irms, most notably the case of King & Wood
Mallesons and Dacheng/Dentons, and as
leading PRC irms continue to expand their
bench of partners and associates who are
comfortable working in the international
arena. They are also supported by an everincreasing number of domestic clients, many
of whom are looking to do deals outside of
the PRC. We would not be surprised to see
more tie-ups and mergers between PRC
and U.S. or UK law irms.”
There is also increased interest in trusts
within the PRC, Maples’ Grasby adds. This is
linked to the increasing levels of wealth in
the PRC and also interest in emigration by
a signiicant number of wealthy individuals.
“According to the Hurun Rich List, China
has more U.S. dollar billionaires than the
U.S.,” says Grasby. “The vast majority of
these are self-created and potentially in
need of advice and structuring. This has
led to increased interaction between our
irm and the PRC advisers. There will also
be more trust and private wealth litigation
arising from structures which may not have
been properly set up or which may not meet
with other family members’ expectations.”
China is among several Asian markets
with growing interest in Ireland as a jurisdiction of choice for the establishment of
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to do business with, our team takes a commercial
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We serve an Asian client base with global legal
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25
LEON SANTOS
Group Partner // Singapore
t: +65 (6) 40 83397
e: [email protected]
26
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
A police oficer stands near national lags of ASEAN counties lags. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
“THE INCREASE IN IPOS HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN
INTEREST IN TRUSTS FOR FOUNDERS OF LISTED COMPANIES
AND TRUSTS FOR MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES OF SUCH
BUSINESSES. CAYMAN ISLANDS AND BVI TRUSTEES, INCLUDING
PRIVATE TRUST COMPANIES, ARE VERY COMMONLY USED.”
Richard Grasby, Maples and Calder
investment funds by Asia-based managers.
Maples and Calder’s Dublin ofice has established a business development presence
in Hong Kong in response to this growing
demand. Maples advises clients on all aspects of the establishment of Undertakings
for Collective Investment in Transferable
Securities (UCITS), AIFMD funds and special
purpose vehicles for tax structuring.
Maples’ Knowles says the irm foresees
signiicant listings of PRC-based businesses
on the HKSE, the NYSE, NASDAQ and other
exchanges utilising Cayman vehicles, buoyed
by the Alibaba listing and also further debt
capital market activity. “We also foresee
further signiicant M&A activity in the TMT
sector which will likely also involve major
Cayman- listed companies,” says Grasby.
The formation of the 10-member ASEAN
Economic Community at the end of 2015 is
expected to spur cross-border investment
and new approaches to investment in the
world’s newest single market, which is home
to 600 million people and $2.4 trillion in
GDP in 2013. With Singapore far and away
the inancial centre of gravity for ASEAN,
it is expected to continue to draw interest
as a gateway to the AEC.
“We expect Singapore to continue to attract inancial services and other businesses,
as well as private wealth,” says Santos of
Collas Crill in Singapore. “This should drive
demand for offshore structuring services.”
Plowman at Ogier’s Hong Kong ofice
says he sees sustained activity in several
areas of the Asian market.
“We expect to our contentious disputes
service line to pick up in Asia,” Plowman
says. “We also expect to see more restructuring and insolvency work out of China as
it continues to restructure and begin to let
some of the bad businesses go.”
Ogier also expects to see continued strong
demand for offshore investment funds, particularly Cayman Islands-domiciled vehicles,
Plowman adds.
With respect to Asian funds industry, as
noted we are seeing an increasing focus
on corporate governance particularly with
respect to independent boards.
“It is now common to see at least one
independent director sitting on the fund’s
board and increasingly a majority of independent directors,” Plowman says. “Without
a doubt, boards comprised of entirely or a
majority of investment manager representatives is no longer the norm.”
Competition in the asset management
environment has forced managers to react
to the demands of investors and these demands, at the most basic level, are looking
for independent directors to sit on fund
boards who will challenge decisions and
seek to uphold iduciary duties and, ultimately, the interests of the shareholders,
Plowman says.
“The rise in demand for truly independent, professional, skilled and non-apathetic
directors has clearly risen in the region and
will most likely continue to rise,” he says.
Plowman also notes that questions surrounding mixed- CONTINUE D O N PAG E 28
28
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
A man looks at the Pudong inancial district of Shanghai. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
“OFFSHORE VEHICLES WILL CONTINUE TO BE USED
THROUGHOUT ASIA, BOTH FOR STRUCTURING
INVESTMENTS INTO AND FOR INVESTMENTS
OUTSIDE OF THE REGION.” David Lamb, Conyers Dill & Pearman
CO N T I N UE D F RO M PAGE 26
service providers were also likely to be prominent in 2016.
“We are, for example, now unlikely to see
one provider being appointed as both trustee
and administrator in unit trust structures,
as mangers are driven to show separation
of roles and that service providers are held
fully accountable. Whilst it is not common
to see the fund and the manager appointing separate legal counsel at the time of
the establishment of the fund, fund boards
should consider whether it is appropriate
to do so when certain situations arise, for
example, in the context of a conlict of
interest.”
There will also continue to be more formality around fund governance next year,
points out Plowman.
“Managers are best advised to provide for
regular and structured board meetings,” he
says. “Meetings held at least twice a year
are now considered a minimum standard,
although quarterly meetings are recommended and more commonly adopted. We
are also seeing better documentation of
board meetings.”
Lastly, Plowman foresees an increased
focus on dealing with conlict-of-interest
issues, including those related to disclosure
to investors.
Roberts at Harneys sees potential for
major developments across a broad spectrum of themes.
“We think that the expansion strategy for
some of our competitor irms will continue
and that the growth and development of the
offshore practices will continue,” he says.
“We hope to see an upturn in debt capital
markets work and hopefully some stabilisation in some of the key Southeast Asian
markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia,
which should hopefully lead to an increase
in transactional activity in those markets and
further opportunities. The pace of regulatory
development will continue and we see CRS
initiatives gathering momentum, which will
continue to drive the growth in offshore
regulatory work.”
OPPORTUNITY AND RISK
Roberts says Asia’s top two economies were
where most of Harneys’ big opportunities
lie in 2016.
“We see continued opportunities for
growth in Beijing, Shanghai and of course,
continued development of our strategy in
Hong Kong,” he says. “Apart from China,
we see Japan as a critical market for our
irm and the establishment of our Tokyo
representative ofice earlier this year is a
testament to our commitment to the longterm growth and development of our brand
in that market, particularly with respect to
our Cayman investment funds practice.”
Of course, reality can diverge greatly from
expectations in an increasingly interconnected global economic environment. Roberts
cites three issues that will loom large over
the year: whether China manages a hard or
soft landing, the pace and scope of government regulations in advanced economies
and ramiications for the offshore jurisdiction and, lastly, CONTINUE D O N PAG E 3 0
4OPTIMAL LEGAL AND CORPORATE
SERVICE SOLUTIONS
4INTERNATIONAL REACH
4EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION
BERMUDA
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
CAYMAN ISLANDS
DUBAI
HONG KONG
LONDON
MAURITIUS
SINGAPORE
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conyersdill.com
30
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
OFFSHORE
The downtown waterfront area of Georgetown, Grand Caymans, the capitol of the island. REUTERS/Alan Markoff
“AS THE ASIAN MARKET’S ALLURE SHIFTS FROM QUANTITY TO QUALITY,
THE SPOILS ARE BECOMING SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER, WHICH HAS
SPURRED BOTH NEW ENTRANTS AND EXPANSION BY ESTABLISHED
FIRMS. WHILE SHORT-TERM GROWTH MAY SEEM ALL BUT ASSURED,
THERE ARE, AS ALWAYS, CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON THAT MAY
INTRODUCE OR AMPLIFY RISK.”
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 28
developments
in the U.S., especially the presidential election and possible Fed rate hike.
“We are seeing continued growth in
the dispute resolution space for in respect
of BVI and Cayman laws,” says Ogier’s
Plowman. “Ogier have moved two disputes
partners out to Asia who specialise in BVI
and Cayman laws to handle this worklow.
We are also seeing continued demand for
offshore funds, particularly Cayman Islandsdomiciled funds. We expect this demand to
continue into 2016, although we may see a
slow down in this space, in line with what
is happening in China.”
Santos at Collas Crill’s Singapore ofice says Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand and also India were his practice’s
most active markets going into 2016.
“We expect to be busy with emerging
and established fund managers raising new
funds, and companies looking to raise capi-
tal by IPO or from international investors,”
Santos says. “Our private wealth practice is
seeing strong growth as high net worth business owners become more sophisticated with
their personal wealth planning. Competition
among offshore irms will continue to grow,
with more irms setting up in Singapore.”
Knowles says that developments within
the China and ASEAN markets will have a
big impact on its plans for next year.
“In China, we continue to see strong
growth for the offshore market as the economy continues to grow and as China looks to
make more investments overseas,” he says.
“Offshore vehicles will continue to be
used by Chinese clients both for structuring
investments into China and for investments
outside of China. However, the luctuations
in the China equity markets over the past
couple of months have had an impact on
the number of transactions. In terms of
Southeast Asia, the resources sector issues
affecting the global economy have impacted
deal low and are likely to continue to do
so in 2016. The currency issues affecting
Malaysia and Indonesia are also likely to
continue to affect deals into the new year,”
adds Knowles.
Alan Dickson, director and head of
the Singapore ofice of Conyers, Dill and
Pearman, echoes concerns regarding the
overall economic health of China, Malaysia
and Indonesia.
“Slowing rates of economic growth in
China, Malaysia and Indonesia have potential
to slow demand for specialised banking and
professional services from businesses based
in or trading with those countries,” Dickson
says. “The manner in which governments
respond to such slower rates of growth will
directly affect the economic performance of
these countries in 2016 and their resulting
demand for legal services, including offshore
legal services.”
OFFSHORE
REACH
Intelligent and insightful offshore
legal advice and fiduciary solutions.
Offshore is our domain.
applebyglobal.com
32
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
ASIA'S TOP
LARGEST
LAW FIRMS
OUR RESEARCH
• Firms were contacted in September
2015 and asked to provide partner
and lawyer numbers across their Asian
ofices as of Sept. 1, 2015.
• ‘Total No. of Lawyers’ refers to the
total number of partners, associates,
counsel, consultants and foreign counsel.
Paralegals, trainees and pupils were not
included in this igure.
• In the instance where a irm did not
make a submission, igures were
obtained either from the irm’s website,
an oficial Law Society resource, or from
last year’s submission.
• The research did not include Australia
and New Zealand. Only lawyers and
partners based in Asia were taken into
account for this research.
• In the instance where two irms had the
same number of total lawyers, the irm
with the greater number of partners
was ranked higher.
TOP 50 INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
FIRM
HEADQUARTERS
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
1
=
Baker & McKenzie
U.S.
296
557
931
2
=
Clifford Chance
UK
79
228
409
3
=
Linklaters
UK
55
285
340
4
+3
Mayer Brown
U.S.
80
180
260
5
+1
Freshields Bruckhaus Deringer
UK
37
N/A
250
6
-1
Allen & Overy
UK
49
125
234
7
+2
Herbert Smith Freehills
UK/Australia
50
167
232
8
-4
DLA Piper
UK/U.S.
56
168
224
218
9
-1
Hogan Lovells
UK/U.S.
53
165
10
+2
Jones Day
U.S.
68
92
191
11
-1
Norton Rose Fulbright
UK
62
126
188
12
-1
Morrion & Foerster
U.S.
59
79
173
13
=
Ashurst
UK
35
107
148
14
+1
White & Case
U.S.
44
85
139
15
-1
Sidley Austin
U.S.
37
80
138
16
=
Reed Smith
U.S.
41
65
133
17
=
Taylor Wessing
UK
38
74
119
18
+14
Clyde & Co
UK
31
63
119
19
=
Pinsent Masons
UK
28
89
117
20
+3
Latham & Watkins
U.S.
29
76
105
21
-1
K&L Gates
U.S.
44
53
101
22
-4
Davis Polk & Wardwell
U.S.
12
82
100
23
+5
24
NEW
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
U.S.
20
58
97
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
U.S.
27
61
94
25
-4
Stephenson Harwood
UK
27
62
89
26
+13
Simmons & Simmons
UK
29
53
88
27
-2
Bird & Bird
UK
27
59
88
28
+2
Watson, Farley & Williams
UK
23
63
88
29
-4
Holman Fenwick Willan
UK
29
58
87
30
-8
Shearman & Sterling
U.S.
23
60
84
31
=
Squire Patton Boggs
U.S.
27
47
83
32
-5
Kirkland & Ellis
U.S.
33
42
82
33
-9
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
U.S.
23
50
78
34
=
Ropes & Gray
U.S.
25
50
75
35
-2
Paul Hastings
U.S.
27
31
73
36
+1
Eversheds
UK
22
38
65
65
37
-2
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
U.S.
15
48
38
+2
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
U.S.
10
50
63
39
NEW
Dentons
N/A
12
27
58
40
-4
O'Melveny & Myers
U.S.
15
22
57
41
=
Slaughter and May
UK
13
>40
>53
42
=
Ince & Co
UK
16
26
51
43
+3
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
U.S.
13
35
51
44
-6
Duane Morris & Selvam
U.S.
18
19
44
Berwin Leighton Paisner
UK
16
26
42
Winston & Strawn
U.S.
17
14
39
Australia
14
N/A
>37
45
-1
46
NEW
47
+1
48
-1
49
NEW
50
-1
Minter Ellison
Sullivan & Cromwell
U.S.
8
26
37
Troutman Sanders
U.S.
9
27
36
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
U.S.
10
16
32
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
COVER STORY
TOP 50 ASIAN LAW FIRMS
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
+1
Dacheng Law Ofices
China
1197
1015
4311
2
-1
Beijing Yingke Law Firm
China
1056
2164
3220
China
222
999
1221
South Korea
120
N/A
>1,200
FIRM
3
=
Zhong Yin Law Firm
4
+3
Kim & Chang
HEADQUARTERS
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
5
+1
DeHeng Law Ofices
China
373
485
1182
6
+3
AllBright Law Ofices
China
307
777
1084
7
-2
Grandall Law Firm
China
280
720
1000
8
=
Zhong Lun Law Firm
China
220
780
1000
9
-5
King & Wood Mallesons
China/Australia
274
213
696
10
+8
Guanghe Law Firm
China
141
256
645
11
=
Long An Law Firm
China
202
413
615
12
NEW
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
India
90
463
605
13
NEW
Tian Yuan Law Firm
China
78
>500
>578
14
-1
Nishimura & Asahi
Japan
102
363
522
15
=
Lee & Ko
South Korea
143
367
510
16
+3
Beijing DHH Law Firm
China
70
64
471
17
=
Tahota Law Firm
China
81
387
468
18
+3
Lee and Li
19
+1
Rajah & Tann
20
-4
Bae, Kim & Lee
21
NEW
22
Taiwan
60
384
444
Singapore
173
257
430
South Korea
170
254
424
Sichuan Mingju Law Firm
China
52
369
421
+3
Khaitan & Co
India
101
314
415
23
+5
Guantao Law Firm
China
92
315
414
403
24
-10
Zhong Lun W&D Law Firm
25
-3
Shin & Kim
26
+7
Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
27
-4
28
NEW
Yulchon
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
China
207
196
South Korea
153
197
391
Japan
117
215
380
South Korea
132
182
378
India
70
289
370
29
-2
Allen & Gledhill
Singapore
143
222
367
30
-4
Mori Hamada & Matsumoto
Japan
100
263
363
31
+8
Fangda Partners
China
63
294
357
32
-20
JunHe
China
186
150
353
33
-9
TMI Associates
Japan
71
282
353
34
-2
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
Japan
93
209
343
35
+12
Jincheng Tongda & Neal
China
126
213
339
36
+7
AZB & Partners
320
37
-7
Yoon & Yang
38
-2
WongPartnership
39
-5
40
NEW
India
60
260
South Korea
115
165
315
Singapore
103
206
309
J. Sagar Associates
India
75
211
306
King & Capital
China
97
58
300
41
-4
Jingtian & Gongcheng
China
83
208
291
42
+2
Hylands Law Firm
China
70
200
280
43
-1
Global Law Ofice
China
60
220
280
44
-6
Drew & Napier
Singapore
87
122
278
45
-16
Luthra & Luthra
India
54
220
274
46
-6
ZICOlaw
Malaysia
69
200
273
47
NEW
Jointide Law Firm
China
121
79
266
48
NEW
Gaopeng & Partners
China
65
155
220
Hong Kong
52
148
213
China
41
167
208
49
-8
50
NEW
Deacons
Zhongzi Law Ofice
33
As the global economy continues its steady
recovery, Asia is fast becoming the epicentre of growth. Asian companies are
ramping up their outbound activity, and
a number of initiatives like the ASEAN
Economic Community and the One Belt,
One Road project are in motion, with the
goal of boosting economic cooperation
and connectivity in the region. According
to Thomson Reuters data, announced M&A
activity with any Asian involvement (excluding Japan) in the first nine months of
2015 reached an all-time high of $829.7
billion, a whopping 61 percent jump over
the $515.2 billion in that period last year.
Asia’s growth is certainly creating business opportunities and stimulating demand
for legal services in the region. The past
12 months alone have seen a wave of law
firm mergers and alliances, new office
openings, and the expansion of existing
Asian offices through lateral hires, internal
promotions and relocations. These trends
are reflected in our domestic and international firm tables featured in this report.
For the second year running, in order to
widen the scope of the research and offer
a more comprehensive overview of the
legal market in Asia, ALB has separated
Asia’s Top 50 Largest Law Firms list into
two tables: “Top 50 International Firms”
and “Top 50 Asian Firms”.
ASIA'S TOP 50
While the past 12 months have seen some
international firms scale back operations –
and in a few cases, pull out of Asia entirely
– the majority of firms continue to invest
heavily in their Asian operations. Several
international law firms have strengthened
their Asian presence, expanding out of
the financial centres of Hong Kong and
Singapore, and into jurisdictions like Japan,
Korea and Indonesia.
U.S. law firms account for 27 of the 50
largest international firms in Asia, though
only three feature in the top ten. Meanwhile,
UK firms make up 18 of the 50 largest
international firms in Asia, with four in
the top ten. Firms with joint headquarters
like DLA Piper (UK/U.S.), Hogan Lovells
(UK/U.S.) and Herbert Smith Freehills (UK/
Australia) also feature in the top ten. With
931 lawyers, Baker & McKenzie takes the
crown for the second year running as the
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
34
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
CHINA DOMESTIC
CHINA INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
Dacheng Law Ofices
1197
1015
4311
1
+3
-1
Beijing Yingke Law Firm
1053
2150
3203
2
=
Zhong Yin Law Firm
222
999
1221
4
+1
DeHeng Law Ofices
373
485
1182
5
+3
AllBright Law Ofices
306
776
1082
6
+1
Zhong Lun Law Firm
220
780
1000
7
-3
Grandall Law Firm
276
718
994
8
+5
Guanghe Law Firm
141
256
645
9
=
Long An Law Firm
202
413
615
10
NEW
Tian Yuan Law Firm
78
>500
>578
11
-5
King & Wood Mallesons
245
138
550
12
-1
Zhong Lun W&D Law Firm
207
196
403
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
+1
2
3
FIRM
13
+1
Beijing DHH Law Firm
70
64
471
14
-2
Tahota Law Firm
81
383
464
15
NEW
Sichuan Mingju Law Firm
52
369
421
16
-1
Guantao Law Firm
87
305
397
17
-7
JunHe
186
150
353
18
+5
Jincheng Tongda & Neal
126
213
339
19
=
Fangda Partners
59
268
327
20
NEW
King & Capital
97
58
300
21
-3
Jingtian & Gongcheng
82
208
290
22
-2
Global Law Ofice
60
220
280
23
-2
Hylands Law Firm
68
200
278
24
NEW
Jointide Law Firm
121
79
266
25
NEW
Gaopeng & Partners
65
155
220
26
NEW
Zhongzi Law Ofice
41
167
208
27
-5
Tenet & Partners
65
47
178
28
-3
Boss & Young
66
104
170
29
NEW
Han Kun Law Ofices
34
116
162
30
NEW
Watson & Band Law Ofices
33
108
159
largest international firm by headcount
in Asia. UK Magic Circle firms Clifford
Chance and Linklaters retain the second
and third spots from last year, with 409
and 340 lawyers in Asia, respectively.
Winston & Strawn and Troutman Sanders
enter the Top 50 International Law Firms
table this year, as well as fellow U.S. firm
Morgan Lewis & Bockius, which absorbed
Bingham McCutchen in November 2014 and
merged with Singaporean firm Stamford
Law Corporation in April this year. Dentons
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Clifford Chance
11
36
88
-1
Baker & McKenzie
20
53
82
3
+2
Freshields Bruckhaus
Deringer
5
N/A
>60
4
-2
Hogan Lovells
13
47
60
5
+1
Linklaters
9
32
47
6
-3
DLA Piper
7
40
47
7
=
Pinsent Masons
8
37
45
8
+4
Jones Day
20
17
39
Mayer Brown JSM
8
30
38
Clyde & Co
7
17
34
9
=
10
NEW
11
NEW
12
-2
FIRM
Dentons
5
21
31
Herbert Smith Freehills
6
23
29
13
NEW
Simmons & Simmons
7
14
27
14
=
Norton Rose Fulbright
10
16
26
15
+7
Reed Smith
6
7
26
16
-5
Allen & Overy
8
14
25
17
-9
CMS, China
5
20
25
18
-3
Sidley Austin
7
13
24
19
-2
White & Case
4
15
22
Orrick, Herrington &
Sutcliffe
6
9
20
Taylor Wessing
4
16
20
20
NEW
21
-5
22
-9
O'Melveny & Myers
7
4
19
23
-3
Gide Loyrette Nouel
4
15
19
24
-1
K&L Gates
7
10
18
25
NEW
Bird & Bird
5
13
18
also features in the table this year at #39,
and is poised to climb higher in next year’s
table next year once its mergers with
China’s Dacheng Law Offices, Singapore’s
Rodyk & Davidson and Australia’s Gadens
are sealed.
Among Asian firms, Dacheng Law
Offices (4,311 lawyers) clinches the top
spot as the largest firm in Asia, displacing
fellow Chinese firm Beijing Yingke Law
Firm. Korean firm Kim & Chang (>1,200) is
the only non-Chinese firm in the top ten.
NORTH ASIA
With 4,311 lawyers in China, Dacheng Law
Offices displaces Beijing Yingke Law Firm
(3,220 lawyers) as the largest law firm in
China. Zhong Yin Law Firm (1,221) is the
third-largest firm in China, while DeHeng
Law Offices (1,182) jumps up one spot
from last year to fourth. AllBright Law
Offices (1,082) catapults up three spots
to fifth this year, CONTINUE D O N PAG E 3 6
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
20TH ANNIVERSARY
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
36
HONG KONG DOMESTIC
HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
Deacons
52
148
213
1
=
=
Woo Kwan Lee & Lo
36
27
78
2
+1
=
Li & Partners
7
44
65
3
-1
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
3
FIRM
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
65
130
195
Clifford Chance
36
105
168
Baker & McKenzie
52
86
162
FIRM
Mayer Brown JSM
4
=
Wilkinson & Grist
25
18
53
4
=
Linklaters
23
116
149
5
+2
Howse Williams Bowers
16
25
49
5
+1
King & Wood Mallesons
26
71
138
6
=
P.C. Woo & Co
16
25
44
6
+3
Freshields Bruckhaus
Deringer
20
42
109
7
+2
ONC Lawyers
9
21
39
7
-2
DLA Piper
31
72
103
8
=
Gallant Y.T. Ho & Co
17
20
37
8
+2
Herbert Smith Freehills
19
65
92
9
+1
Hastings & Co
14
16
37
9
-1
26
52
89
10
+1
Robertsons
15
17
36
Reed Smith Richards
Butler
10
-3
Allen & Overy
17
26
86
11
+1
Stevenson, Wong & Co
13
18
35
11
+4
Davis Polk & Wardwell
8
66
78
12
+1
Oldham, Li & Nie
11
13
33
12
-1
Sidley Austin
19
47
76
13
+1
Haldanes
15
11
30
14
+1
Smyth & Co
7
15
27
15
NEW
Tanner De Witt
10
14
+1
Stephenson Harwood
18
32
61
-2
Hogan Lovells
20
49
69
26
In Hong Kong, a healthy flow of
M&A, IPO and other transactional
work is creating more work for the
legal industry, causing many firms to
beef up their corporate and capital
markets practices.
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 3 4
having added
more than 100 lawyers to the firm since
September last year. The China Domestic
table also features a number of new entrants, including Tian Yuan Law Firm
(>578), Sichuan Mingju Law Firm (421),
King & Capital (300), Jointide Law Firm
(266), Gaopeng & Partners (220), Zhongzi
Law Office (208), Han Kun Law Offices
(162) and Watson & Band Law Offices (159).
Clifford Chance (88) jumps up three
places from last year to become the biggest international law firm in China, ahead
of Baker & McKenzie (82), Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer (>60), Hogan Lovells
(60) and Linklaters (47). Jones Day (39)
rises four places from #12 to #8, while
13
14
15
+1
Kirkland & Ellis
28
36
68
16
-3
Norton Rose Fulbright
22
44
66
17
+2
Ashurst
15
45
65
18
-1
Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom
12
39
62
19
NEW
Zhong Lun Law Firm
16
16
50
20
-2
21
NEW
Holman Fenwick Willan
15
33
48
Clyde & Co
10
29
48
22
23
+2
Ropes & Gray
14
32
46
-2
Latham & Watkins
12
34
46
24
-2
25
NEW
Eversheds
15
25
45
Simmons & Simmons
15
28
43
Reed Smith (26) climbs seven spots to
#15. O’Melveny & Myers falls nine places
from #13 to #22, with the firm’s headcount
contracting by 12 lawyers since September
2014.
In Hong Kong, a healthy flow of M&A,
IPO and other transactional work is creating
more work for the legal industry, causing
many firms to beef up their corporate and
capital markets practices. And with a fully
functional Competition Law just around the
corner, some firms have started to form
new or bolster existing antitrust practices
through partner relocations and lateral
hires. Deacons retains its status as the
largest Hong Kong law firm, boasting 213
lawyers, including 52 partners. The firm is
also the only Hong Kong outfit to feature
in the Asia Top 50 table. Woo Kwan Lee &
Lo (78), Li & Partners (65) and Wilkinson
& Grist (53) cement their second, third and
fourth positions, respectively. Meanwhile,
Howse Williams Bowers (49), which was
established in 2012, climbs two spots to
#5 as it continues to aggressively hire local
talent. Tanner De Witt is a new entrant this
year, slotting in at #15 with 10 partners
and 16 other lawyers.
The Hong Kong International table features many changes as a plethora of firms
continue to actively recruit talent from
their competitors. Mayer Brown JSM (195)
retains its top spot, adding more than
20 lawyers to its CONTINUE D O N PAG E 3 8
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
COVER STORY
JAPAN DOMESTIC
JAPAN INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
Nishimura & Asahi
98
332
480
1
=
+1
Mori Hamada &
Matsumoto
100
263
363
2
3
+2
Anderson Mori &
Tomotsune
112
209
362
4
=
Nagashima Ohno &
Tsunematsu
89
205
324
5
-3
TMI Associates
67
249
324
6
=
City-Yuwa partners
43
70
136
7
=
Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners
41
51
118
8
=
Atsumi & Sakai
49
47
108
9
=
Kitahama Partners
32
45
86
10
=
Nakamura & Partners
36
42
81
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
FIRM
37
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Baker & McKenzie
49
75
160
=
Morrison & Foerster
38
47
110
3
+2
Jones Day
15
31
56
4
=
White & Case
14
34
54
5
+1
Clifford Chance
7
27
52
6
+1
Herbert Smith Freehills
9
31
40
7
+3
Squire Patton Boggs
12
21
35
8
=
Linklaters
6
25
33
9
+2
Orrick, Herrington &
Sutcliffe
10
20
30
10
+5
Freshields Bruckhaus
Deringer
5
17
30
11
-2
Hogan Lovells
6
22
28
12
=
Ashurst
6
19
26
13
=
K&L Gates
9
10
19
14
NEW
Allen & Overy
6
12
19
15
-1
DLA Piper
4
13
17
FIRM
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
38
Nishimura & Asahi still stands as the largest
law firm in Japan with 480 lawyers, 13 more than
in 2014. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (363) climbs
one place in the table to clinch second, while
TMI Associates (324) drops three spots to #5.
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 36
offices since
mid-2014. Clifford Chance (168) claims
the #2 spot in the table this year, ahead
of Baker & McKenzie (162). Clyde & Co
(48) and Simmons & Simmons (43) are the
new entrants, as well as Zhong Lun Law
Firm, which merged with its Hong Kong
associate firm Boughton Peterson Yang
Anderson in March this year.
The Japan Domestic table reveals some
movement among the ‘Big Five’ Japanese
firms this year. Nishimura & Asahi still
stands as the largest law firm in Japan
with 480 lawyers, 13 more than in 2014.
Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (363) climbs
one place in the table to clinch second,
while TMI Associates (324) drops three
spots to #5. Of note is the rise of Anderson
Mori & Tomotsune (362) to #3 this year.
The firm was buoyed by the integration
of its business with Bingham McCutchen
Tokyo, with about 50 of the now-defunct
U.S. firm’s lawyers joining the Japanese
firm in April. With more than 60 lawyers
added to Anderson Mori’s Asian offices in
the past 12 months, the firm rises seven
spots in the Asia Top 50 table to #26.
The ‘Big Five’ Japanese firms feature in
the Asia Top 50 table, with several firms
opening new offices since September last
year. Anderson Mori opened in Ho Chi
Minh City and established a Jakarta desk
in May this year, while Nagashima Ohno
& Tsunematsu launched a Hanoi office in
April. Mori Hamada set up shop in Bangkok
and Nagoya in April and September, respectively, while Nishimura & Asahi entered
into an association with Indonesian firm
Rosetini & Partners in November 2014.
The top two international firms in Japan
remain unchanged from last year, with
Baker & McKenzie (160) and Morrison &
Foerster (110) both boasting offices with
more than 100 lawyers. Jones Day (56)
jumps two places to #3, while Squire Patton
Boggs (35) and Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer (30) climb three and five spots,
respectively. Bingham McCutchen exits
the table after being absorbed by Morgan
Lewis & Bockius CONTINUE D O N PAG E 4 0
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作为中国规模最大的综合性律师事务所之一，国浩始终走在中国法律服务市场的前沿，并确立了
在各个法律服务领域里的市场地位。携手国浩，将助于您取得更大的成功！
As one of the largest full-service law firms in China, Grandall is always on the leading edge
of China’s legal market, and maintains significant market presence in various practice areas.
Grandall will be a smart choice leading you to greater success.
• 证券与资本市场
• 投资与并购
•
•
•
•
银行与融资
证券与资本市场
Securities and Capital Markets
私募股权与风险资本
银行与融资 Banking and Finance
•
•
•
•
保险
投资与并购 Investment/M&A
一般商事法律
保险 Insurance
•
•
•
•
国际贸易
私募股权与风险资本
Private Equity and Venture Capital
竞争法与反垄断
国际贸易 International Trade
•
•
•
•
知识产权
一般商事法律 General Business Law
不动产
知识产权 Intellectual Property
•
•
•
•
基础设施与项目融资
竞争法与反垄断
Competition/Antitrust
破产清算
基础设施与项目融资 Infrastructure and Project Finance
•
•
•
•
海事海商
不动产 Real Estate
争议解决
海事海商 Shipping & Marine
• 破产清算 Bankruptcy
• 争议解决 Dispute Resolution
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北京
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杭州
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昆明
巴黎
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成都
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COVER STORY
SOUTH KOREA DOMESTIC
39
SOUTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Kim & Chang
120
N/A
>1,200
1
=
Cleary Gottlieb Steen &
Hamilton
2
12
15
=
Lee & Ko
143
367
510
2
3
=
Bae, Kim & Lee
166
242
410
+2
Herbert Smith Freehills
2
4
7
3=
-1
Paul Hastings
4
2
6
4
=
Shin & Kim
150
196
387
3=
+6
Ropes & Gray
4
2
6
5
=
Yulchon
127
178
369
5
-2
Clifford Chance
1
3
6
6
=
Yoon & Yang
115
165
315
6=
-1
Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett
7
=
Barun Law
1
4
5
N/A
N/A
190
6=
=
Baker & McKenzie
1
3
5
8
=
Jipyong
52
62
152
8
-2
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter
& Hampton
3
1
4
9
=
DR & AJU
50
65
130
10
9
NEW
Linklaters
2
2
4
=
Hwang Mok Park
49
31
94
10
-4
Covington & Burling
1
1
4
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
FIRM
FIRM
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
KOREA’S
PREMIER LAW FIRM
Unrivaled Expertise and Global Reach
As Korea’s leading global law firm,
Kim & Chang continues to deliver innovative solutions
to our clients’ most complex legal challenges.
www.kimchang.com
40
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
TAIWAN
INDIA
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
FIRM
Lee and Li
60
384
444
1
NEW
+3
Baker & McKenzie
33
33
66
2
=
3
-1
Formosa Transnational
20
43
63
4
+2
LCS & Partners
N/A
N/A
62
5
-2
Tsar & Tsai
23
36
59
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
FIRM
6
-2
Chien Yeh Law Ofices
15
31
59
7
=
Formosan Brothers
15
20
37
8
=
Deep & Far
N/A
N/A
35
9
=
Jones Day
6
9
26
10
=
Lee, Tsai & Partners
8
12
25
Korea’s signing of Free Trade
Agreements with the EU in July 2011
and the U.S. in March 2012 opened
up the Korean legal market to
American and European law firms.
Since then, more than 25
international law firms have launched
offices in Seoul, with several more
waiting on the sidelines.
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 38
in November
last year.
With more than 1,200 lawyers, Kim &
Chang stands as the largest firm in Korea,
as well as the largest non-Chinese firm in
Asia. The Korea Domestic table remains
unchanged from last year, with Lee & Ko
(510), Bae, Kim & Lee (410), Shin & Kim
(387) and Yulchon (369) making up the
rest of the top five largest firms.
Korea’s signing of Free Trade Agreements
with the EU in July 2011 and the U.S. in
March 2012 opened up the Korean legal
market to American and European law irms.
Since then, more than 25 international law
irms have launched ofices in Seoul, with
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Cyril Amarchand
Mangaldas
90
463
605
Khaitan & Co
101
314
415
Shardul Amarchand
Mangaldas & Co
70
289
370
3
NEW
4
+1
AZB & Partners
60
260
320
5
-1
J. Sagar Associates
75
211
306
6
-3
Luthra & Luthra
54
220
274
7
-1
Lakshmikumaran &
Sridharan
39
171
210
8
+8
Kochhar & Co
41
137
178
9
-2
Desai & Diwanji
17
156
173
10
-2
Trilegal
23
125
172
11
+1
Fox Mandal & Co
36
120
156
12
-2
DSK Legal
12
100
150
13
-2
M.V. Kini & Company
11
139
150
14
-5
Wadia Ghandy & Co
33
110
145
15
-2
Mulla & Mulla & Craigie
Blunt & Caroe
14
86
122
16
-2
Economic Laws Practice
28
91
119
17
-2
Anand and Anand
19
95
115
18
-1
Rajani, Singhania &
Partners
22
70
92
19
-1
Vaish Associates
12
78
90
20
-1
Nishith Desai Associates
8
64
72
21
-1
HSA Advocates
16
54
70
22
-1
Khaitan Sud & Partners
13
50
65
23
-1
Juris Corp
13
51
64
Majmudar & Partners
6
50
56
Phoenix Legal
8
44
55
24
+1
25
NEW
several more waiting on the sidelines. To
relect this trend, the report features a
Korea International table for the second
year running. Most of the ofice sizes in
Seoul are small, as the international law
irms are subject to certain restrictions that
remain in force until Korea’s legal market
completely opens up to European irms in
July 2016 and U.S. irms in March 2017. As
the Korean legal market moves closer to
full liberalisation, more international irms
are expected to set up shop in Seoul, and
existing irms are likely to bolster their practices, with some even considering mergers
and alliances with domestic irms.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has the
largest international practice in Korea with
15 lawyers. Just three lawyers separate the
second and tenth positions on the table.
Herbert Smith Freehills climbs two spots
to #2 with seven lawyers, while Covington
& Burling slips four places to #10 with
four lawyers. Ropes & Gray ascends six
spots in the table to #3, tied with Paul
Hastings with six lawyers including four
partners based in Seoul.
With 444 lawyers, Lee and Li keeps its
spot as the largest firm in Taiwan, and is
the only Taiwanese firm in the Asia Top 50
table. Baker & McKenzie (66) jumps three
spots to #2, while Formosa Transnational
(63) falls one place to #3.
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ASIA
South/Southeast Asia is a region with
high growth potential. The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region
is poised for economic expansion, with the
integration of the 10 ASEAN members into
the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
expected to launch by the end of 2015.
The AEC, which will create a trading bloc
of more than 600 million people with a
GDP exceeding $5.6 trillion, seeks to relax
capital-flow restrictions and promote the
free movement of goods, services and
labour within the region. This initiative is
likely to provide lucrative opportunities for
legal work, particularly in areas such as
financial services, telecoms, real estate,
projects and consumer goods.
India’s growth remains steady, and its
prime minister, Narendra Modi, whose
political party emerged victorious in last
year’s elections, has vowed to revive the
country’s economic development. Energy
and natural re- CO N TINUED ON PAGE 4 3
COVER STORY
41
INDONESIA
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro
15
86
112
=
Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners
20
83
103
=
Assegaf Hamzah & Partners
18
78
96
11
77
89
12
62
74
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
3
4
NEW
Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung
5
-1
Hanaiah Ponggawa & Partners
FIRM
6
-1
Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo
9
55
64
7
-1
Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono (SSEK)
6
47
58
8
-1
Makarim & Taira S.
7
42
50
9
=
Soemadipradja & Taher
8
30
40
10
=
Mochtar Karuwin Komar
6
29
38
11
=
Melli Darsa & Co
4
30
37
12
-4
Makes & Partners
4
30
34
13
NEW
ZICOlaw
4
26
30
14
NEW
Aridea Kadri Sahetapy-Engel Tisnadisastra (AKSET
Law)
4
26
30
15
-2
Ginting & Reksodiputro
3
23
29
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
42
MALAYSIA
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
+1
2
PHILIPPINES
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
FIRM
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Zaid Ibrahim & Co
49
119
172
1
=
SyCip, Salazar, Hernandez
& Gatmaitan
41
82
149
Lee Hishammuddin Allen
& Gledhill
31
74
107
2
=
ACCRALAW
53
74
127
3
=
Romulo Mabanta
Buenaventura Sayoc & De
Los Angeles
45
48
95
4
=
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider &
Santos
25
30
56
5
=
Quisumbing Torres
19
32
51
6
=
Castillo Laman Tan
Pantaleon & San Jose Law
Ofices (CLTPSJ)
22
26
50
7
+1
Siguion Reyna Montecillo
& Ongsiako
27
19
47
8
+1
V&A Law
14
31
45
9
-2
Puno & Puno Law Ofices
14
28
42
10
=
PJS Law Firm
12
15
27
FIRM
3
-1
Shearn Delamore & Co
52
54
106
4
=
Skrine
37
63
105
5
=
Zul Raique & Partners
37
51
90
6
=
Shook Lin & Bok
25
56
81
7
+2
Wong & Partners
17
57
74
8
-1
Azmi & Associates
16
53
69
9
+2
Raja, Darryl & Loh
22
40
65
10
-2
Rahmat Lim & Partners
25
36
61
11
-1
Kadir Andri & Partners
18
43
61
12
+1
Christopher & Lee Ong
21
35
57
13
-1
Adnan Sundra & Low
13
38
54
14
+1
Jeff Leong, Poon & Wong
9
35
45
15
-1
Albar & Partners
13
24
37
北京市天元律师事务所创立于1992 年，是中国成立时间最早和规模最大的合伙制律师事务所之一。天元现有合
伙人70余名，律师400余名。天元总部在北京，并在上海、深圳、成都设有分所。天元的绝大多数律师获有国内外著
名法学院校的硕士、博士学位，其中，很多律师拥有在国际知名律师事务所或公司法律部门多年的工作或学习经历。
天元律师能够以普通话、英语、法语、日语提供法律服务。
天元一直秉持专业、敬业、勤业的理念，致力于为客户提供高质量、高效率、全方位的法律服务。天元在证券、公司
并购、反垄断、资产证券化、保险、知识产权、房地产、争议解决等业务领域处于国内领先地位。
近年荣誉：
北京市西城区
丰盛胡同28号
太平洋保险大厦
10层,
100032
www.tylaw.com.cn
北京 · 上海 · 深圳 · 成都
• 1998 年，天元被中华人民共和国司法部评为首批20 家“部级文明律师事务所”之一，总分名列第二。
• 2003 年入选国际权威的律师事务所评价杂志Legal 500 (The Asia Paciic) 评选的在中国领先的若干家律
师事务所之一。
• 1998 年至2004 年，天元均被评为“北京市优秀律师事务所”或“人民满意的律师事务所”或“文明律师事务所”
等荣誉称号。
• 2005 年，天元被中华全国律师协会评为“全国优秀律师事务所”。同时，还有一名律师被评为“全国优秀律师”、
一名律师受到全国律协的嘉奖、一名律师被评为“北京市优秀律师”；天元成为当年获奖最多的律师事务所。
• 2008 年，天元被中华全国律师协会评为2005- 2007 年度“全国优秀律师事务所”。
• 2011 年，天元入选《亚洲法律事务》（ALB）统计评选出的全国律师事务所发展二十强；同年，天元被中华全
国律师协会评为“2008—2010 年度全国优秀律师事务所”；这是天元连续四次获得中国律师界的最高荣誉。
• 2014 年，天元被北京市司法局、北京市律师协会评为“2013-2014 年度北京市优秀律师事务所”。
• 2014 年12 月，天元被清科评为“2014 年中国VC/ PE 人民币基金投资最佳法律顾问机构” 。
• 2012-2015 年，天元连续被国际权威法律服务排名机构钱伯斯（Chambers & Partners）评选为中国资本市
场、并购、争议解决和保险领域领先的律师事务所。
• 2015 年，天元被投中集团(Chinaventure) 评为“2014 年中国私募投资和风险投资最佳法律顾问Top5” 。
• 2015年天元被北京市律师协会选为“2012至2014年年度北京市优秀律师事务所” 。
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
COVER STORY
SINGAPORE DOMESTIC
SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
Allen & Gledhill
143
222
367
1
=
=
Rajah & Tann
144
190
334
2
NEW
=
WongPartnership
100
202
302
3
-1
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
=
2
3
FIRM
4
=
Drew & Napier
87
122
275
5
=
Rodyk & Davidson
85
101
193
6
+1
Shook Lin & Bok
34
62
96
7
-1
Morgan Lewis Stamford
17
56
75
8
=
RHTLaw Taylor Wessing
28
38
73
9
+1
Colin Ng & Partners
17
32
49
10
NEW
Bird & Bird ATMD
15
27
43
sources, IT,
manufacturing, financial services and
healthcare have been hot sectors for
M&A, with several notable deals in the
pipeline. Despite the split of Amarchand
& Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co
into two firms in May, the new firms,
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Shardul
Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, are already
establishing themselves as heavyweights.
With 605 lawyers, Cyril Amarchand
Mangaldas is the largest law firm in India,
while Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (370)
enters the table in third. Khaitan & Co (415)
retains its #2 position, while AZB & Partners
(320) climbs one spot to #4, displacing J.
Sagar Associates (306). Kochhar & Co (178)
jumps eight places to #8, having added
more than 60 lawyers to its ranks over
the past 12 months.
With 112 lawyers, including 15 partners,
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro cements its standing as the largest law firm
in Indonesia. Hadiputranto, Hadinoto &
Partners (103) and Assegaf Hamzah &
Partners (96) retain their second and third
spots in the table, respectively. Hiswara
Bunjamin & Tandjung (89) enters the table in fourth, while fellow new entrants
ZICOlaw (30) and Arfidea Kadri SahetapyEngel Tisnadisastra (30) feature in the #13
and #14 positions, respectively.
Zaid Ibraham & Co is the largest law
firm in Malaysia, with 172 lawyers, including
49 partners. Lee Hishammuddin Allen &
Gledhill (107) climbs one spot to #2 this
year, edging ahead of Shearn Delamore &
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 41
43
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Baker & McKenzie.Wong
& Leow
25
71
96
FIRM
Withers KhattarWong
32
35
76
Clifford Chance
21
45
76
4
=
Norton Rose Fulbright
24
48
72
5
-2
Allen & Overy
13
44
66
6
-1
Linklaters
9
39
52
7
=
Watson, Farley & Williams
15
30
45
8
-2
Herbert Smith Freehills
11
30
45
9
-1
Ashurst
12
30
42
10
-1
Hogan Lovells
11
31
42
11
+5
Clyde & Co
14
17
37
12
-1
Latham & Watkins
11
25
36
13
+1
Jones Day
12
15
32
14
-4
White & Case
12
19
31
15
-4
Holman Fenwick Willan
11
19
30
16
-3
Pinsent Masons
10
15
25
17
+4
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley
& McCloy
6
18
26
18
-3
Stephenson Harwood
8
16
26
19
-2
Sidley Austin
9
12
25
20
-2
Berwin Leighton Paisner
7
13
20
21
-1
Shearman & Sterling
5
14
20
22
=
K&L Gates
7
10
18
23=
+1
Reed Smith
9
6
17
23=
NEW
King & Spalding
9
7
17
25
NEW
DLA Piper
5
9
14
With 367 lawyers, Allen & Gledhill takes the crown
as the largest firm in Singapore for the third
consecutive year. While Rajah & Tann features as the
second largest firm in Singapore, it is the largest
Singaporean firm in the Top 50 Asia table, due to its
sizeable presence in other parts of Asia. It now boasts
430 lawyers in Asia, and moves up one spot to #19 in
the Top 50 Asia table. WongPartnership (302), Drew &
Napier (275) and Rodyk & Davidson (193) claim the #3,
#4 and #5 spots, respectively.
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
44
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
COVER STORY
THAILAND
VIETNAM
PARTNERS
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
Tilleke & Gibbins
17
84
101
1
=
-1
Siam Premier
International Law Ofice
22
76
98
2
3
=
Baker & McKenzie
50
30
82
4
+3
Weerawong C&P
11
52
5
-1
Siam City Law Ofices
10
47
2015
RANK
FROM
2014
1
+1
2
ASSOCIATES
TOTAL NO.
OF LAWYERS*
Vision & Associates
15
64
79
=
VILAF
12
44
56
3
=
YKVN
9
46
55
63
4
+3
LNT & Partners
8
34
42
57
5
=
Baker & McKenzie
8
26
40
6
20
36
LS Horizon Limited
10
40
53
6
=
Rajah & Tann
13
31
44
7
+3
Indochine Counsel
2
25
30
=
DLA Piper
8
33
41
8
NEW
Tilleke & Gibbins
2
26
28
=
Chandler & Thong-ek Law
Ofices
11
26
40
9
-1
S&B LAW
7
20
27
10
-1
LuatViet Advocates &
Solicitors
5
20
25
11=
NEW
PBC Partners & RHTLaw
5
17
22
11=
-7
Phuoc & Partners
5
15
22
13
NEW
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers
6
14
20
14
NEW
Freshields Bruckhaus
Deringer
2
14
18
15
NEW
Bizconsult Law
7
10
17
=
7
NEW
8
10
PARTNERS
FIRM
Bizlink Lawyers &
Consultants
6
9
FIRM
NEW
Watson Farley & Williams
(Thailand)
6
Co (106) by one lawyer. Wong & Partners
(74) and Raja, Darryl & Loh (65) both
jump two places up the table to #7 and
#9, respectively.
In the Philippines, SyCip, Salazar,
Hernandez & Gatmaitan is once again
the largest law firm with 149 lawyers.
ACCRALAW (127), Romulo Mabanta
Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles
(95), Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
(56) and Quisumbing Torres (51) make
up the rest of the largest five firms in
the Philippines. Siguion Reyna Montecillo
& Ongsiako (47) and V&A Law (45) both
climb one spot, while Puno & Puno Law
Offices (42) drops two places to #9.
Although business activity in Singapore
has been relatively flat in 2015, many expect deal flow and opportunities for legal
work to pick up in 2016, especially as the
AEC starts to promote greater economic
integration. With 367 lawyers, Allen &
Gledhill takes the crown as the largest
firm in Singapore for the third consecutive
year. Close behind is Rajah & Tann with
334 lawyers, including 144 partners in
24
30
Singapore. While Rajah & Tann features as
the second largest firm in Singapore, it is
the largest Singaporean firm in the Top 50
Asia table, due to its sizeable presence in
other parts of Asia. The firm has expanded
its presence in Southeast Asia, bolstering its offices in Vietnam and Thailand,
among others. It now boasts 430 lawyers
in Asia, and moves up one spot to #19 in
the Top 50 Asia table. WongPartnership
(302), Drew & Napier (275) and Rodyk &
Davidson (193) claim the #3, #4 and #5
spots, respectively.
With 96 lawyers, Baker & McKenzie.
Wong & Leow is the largest international
firm in Singapore. Withers (76) enters
the table in second place after it forged
a Formal Law Alliance with KhattarWong
in April, with the latter’s entire partnership joining the international firm. Clifford
Chance (76) drops down to #3, while Norton
Rose Fulbright (72) stands firm at #4, having added nine lawyers to its ranks since
September 2014. King & Spalding (17) and
DLA Piper (14) enter the Singapore table
this year, at the expense of Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer and Gibson, Dunn
& Crutcher.
In Thailand, Tilleke & Gibbins claims
the top spot with 101 lawyers, displacing
Siam Premier International Law Office (98).
Baker & McKenzie (82) retains its #3 position, while Weerawong C&P (63) jumps two
places to #4. Rajah & Tann (44) continues
its expansion drive in Asia, with the firm
entering the Thailand table in seventh.
Watson Farley & Williams (Thailand) is
also a new entrant with 30 lawyers.
Despite uncertainties over a slowdown
in growth in Asia, Vietnam has made several changes to its legal and regulatory
landscape in the hopes of encouraging
investment and M&A activity in the region.
Vision & Associates remains in the top spot
in Vietnam, with 79 lawyers – 16 more than
in 2014. VILAF (56) and YKVN (55) hold
on to the #2 and #3 places, respectively,
while LNT & Partners (42) jumps up three
spots to #4. This year, ALB has extended
the table from 10 to 15 firms, resulting in
a number of new entrants, including PBC
Partners & RHTLaw (22).
NOTE: In the instance where a law firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, an official Law Society resource, or from last year’s submission.
*Total No. of lawyers is the total number of partners and associates, as well as other counsel, consultants and foreign counsel. Paralegals, trainees and pupils
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46
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
PHILIPPINES
CARTEL CRACKDOWN
FOLLOWING SOME TWO DECADES OF EFFORTS, THE PHILIPPINES FINALLY
ENACTED ITS COMPETITION LAW EARLIER THIS YEAR. RANAJIT DAM SPEAKS TO
LOCAL LAWYERS ABOUT THE IMPACT IT IS EXPECTED TO HAVE.
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MANUEL MOGATO
T
he Philippine Competition Act
(PCA), which took two decades for
the country’s Congress to enact, is
now a reality. A few months ago,
President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into
law landmark fair trade legislation aimed at
curbing cartels, price ixing and other forms
of anti-competitive practices, which have long
stiled economic growth. The new law seeks
to promote free and fair trade as well as
prevent large companies from monopolising
business and setting up cartels and from
manipulating and distorting market prices.
It will also create the Philippine Competition
Commission (PCC), an independent body
that will regulate and rule on cases involving practices such as anti-competitive acts,
cartels and price manipulation.
Lawyers say the PCA was badly needed,
and thus, most welcome. “There have been
Philippine competition laws even prior to
the enactment of the recent statute,” says
Arlene M. Maneja, a partner at SyCip, Salazar,
Hernandez & Gatmaitan. “Over the years,
various industry-speciic laws also have included anti-trust provisions. However, there
has been little enforcement of these laws.
We think this stemmed from, among others,
a lack of clear rules and mechanisms to
enforce these laws, the challenge of proving
the elements of the crime beyond reasonable
doubt and, generally, the lack of a competition law ‘champion,’ that is, an authority with
powers to enforce the laws and a mandate
to develop competence in the complex task
of competition law enforcement.”
She adds that the most the most important features of the new competition
law are the creation of the PCC, which
acts as the national competition authority;
the imposition only of administrative ines
and civil penalties on violations of the law
– except for behaviour constituting hardcore cartels that remains subject to criminal
penalty – as this reduces the disincentives
against iling complaints for breaches of
competition law; and the institutionalisation of a National Competition Policy, to be
developed by the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA), to ensure
that the Philippine government has an overall strategic direction for the promotion of
competition in trade and commerce.
The PCC will be able to impose ines of
up to 250 million pesos ($5.52 million) and
courts could impose jail terms from two to
seven years to company oficers and directors found guilty of unfair practices. Trade
oficials say the new law will usher in an
era where micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises can compete with large and
multinational irms ahead of the ASEAN
Economic Community.
“Some might say that the fact that the
law has been enacted at all and has inally
been passed is the most important matter
and a tremendous achievement,” say Norma
Margarita B. Patacsil, partner, and Marck
Joseph I. Macaraeg, associate, at Gatmaytan
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Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio (C&G Law).
“This is because previous bills/drafts of
the law have languished in the Philippine
Congress for many years, but inally, this
year – pursuant to ASEAN integration – the
country’s comprehensive competition law
was inally approved.”
POSITIVE IMPACT
Maneja expects that the new law will encourage business organisations to take advantage of its two-year grace period provision
to evaluate current business agreements,
policies and practices to determine validity
and acceptability under the new competition
law. “We think the new competition law
complements the current direction of the
Philippines towards spurring high economic
growth and development by ensuring that
those pursuing business expansion will not
do so at the expense of smaller business or
abuse their market position,” she explains.
Patacsil and Macaraeg believe that the
passage of the act has arguably raised
awareness of the need to ensure fair trade
practices and curb anti-competitive conduct.
“As long as the law is enforced and applied properly – starting with the appointment of qualiied persons to the PCC and
the commission’s issuance of clear and fair
implementing rules and regulations for the
law which will ill in necessary details for
its due implementation – we believe that
the law should contribute to and maintain
the momentum of the Philippines’ current
economic growth,” they say.
And companies are responding accordingly. “Businesses have long seen the drafts
of the various competition laws proposed in
the Philippine Congress and, given that the
new competition law does not materially
deviate from the key provisions of those
drafts, we think it is in line with companies’
expectations,” says Maneja. “The act adopts
some of the key principles of the ASEAN
Regional Competition Guidelines, much like
what other ASEAN nations have done, albeit
with some country-speciic modiications and
“AS IT BECOMES
CLEAR TO BUSINESSES
THAT REGULATORS
ARE SERIOUS ABOUT
ENFORCEMENT, WE
EXPECT THEM TO ACT
PRUDENTLY AND CONSULT
LEGAL COUNSEL, GIVEN
THE SERIOUS FINES
AND PENALTIES UNDER
THE NEW COMPETITION
LAW AND THE SEVERE
REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE
THAT CONVICTION WOULD
BRING.”
Arlene M. Maneja, Sycip, Salazar,
Hernandez & Gatmaitan
exceptions. The PCA also adopts certain
principles from U.S. antitrust laws as well as
the competition rules of the European Union.”
She also points out that as a result, her
irm expects to see increased competition
PHILIPPINES
47
work over the next two years in the form
of conducting compliance assessments and
training as well as merger control notiication under the new law, since these are the
provisions that have immediate impact on
businesses and their transactions. “The irm
has been re-aligning resources to ensure that
we are able to meet the clients’ requirements
and, if necessary, beef up our manpower
requirements through direct hiring or exploring partnerships with institutions requiring
complementary skills to address competition concerns,” she adds. It is a sentiment
shared by Patacsil and Macaraeg at C&G
Law. “Based on the number and quality of
inquiries our irm has had thus far on the
PCA, we believe that competition law will
remain a robust area for our irm,” they note.
Maneja of SyCip further notes that she
expects 2016 to involve increased competition work as information about the new
competition law trickles down to businesses
and developments occur relating to the
constitution of the PCC and the issuance
of the implementing rules and regulations.
“At present, we note a level of scepticism
on how urgent it may be for businesses to
ensure compliance, given past experience
regarding weak enforcement of existing
antitrust or competition laws,” she says.
“As it becomes clear to businesses that
regulators are serious about enforcement,
we expect them to act prudently and consult
legal counsel, given the serious ines and
penalties under the new competition law
and the severe reputational damage that
conviction would bring. Another impetus for
businesses to really take the PCA seriously
is the entry of foreign investors who come
from jurisdictions with robust competition
law enforcement and who will likely view
the Philippine competition law from that
perspective.”
48
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
THAILAND
SILVER LININGS
THAILAND, SOUTHEAST ASIA’S SECOND-LARGEST ECONOMY, HAS BEEN STUCK IN A RUT EVER SINCE
THE POLITICAL UNREST THERE BEGAN MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO. THE MILITARY JUNTA, IN POWER
SINCE MAY LAST YEAR, HAS BEEN ATTEMPTING TO REVIVE THE ECONOMY WITH MIXED RESULTS, BUT
THERE’S STILL ENOUGH WORK TO KEEP LAWYERS BUSY, FINDS RANAJIT DAM
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY PRACHA HARIRAKSAPITAK
A
s Southeast Asia’s second-biggest
economy, Thailand has been struggling to get things moving. Since
2012, it had been buffeted by
large-scale political unrest, although that
subsided after the army seized power in
May 2014. But to this day, exports and domestic demand remain stubbornly sluggish;
commodity prices are low, while household
debt is at a record high. Growth in 2014 was
only 0.9 percent – the weakest since loodhit 2011 – and it isn’t expected to be much
better this year. To compound matters, in
August a bomb blast in Bangkok killed 20
people, dealing a potential blow to tourism.
Speak to the country’s lawyers, though,
and a less gloomy scenario emerges. “From
our irm’s point of view, the change in gov-
ernment in May 2014 was a positive change,
and a familiar cycle in Thai government – it
was the seventh successful coup in 45 years,”
says Niwes Phancharoenworakul, managing
partner of Chandler & Thong-ek Law Ofices
(CTLO). “There was a drop in corruption
in the private sector. Not a single project
in our M&A, project inancing, and energy
practices was put on hold.”
He also notes that in July, Thailand’s Board
of Investment (BoI) reported an increase in
investment application approvals for the
irst half of 2015. “The value of approved
projects rose by 122 percent, compared with
the same period in 2014. The BoI approved
1,254 projects worth a total of 412.7 billion
baht [$11.8 billion] in the irst half of 2015,
compared to the irst half of 2014 when 744
REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa
projects worth 185 billion were approved,”
he says.
STEADY FLOW
Niwes says that his irm has been kept busy in
the past 18 months by a steady low of M&A,
project inancing and energy projects work.
This, he adds, has been helped somewhat
by recent legislative changes. “There were
amendments to the Civil and Commercial
Code (CCC) regarding rights of surety and
mortgagors,” he says. “Additionally, there
is a new Business Collateral Act (pending
publication) which introduces security in
movables, and will have a major impact
on the structure of security documents in
project inancings.”
Finally, he notes that there have been a
number of changes to laws that have had a
net positive impact for foreign direct investment. “This has included the announcement
of new investment promotion projects by
the BoI in December 2014, tax incentives for
Special Economic Zones (SEZs), relaxation
of certain visa/work permit rules to promote
tourism, and adoption of a strategic plan for
public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects,” he says.
In the sphere of disputes, the government
has maintained a policy against arbitration
for dispute resolution in state contracts, says
Niwes. “The Cabinet has the power to make
exceptions, which it does from time to time.
Because Thailand is not a litigious jurisdiction, most FDIs have accepted alternative
dispute resolution by, for example, the Energy
Regulatory Commission, an untested procedure. Otherwise, domestic and international
arbitration provisions are commonly found
in major contracts.”
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However, the challenge his irm faces
today is that the legal market in Thailand
is growing increasingly crowded, with the
entry of not just U.S. and UK law irms, but
also irms from within Asia. For example,
Japan’s Mori Hamada & Matsumoto opened
an ofice earlier this year. “Maintaining our
core lawyers at 40 will continue to be a
challenge, with the opening of Japanese
and other ASEAN law irms in Thailand,”
says Niwes. “We have lost no partners for
some time, and have recruited promising
younger associates. Foreign irms have the
continuing need for building up competent
teams of Thai lawyers, in part to address
the need for local language and culture,
and to work in litigation which is limited to
Thai licensed lawyers.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Niwes believes that ASEAN integration will
continue to boost both domestic and foreign investment in Thailand, particular as a
gateway to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and
Vietnam. The recent signing in 2015 of agreements on the Dawei SEZ will allow investors
THAILAND
49
“MAINTAINING OUR CORE LAWYERS AT 40
WILL CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE, WITH
THE OPENING OF JAPANESE AND OTHER
ASEAN LAW FIRMS IN THAILAND… FOREIGN
FIRMS HAVE THE CONTINUING NEED FOR
BUILDING UP COMPETENT TEAMS OF THAI
LAWYERS, IN PART TO ADDRESS THE NEED
FOR LOCAL LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, AND
TO WORK IN LITIGATION WHICH IS LIMITED
TO THAI LICENSED LAWYERS.”
Niwes Phancharoenworakul, CTLO
to plan for the east-west corridor. There
are major domestic, Chinese and Japanese
railway projects in the development phase.
But “it remains uncertain whether Thailand
will join the TPP investment treaty. The
government is reviewing the pros and cons
of joining this investment treaty,” he says.
Twelve countries have joined the TPP so far.
As for the work he expects his irm to do in
the near future, Niwes said that CTLO needs
to continue concentrating on M&A, project
inancing and projects. “The Thai government
has a policy to promote renewable energy,
and has adopted a feed-in-tariff which is
expected to continue to attract investment,
especially in solar, wind, and bio-mass. CTLO
will take a lead on negotiation with the BoI
under its new incentive and merit-based
criteria, and SEZ, and cross-border focus,”
he adds.
50
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
INNOVATION
IN CLOUD WE TRUST
IN THE FIRST PART OF A SERIES OF INNOVATIONS DISRUPTING THE LEGAL PROFESSION,
RANAJIT DAM LOOKS AT HOW CLOUD-BASED LEGAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS
REVOLUTIONISING THE WAY LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION ARE BEING CONDUCTED
L
egal case management software has
become a vital part of the dispute
resolution process. Used by lawyers
irms and courts to leverage knowledge and methodologies for managing the
life cycle of a case, such software helps
to better use, manage, consolidate, share,
and protect information. The best kinds
can integrate data from multiple systems,
departments and parties.
Among the market leaders in the space
today is the UK-headquartered Opus 2
International, which is able to blend sophisticated cloud technology with high-quality
court reporting to modernise evidence management for high-stakes matters across the
globe, including litigation, arbitration hearings and government inquiries. Currently, it
is in use in about 70 to 80 percent of all
major litigation and arbitration in the UK.
“It’s a fully functional technology that’s
designed speciically for use by lawyers,
courts and arbitrators that enables them to
access all case documents,” says Graham
Smith-Bernal, founder and CEO of Opus
2. “They can access the case from any device anywhere, and then it replicates what
they do in these documents, whether they
want to read or search through them. The
technology also allows them to annotate
the document in the same way they would
with hardcopy and then put notes, tags and
even hyperlinks for supporting documents
or paragraphs from another document. But
the biggest breakthrough is the cost, as
the document is in a secure cloud-based
environment. It is very easy to share what
they ind with colleagues anywhere in the
world.”
The cloud is a recent addition to the
space, and he admits that it was initially
dificult to get lawyers to overcome their
reticence to the new technology, primarily
over security issues. “We store things in
a secure and private cloud environment,
and we have two or three levels of security
control – the same as for banking,” he says.
However, two factors have led to an increase in take-up from the legal profession.
One has been cost – “this is a far more
eficient cost-saving, paper-saving way for
lawyers to work,” Smith-Bernal says – and
the other has been the fact that judges
and the arbitrators involved in mega-cases
usually have very little support, unlike law
irms, which have paralegals and other support lawyers to call on. “This technology
supports them and enables them to manage the key issues of the case. In arbitrations, for example, it allows arbitrators to
collaborate even though they might be in
different parts of the world.”
A key feature of Opus 2’s technology is
the concept of hyperlinking. To illustrate
its use, Smith-Bernal cites the example of
the 2012 Berezovsky v Abramovich trial,
one of the irst mega-trials to use the
technology. “The opening submission was
about 300 pages long, and the bottom of
each page was a reference to the support
documents the lawyer relied on to support
those points he’s making,” he says. “In our
technology, when the supporting documents
are entered, it automatically hyperlinks the
supporting documents to the actual point,
so all the judge or arbitrator needs to do
is just click on the document to launch it.
Similarly, lawyers can use it to hyperlink
a passage to a statement or document or
another piece that contradicts it, and then
share that with any of their colleagues.”
While current technology provides the
most beneits for mega arbitration or litigation cases, Smith-Bernal also sees the
advantages for small and mid-size disputes
moving forward, especially as the company is
developing new features. Opus 2 is looking
to introduce cross-language collaboration,
using which lawyers, judges, witnesses and
other can annotate the document using
different languages.
“Lawyers can still expect to see more
eficiency and cost-saving,” he says. “And
as disputes become more cross-border in
nature, we expect to see more take-up.”
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52
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
SPONSORED ARTICLE
LOO & PARTNERS
“ONE BELT ONE ROAD《一带一路》:
THREATS VS OPPORTUNITIES?
WHEN GOD CLOSES A DOOR, HE
OPENS A WINDOW!”
Discussions with Loo Choon Chiaw, Managing Partner of
Loo & Partners LLP
Loo Choon Chiaw
Managing Partner
A: 143 Cecil Street, Level Ten, GB Building Singapore 069542
T: (65) 6322-2288
F: (65) 6534-0833
E: [email protected]
W: www.loopartners.com.sg
ALB1: Broadly speaking, what are the
implications of OBOR to Singapore?
LCC1: One Belt One Road (“OBOR”) (or
《一带一路》in Chinese) is a tactical and
comprehensive initiative conceived and
proposed by China. It aims to promote
connectivity and cooperation among
countries primarily in Eurasia. The initiative
comprises two components, namely, the
land-based ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’
and the oceangoing ‘Maritime Silk Road’.
Ignoring its apparent political and security
objectives, OBOR has provided a gloss to
the Chinese Government’s ‘reaching out’
(or《走出去》in Chinese) policy, which
encourages Chinese enterprises to go
abroad in search of resources, new markets,
technologies and investment opportunities.
There are obvious threats and challenges
which Singapore must address by reason
of OBOR. Singapore, strategically, located
along the Malacca Straits, has been
beneiting from the busy shipping trafic
passing between the Andaman Sea and the
South China Sea. With the implementation
of OBOR, the location of Singapore will
lose its signiicance and become irrelevant
as maritime trafic can skip the port of
Singapore. Despite the potential threat
that movements of goods will forgo
Singapore when they are in transit between
China and Europe, I irmly believe that,
‘when God closes a door, he opens a
window’. Singapore, in the long run, will
stand to beneit from improved trade and
capital lows as well as the opening up
of new markets as OBOR gains traction.
Opportunities abound if Singapore plays its
cards right.
ALB2: Please elaborate on those
opportunities.
LCC2: Being the most economically
advanced country in the Southeast Asian
region according to the World Economic
Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report
2014-2015, and ranked the world’s most
successful economy in a recent survey
conducted by Legatum Institute, a Londonbased think tank, Singapore is likely to
enhance its position as an international
player when the implementation of OBOR
comes to fruition. As one of the region’s
leading inancial centres and business
hubs, Singapore’s key industries can play
an useful role when the PRC enterprises
look to invest in the region and proceed
toward internationalisation. The beneits
presented by OBOR will be multiplied
manifold upon a further integration of the
Southeast Asian countries under the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) framework.
To put the issue in context, ASEAN, when
viewed as a composite group, constitutes
the seventh-largest economy in the world,
with a combined GDP of US$2.5 trillion
in 2014. According to ASEAN-US Business
Council, the ASEAN’s combined GDP could
rise ivefold to US$10 trillion and would
become the fourth largest single market in
the world by 2030, after the EU, US, and
China.
ALB3: Are you referring to the business
opportunities which Singapore can capture
as a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
location to the PRC enterprises?
LCC3: Yes and no. While Singapore remains
an attractive FDI destination, it has been
moving beyond just being a host of FDIs
and is fast becoming an important source
of FDIs, namely, as a jurisdiction of choice
of foreign investors who plan to effect
investments in another jurisdiction via an
investment holding vehicle incorporated
in Singapore. Briely, as long as the host
jurisdiction of a foreign investor has entered
into an international investment agreement
(“IIA”) with Singapore, the foreign investor’s
FDI in Singapore (the “Singapore FDI”)
will be subject to investment protection.
The beneit goes on. Should the foreign
investor decide to invest in another
jurisdiction, via the Singapore FDI, with
which Singapore has entered into an IIA,
the Singapore FDI will also be protected
according to the relevant terms of the IIA.
For instance, if a PRC investor intends to
invest in a ASEAN State, the PRC investor
will be entitled to investment protection
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for its investment in Singapore and that
ASEAN State respectively, if the investment
is effected by an investment holding
vehicle incorporated in Singapore by virtue
of the existing IIA between China and
Singapore, and the ASEAN Comprehensive
Investment Agreement entered into by all
the ASEAN States in 2012. For the sake of
completeness, one must also bear in mind
the extensive network of double taxation
agreements (“DTAs”) which Singapore has
entered into with 76 countries across the
globe, and the comprehensive network
of free trade agreements (“FTAs”) which
Singapore has entered into with 31 of its
major trading partners. The Singapore FDI
will be able to take full advantage of the
DTA and FTA framework.
ALB4: What are the key areas under
OBOR which Singapore can play a
prominent role?
LCC4: Singapore can play a role in
the infrastructure developments sector,
including the energy, resources, power
generation and port infrastructure.
Such mega projects will need funding.
Singapore’s banking and inance sector
can take a lead in funding such projects.
For example, the Bank of China (Singapore
branch) has issued a four-year SGD500
million senior unsecured bond listed on
the Singapore Exchange (“SGX”), as part
of the bank’s multi-tranche, multi-currency
bond offering to support OBOR-related
projects, including the proposed building of
the Eurasian Land Bridge connecting China
to Russia and Central Asia, as well as the
maritime links through major seaports.
ALB5: What are the potential risks
in financing such huge infrastructure
development projects under OBOR?
LCC5: Political risks must be carefully
assessed before any investment is made
in any OBOR project as such a project
would be one strongly supported by and
closely identiied with the government of
the day. Any major political shift will spell
trouble for the project. This point can be
illustrated by the example of the Colombo
Port City Project, a reclamation real
estate project the size of Monaco, which
was progressing in full steam when the
former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
was in power, but was suddenly halted
after the Sri Lanka’s General Election in
January 2015, when the new Prime Minister
Maithripala Sirisena took ofice. Sovereign
risk must also be addressed. Venezuela
is struggling to repay its billion dollars of
loan to China, its largest creditor as the oil
price plummets and its economy lounders.
The safety and security aspect of the
project likewise cannot be underestimated.
To illustrate, as part of OBOR, China will
build 81,000 kilometers (about 50,000
miles) of high-speed railway, more than the
current world total, involving 65 countries.
The Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor
project attempts to link Pakistan with
Xinjiang, which located in northwestern
China, with a network of railways, highways
and pipelines to transport oil and gas to
Xinjiang. The proposed railways, highways
and pipelines will pass through some of the
world’s most dangerous and conlict-ridden
territories. Who will ensure and enforce
security in those territories? In addition,
the ongoing dispute over the South China
Sea is certainly not conducive to the OBOR
initiative.
ALB6: Since we are on the subject of
infrastructure developments, how do you
view the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank which Singapore is one
of the founding countries?
LCC6: A parallel may be drawn between
the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(“AIIB”) and the Asian Development Bank
(“ADB”), which was established in 1966 with
Singapore as one of its founding members.
As of 31 December 2014, Singapore has
contributed US$523 million to the ADB in
terms of capital subscription and funding,
and in consideration thereof, enterprises
and consultants from Singapore have
been awarded US$1.35 billion worth of
procurement contracts. Singapore was
wet behind the ears, indeed it was its
irst year of nation building, when it irst
joined the ADB. Over the years, the rookie
has progressed and attained a developed
nation status. Many of its enterprises have
also accumulated expertise in managing
international projects of substantial size
and complexity. With the ADB’s experience
which Singapore has accumulated for
nearly ive decades, it will be in a strong
position to help its enterprises capture
the vast business opportunities available
in connection with the management
and funding of international projects
administered by the AIIB.
ALB7: As a specialist boutique practice in
the corporate and financial space and in
the light of the prevailing uncertainties
in the global economy, what has been
keeping your firm busy these days?
LCC7: We have been blessed with a loyal
and diverse clientele and have been kept
reasonably busy. Let me hasten to add
that we would like to kept even busier!
Our banking practice colleagues have been
receiving instructions from new banks
which are setting up branch ofices in
Singapore, ranging from the preparation
of template documentation to the review
of responses to the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (‘MAS”) pertaining to governance
and compliance issues. There has also
been an increase of instructions on vessel
and aircraft inancing. The presence of
new family ofices from Europe and the
SPONSORED ARTICLE
region has also provided a regular low of
instructions to our private wealth practice
colleagues. Our corporate colleagues have
received more instructions on compliance
advice from funds and the latter’s strategic
investments in start-ups. In the light of
the uncertainties in the global inancial
markets, a handful of the Singapore IPOs
which we were working on have been put
on hold. Our corporate team is currently
focusing on several IPOs and cross-border
M&As.
ALB8: Will the scheduled visit by
President Xi Jinping have any impact on
the OBOR initiative?
LCC8: The upcoming state visit by President
Xi Jinping will without doubt further
enhances the existing close ties between
China and Singapore. The proposed
upgrade of the China-Singapore Free
Trade Agreement (CS-FTA) will deepen the
economic partnership between China and
Singapore, which will in turn strengthen
Singapore’s position as the jurisdiction
of choice of the PRC enterprises for their
proposed FDIs into the other ASEAN States
under the OBOR initiative. When that
happens, business opportunities await the
Singapore enterprises and in turn, their
legal advisors.
WE ARE OUR CLIENTS’ PARTNER
We regard ourselves as our clients’
strategic partner when tackling their
daily challenges. No stone shall be left
unturned in our daily search for the
most effective legal solution to meet
the special needs of each of our clients.
OUR MEMBERS ARE OUR ASSETS
In Loo & Partners, every individual
(no matter what position he or she
occupies) is a member of our team and
an asset to the irm. We are constantly
searching for persons with the requisite
qualities to join our team.
WE ARE A LOCAL FIRM WITH
REGIONAL CAPABILITIES
We strive as follows:
• To be the best amongst our peers
• To attract and retain committed
team members
• To enable each member to attain
his or her full potential
• To be our clients’ strategic partner
in tackling their daily challenges
• To implement changes necessary
to serve our clients better, increase
eficiency and reduce costs
• To maintain a level of proitability
that sustains funds further
investments to enhance our overall
capabilities and provides fair
rewards to members
53
54
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
Q&A
‘THE KEY THINGS ARE
ADAPTABILITY, HUSTLE
AND GRIT’
YONG KAI WONG, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE AT
CITIC CAPITAL, WAS INCLUDED IN ALB’S ASIA 40 UNDER 40 FOR 2015 AS WELL AS A JOINT WINNER
OF THE OF THE IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF THE YEAR AWARD AT THE MACALLAN ALB HONG KONG
LAW AWARDS 2015. HE SPEAKS TO RANAJIT DAM ABOUT HOW HIS CAREER HAS BEEN SO FAR,
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO MANAGE AN IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM, AND THE THINGS THAT MOST INSPIRE HIM
ALB: Tell us a bit about your career so far.
Wong: I’m currently the general counsel
and the company secretary of CITIC Capital.
I’m responsible for the overall legal and
execution coverage for CITIC Capital’s investment activities, as well as all aspects of its
general corporate, company secretarial and
legal functions.
I have a pretty broad range of experience, having worked in various reputable
international law irms in the U.S., London,
Hong Kong and Singapore. I’ve also worked
in alternative investments across the U.S.,
Europe and Asia-Paciic, handling transactions ranging from complex debt inancings/
restructurings, capital markets, structured/
securitised products, and corporate M&A
transactions such as corporate real estate/
special situations, private equity and hedge
fund formations.
Prior to joining CITIC Capital, I was the
Associate General Counsel for APG Asset
Management Asia, one of the world’s largest
institutional investors. Also, since graduating
from legal studies in Cambridge, I’ve beefed
up my inance background with a MBA from
the University of Chicago.
ALB: What are some of the factors that
led you to pursue an in-house role over
private practice? What advice would you
give to younger lawyers in this regard?
Wong: I started my career during an economic downturn, so unlike inancial services/
corporate lawyers, I had to adapt to the
circumstances and became an insolvency
lawyer at the very beginning. I subsequently
switched back to corporate when the market
allowed for it.
Of course since then, there have been
economic cycles that required me to adapt
and pick up new skill sets such in private
equity (both upstream and downstream) and
real estate. The in-house role allowed me to
effectively apply my skill sets across various
product groups instead of being strictly tied
to a speciic product group.
Also, I wanted to be closer to the running
THERE IS A PERSISTENT
PERCEPTION THAT INHOUSE COUNSEL ARE
PEOPLE WHO WANT AN
EASIER LIFE OR BETTER
HOURS, BUT I THINK THAT
REALLY DEPENDS ON THE
INDIVIDUAL.
of a private equity business that’s tied to
the growth of China. In this regard, CITIC
Capital is a great platform that marries
international Western standards with onthe-ground Chinese know-how where I can
contribute my expertise and drive.
In terms of advice, I would say the key
things are adaptability, hustle and grit. First,
you must really be adaptable and go with the
times to learn new skills that are required
for this fast-moving environment, particularly
in the world of private equity and inance.
Second, you must hustle to work around
any issue or obstacle in front of you. You
should be the irst to try to work around it
as opposed to leaving it up to chance. Third,
as with all professions, it’s not all fun and
games – often, there is menial and tedious
work that needs to be done. There is a
common perception that most people who
head to in-house are there for the better
hours. Nothing is further from the truth in
my platform. We push pretty crushing hours
at CITIC Capital because of the coverage
of the legal and execution function across
many asset classes. As such, you really must
have the resolve to work things through, no
matter what.
ALB: What are some of the key achievements you’ve notched up during your
career, and what are some of the most
important lessons you’ve learned so far?
Wong: Instead of talking about what I’ve
achieved, I tend to focus on what I have
learnt because it’s only through looking
forward and using my experiences that I
can determine future steps.
I think one of the key things I have learnt
is to understand the broader picture. For the
most part, a lot of us may not need to see
the whole picture, but it is not enough to
understand the transaction document and
the rules surround it. I believe it is equally
important to have the correct perspective
about the operation of legal rules. Every
issue and problem can be dealt with ap-
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Q&A
55
inding the right people with the kind of
potential and value that can be maximised.
You have to realise that it should be a winwin relationship between you and the team
you manage because otherwise, the team is
not likely to last. I strongly believe that you
should try to genuinely care for your staff.
Apart from monetary compensation, I have
to ensure that the team feels properly valued
and given opportunities to grow.
ALB: How is role of in-house counsel evolving in your region/industry? How does
this impact your role and responsibilities?
Wong: These days, I feel that in-house counsel are expected to do more and more,
particularly in the areas of new regulatory
enforcement such as Volcker and FACTA.
These hot-button issues increase the regulatory burdens that we face – and this is in
addition to the current heightened regulatory
environment.
ALB: What more can in-house counsels
do to make themselves an indispensable
part of the organisation?
Wong: I think it is all about perspective.
There is a persistent perception that in-house
counsel are people who want an easier life or
better hours, but I think that really depends
on the individual. One key thing is to never
stop exploring ways that you can contribute
value to the organisation. Of course, the
in-house legal fund is the central platform
that cuts across the various businesses lines,
and it is up to in-house counsels to see if
there are know-how or best practices that
can be applicable across businesses.
plication of legal rules, but ultimately these
rules do not exist in a vacuum. You have to
be aware of the overarching commercial and
economic outlook in which the legal rules
exist to make a better judgement on how
to approach a problem or determine why a
particular provision is drafted. Very often,
it is not about the template used; rather
it is about the negotiation power between
the parties. Having that perspective allows
you to have better judgment in negotiation
and terms.
Similarly, you have to realise that a large
part of our job is about people management
– understanding the dynamics of how people
work and acting accordingly.
ALB: What are the most important qualities that someone in your current role
must possess?
Wong: I think people management skills –
the ability to assess and read the people
dynamics within the organisation and in
respect of a deal – is key. This allows you
to assess what role you could play to add
the greatest value to the transaction process as well as in the greater organisation.
People skills are particularly important in
the context of working with other teams,
gaining their respect and ensuring their
compliance with rules.
ALB: How have you set about building your
legal team at CITIC Capital? What would
you say is your strategy for it?
Wong: I inherited my team at CITIC Capital
from my predecessor. A large part of my
role is to ensure that team is cohesive and
operates well together. Of course recruiting is
not just about paper smarts; it is also about
ALB: What are the things that inspire and
motivate you to do what you do?
Wong: My team and my platform inspire me
to do what I do. I’m fortunate to be in CITIC
Capital because it participates in a great
number of groundbreaking transactions.
And because I’m part of the management
committee of CITIC Capital, it helps me to
see the whole picture of the platform and
pushes me to do more to realise all the
goals that our team set. Being in the thick
of these things inspires me greatly.
ALB: How would you like to see the next
decade of your career play out?
Wong: I’m more focused on the next two
years instead of the next decade. But – knock
on wood – I hope to contribute more to
CITIC Capital and evolve my role further in
other parts and business lines of the irm.
56
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
11th SEPTEMBER
M
CONRAD HONG KONG
bagged prizes for Tax and Trusts Law Firm of the
ayer Brown JSM and Citigroup stood
Year, Wealth Management Law Firm of the Year
out from the crowd at The Macallan
and Corporate Citizenship Law Firm of the Year.
ALB Hong Kong Law Awards on Sept.
The event also recognised the achievements of
11, taking home the Hong Kong Law
Hong Kong’s in-house legal community. Citigroup
Firm of the Year and In-House Team of the Year
was unveiled as the Hong Kong In-House Team of
awards, respectively.
the Year, and also bagged awards for Banking and
The 14th annual event, held at the Conrad Hotel
Financial Services In-House Team of the Year, Debt
in Hong Kong, recognised Hong Kong’s best law
Market Deal of the Year, Equity Market Deal of the
irms, legal work and lawyers across a total of 39
Year, M&A Deal of the Year and Hong Kong Deal of
categories. The evening, which entertained about
the Year. Alibaba Group was voted the Hong Kong
350 private practice lawyers, in-house counsel and
Corporate Counsel Association Award Innovative
business leaders from Hong Kong and the rest of
In-House Team of the Year, while Goldman Sachs
North Asia, commenced with a speech from guest
GUEST OF HONOUR
took home the prize for the Lewis Sanders Award
of honour Professor Michael Hor, Dean of The
Professor Michael Hor
Investment Bank In-House Team of the Year.
University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law.
Dean, Faculty of Law
The night also recognised individual excellence,
Mayer Brown JSM was crowned the Hong
The University Of Hong Kong
with Rodney Chen of MTR Corp and Yong Kai Wong
Kong Law Firm of the Year, and also took home
of Citic Capital jointly winning The Macallan Fine
another four awards including Real Estate Law
Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky Award In-House Lawyer of the Year
Firm of the Year, Insurance Law Firm of the Year and Insolvency and
Award. “I am very grateful to the panel of judges and the other
Restructuring Law Firm of the Year. “The irm’s success is mainly
inalists in the event. I think the other inalists are fantastic, and I
attributable to the trust that our clients have placed in us. Many of
just feel very fortunate and grateful,” said Wong. “Apart from luck,
these clients have had longstanding relationships with the irm,
I suppose it was a hands-on and creative approach towards being
and regard our partners as their trusted advisers. The ALB awards
an in-house legal team for an alternative asset management irm
are a testament to the continued support given to us by our clients
that probably set us apart from the rest. I always believed that
over many years,” said Elaine Lo, senior partner and Asia chair of
it was important to constantly challenge the norm and work out
Mayer Brown JSM.
solutions within the existing and commercial framework to solve
Bird & Bird won awards for Intellectual Property Law Firm of
our problems.”
the Year and TMT Law Firm of the Year, while Baker & McKenzie
CONTINUE D O N PAG E 68
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
LAW AWARDS
57
CONSTRUCTION
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Pinsent Masons
(L-R) Alan Yip, Mayer Brown JSM;
Ranajit Dam, Asian Legal Business (Presenter)
REAL ESTATE
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Nicholas Turner, Pinsent Masons; Huen Wong, Inter-Pacific Bar Association (Presenter);
Peter Clayton, Paul Haswell, Peter Bullock, Pinsent Masons
Mayer Brown JSM
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Bird & Bird
(L-R) Sarah Berkeley, Fiona Loughrey,
Simmons & Simmons; Nigel Francis, Francis & Co in
association with Addleshaw Goddard (Presenter)
(L-R) Alison Wong, Justin Walkey, Bird & Bird;
Noelle Tai, Yahoo! Inc (Presenter)
LABOUR AND
EMPLOYMENT
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
TECHNOLOGY,
MEDIA AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Simmons & Simmons
(L-R) Justin Walkey, Alison Wong, Bird & Bird;
Peggy Cheung, Jones Day and Hong Kong
Institute of Trade Mark Practitioners (Presenter)
W I N N ER
Bird & Bird
58
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
INSURANCE
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
TAX AND TRUSTS
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
W I N N ER
Mayer Brown JSM
Baker & McKenzie
(L-R) Andrew Ostrognai, Debevoise & Plimpton;
Zhou Jiaxing, China International Capital
Corporation (Presenter)
INVESTMENT
FUNDS
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Tow Lu Lim, Mayer Brown JSM;
David Simmonds, CLP Holdings (Presenter)
Debevoise & Plimpton
INSOLVENCY AND
RESTRUCTURING
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
(L-R) Pierre Chan, Baker & McKenzie;
Samantha Bradley, Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons (Presenter)
MARITIME
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
W I N N ER
Holman Fenwick Willan
Mayer Brown JSM
(L-R) Mark Hunsaker, Citibank (Presenter);
Milton Cheng, Baker & McKenzie
WEALTH
MANAGEMENT
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Thomas Pugh, Mayer Brown JSM;
Paul Christopher, Mourant Ozannes (Presenter)
Baker & McKenzie
(L-R) Rob Head, Thomson Reuters (Presenter);
George Lamplough, Hao-Ling Yau,
Henry Fung, Holman Fenwick Willan
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
SPONSORED ARTICLE
59
THE MACALLAN
DECADENCE DEFINED
Introducing The Macallan Rare Cask
Since 1824, The Macallan name has been associated with
unrivalled craftsmanship and quality. And now there is a
new whisky bearing this name; a single malt born from this
unwavering endeavour. This is The Macallan Rare Cask, the
embodiment of its obsession to making a truly great single
malt.
Rare Cask is crafted by The Macallan Master Whisky Maker
from a small proportion of maturing casks at The Macallan
distillery. These casks are handmade from Spanish and
American oak; and are the best in the business. Wood deines
the lavour of The Macallan, with over 60% of the character
comes from the cask it is aged in. But as the name suggests,
there is more to this story. Rare Cask is truly rare. This rarity
comes from the fact that some of the casks used in the
creation of this whisky will never be used again.
Rare Cask is a truly individual Macallan whisky. It has been
crafted from whiskies selected from 16 individually different
casks proiles – the most ever used in a single Macallan
whisky.
Less than 1% of the casks maturing are selected for Rare
Cask, some of these are no longer available. Owing to the
number of cask types involved and the length of time it takes
to identify them, it takes longer to create than any other The
Macallan. This is an extremely rewarding whisky owing to
the complexity of lavour. Rare Cask is the most diverse and
intricate Macallan whisky; a reinterpretation of the classic
proile achieved through the widest palette of cask styles.
The 16 cask proiles tell the wood story of The Macallan.
From different wood species, namely Spanish and American
oak; different cask manufacturers including Tevasa, Vasyma
and Hudosa; different bodegas including Gonzalez Byass
and Williams and Humbert to different casks sizes including
puncheons, butts and hogsheads, these factors come
together to redeine diversity in single malt. Rare Cask has
been crafted from Spanish and American sherry seasoned
oak casks, a high proportion of them being irst ill, including
some of the most precious and scarce casks. Collectively
these factors have given rise to an exquisite whisky with
a splendidly rich and resonant hue, and an unmistakably
woody whisky.
Bob Dalgarno, Master Whisky Maker is responsible for
curating Rare Cask, testing his knowledge and skill to create
a whisky worthy of The Macallan name. “Rare Cask is about
irstly identifying a selection of casks which can truly be
called rare – in fact far less than 1% of those maturing on site.
This means casks that will no longer be available to us as
well as from cooperages and bodegas no longer in existence.
In creating Rare Cask, we have then brought together the
distinct characteristics of the broadest variety of cask styles
to create a whisky true to The Macallan name. Each of the
cask proiles result in different character, so each imparts
their own unique inluence on the inal whisky.”
W: www.themacallan.com
The Macallan Rare Cask captures a true decadence; its
creation goes beyond any other Macallan whisky and its rarity
is absolute. It is a single malt of such diversity and intricacy
it challenges the very conventions of whisky creation. It is
almost a reinvention by design, but yet The Macallan at its
core.
Soft notes of opulent vanilla and raisin pique the nose, giving
way to a sweet ensemble of apple, lemon, and orange. All
balanced by a spicy quartet of root ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg
and clove. On the palate this spicy quartet are unwavering.
Oak resonates, timeless, polished and rich. Vanilla and
chocolate lead the inale along with a light citrus zest. The
inish of this naturally occurring mahogany-red spirit is full,
warming and woody.
With a rich mahogany red hue, The Macallan Rare Cask
showcases two of The Macallan’s greatest strengths,
exceptional oak casks and natural colour, which are
combined with knowledge, skill, passion, commitment and
creativity. A whisky produced through meticulous dedication
to wood. Some would call this an obsession. We call it The
Macallan.
The Macallan Rare Cask is available from July 2015 with a
recommended retail price of HK$2,850.
About The Macallan
Founded in 1824 in the heart of Speyside, The Macallan
was one of the irst distilleries in Scotland to be legally
licensed. Since then it has built a reputation as one of
the world’s inest single malt whiskies. The story of The
Macallan is built on the Six Pillars, each inluencing the
whisky in its own distinct way. From the spiritual home
of Easter Elchies House; curiously small stills giving
richness and fruit to the pure spirit; inest cut or the best
of the best of the distillation to exceptional oak casks
which account for over 60% of the inal whisky; natural
colour and peerless spirit, The Macallan itself.
Wood sits at the heart of The Macallan. The vital
contributing inluences of Spain, North America and
Scotland, together with true mastery, set it apart from
the rest.
For more information on The Macallan, visit www.
themacallan.com and follow our activities on facebook
www.facebook.com/themacallan.hk
60
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
BDO LIMITED
AWARD
MATRIMONIAL
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
IMMIGRATION
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Oldham, Li & Nie
W I N N ER
Withers
(L-R) Julian Copeman, Herbert Smith Freehills;
Kim Rooney, Gilt Chambers (Presenter)
ARBITRATION
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Herbert Smith Freehills
(L-R) Rita Ku, Sharon Ser, Withers;
Paul Williams, BDO Limited (Presenter)
(L-R) Eugene Lai, Stephenson Harwood (Presenter);
Paul Firmin, Oldham, Li & Nie
TAIWAN DEAL
FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Lee and Li
(L-R) Steven Yeo, Manulife (Presenter); Jenny Nip, James Broad, Helen Wang,
Richard Spooner, Shirley Fu, Maples and Calder
OFFSHORE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Maples and Calder
(L-R) David Poureshagh, J.P. Morgan (Presenter);
Patricia Lin, Lee and Li
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
LAW AWARDS
61
BOUTIQUE
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Charltons
(L-R) Michelle Chow, Withers (Presenter);
Zhang Zhijin, JunHe;
Denis Petkovic, Withers (Presenter)
(L-R) Julian Copeman, Herbert Smith Freehills;
The Hon. Mr. Justice Bokhary, GBM, Judge of
the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Presenter)
WITHERS AWARD
PRC FIRM
HK OFFICE OF
THE YEAR
LITIGATION
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
W I N N ER
(L-R) Stephen Chow, Calvin Ho,
Julia Charlton, Charltons;
Kevin Chan, DLA Piper (Presenter)
JunHe
Herbert Smith Freehills
hong kong corporate finance
hong kong
shanghai
beijing
yangon
solicitors
law BOUTIQUE
irms. You entrust
your
clients
to THE
us for the
purpose
expertise
before we return them to you after the work is completed.
LAW
FIRM
OF
YEAR
2015of- utilizing
Asian Legalour
Business
Awards
www.charltonslaw.com
62
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
CORPORATE
CITIZENSHIP
LAW FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Baker & McKenzie
(L-R) Fern Ngai, Community Business (Presenter);
Milton Cheng, Baker & McKenzie
EQUITY MARKET DEAL OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Alibaba’s IPO
FIRMS: Conyers Dill & Pearman; Fangda Partners; King & Wood Mallesons; Maples and Calder;
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Sullivan & Cromwell
BANKS: Citigroup Global Markets; Credit Suisse; Deutsche Bank;
Goldman Sachs; J.P. Morgan; Morgan Stanley
(L-R) Arnold Pang, Fangda Partners; Pamela Ng, Morgan Stanley; Hayden Flinn, King & Wood Mallesons;
James Kong, Mizuho Securities Asia (Presenter); David Lamb, Conyers Dill & Pearman;
Guangjie Hopton, Alibaba Group; Richard Spooner, Maples and Calder
DEBT MARKET
DEAL OF THE YEAR
M&A DEAL OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
OCBC’s Acquisition of Wing Hang Bank
Alibaba’s Debut 144A/Reg S Bond Offering
FIRMS: Fangda Partners; King & Wood Mallesons; Maples and Calder;
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Sullivan & Cromwell
BANKS: Citigroup Global Markets; Credit Suisse Securities; Deutsche Bank;
Goldman Sachs (Asia); J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley
(L-R) Richard Mazzochi, King & Wood Mallesons; Kathy Thorpe, Morgan Stanley;
James Li, Sullivan & Cromwell; Guangjie Hopton, Alibaba Group;
Arnold Pang, Fangda Partners; Alice Chan, Prudential Corporation Asia (Presenter);
Richard Spooner, Maples and Calder
W I N N ER
FIRMS: Allen & Gledhill; Freshields Bruckhaus Deringer; Haiwen & Partners;
Kirkland & Ellis; Maples and Calder; MdME Lawyers; Slaughter and May
BANKS: Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Goldman Sachs;
J.P. Morgan; Nomura Holdings
(L-R) Karen Wu, UBS Hong Kong (Presenter);
Royce Miller, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Jenny Nip, Maples and Calder
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: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
LAW AWARDS
63
CRIMINAL LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Haldanes
(L-R) Kevin Chan, Phoebe Lau, Lilian Tang, Anita Leung, Nick Hemens, Felix Ng, Andrew Powner, Haldanes;
Prof. Michael Hor, Guest of Honour/University of Hong Kong (Presenter); Yuki Kong, Emily Cheung, Tim Wan, Haldanes
DEAL OF THE YEAR
DEAL FIRM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Alibaba’s Debut 144A/Reg S Bond Offering
W I N N ER
FIRMS: Fangda Partners; King & Wood Mallesons; Maples and Calder;
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Sullivan & Cromwell
BANKS: Citigroup Global Markets; Credit Suisse Securities; Deutsche Bank;
Goldman Sachs (Asia); J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley
(L-R) Arnold Pang, Fangda Partners; Kathy Thorpe, Morgan Stanley;
Catherine Chang, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co (Presenter); Guangjie Hopton, Alibaba Group;
Richard Spooner, Maples and Calder; James Li, Sullivan & Cromwell
Linklaters
(L-R) Craig Dally, Linklaters;
James Bidlake, Morgan Stanley (Presenter); Betty Yap, Linklaters
We are very pleased to have been voted once again as the Criminal Law Firm of the Year. Much of our work comes from referrals from other
law irms. You entrust your clients to us for the purpose of utilizing our expertise before we return them to you after the work is completed.
We appreciate your trust and support.
7/F Ruttonjee House, 11 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong
Telephone: (852) 2868 1234
Facsimile: (852) 2845 1637
Website: www.haldanes.com Email: [email protected]
64
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
BANKING AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES
IN-HOUSE TEAM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Citigroup
(L-R) Nelson Tang, Hermia Ngai, Ryan Siau, Angela Ng, Manulife;
Mandy Lam, Thomson Reuters (Presenter); Steven Yeo, Rachel Chu,
Sherman Chan, Vincent Tang, Jim McInnis, Graham Langley, Manulife
INSURANCE
IN-HOUSE TEAM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Rob Head, Thomson Reuters (Presenter); Mark Hunsaker, Ron Serje,
Matthew Brace, Amy Reich, Shuoying Lim, Cindy Wong, Joo Kim Ng, Allan Lai,
Peter Fisher-Jones, David Goldberg, Phil Holt, Citigroup
Manulife
LEWIS SANDERS
AWARD
INVESTMENT
BANKING
IN-HOUSE TEAM
OF THE YEAR
CONSTRUCTION AND
REAL ESTATE
IN-HOUSE TEAM
OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Hongkong Land
W I N N ER
Goldman Sachs (Asia)
(L-R) ): Joanna Yau, The Carlyle Group;
Brian Lee, FountainVest Partners (Asia) (Presenter)
PRIVATE EQUITY
IN-HOUSE TEAM
OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Yi Wang, Goldman Sachs;
Lindsey Sanders, Lewis Sanders (Presenter)
The Carlyle Group, Asia
(L-R) Bernardina Kwoh, Gloria Deng,
Cissy Leung, Hongkong Land;
Neerav Srivastava, Thomson Reuters (Presenter)
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LAW AWARDS
65
HOLMAN FENWICK WILLAN AWARD
SHIPPING IN-HOUSE TEAM OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
COSCO Pacific
(L-R) Guangjie Hopton, Alibaba Group;
Jeanette Chan, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison (Presenter)
PAUL WEISS AWARD
TECHNOLOGY,
MEDIA AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
IN-HOUSE TEAM
OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Shirley Fan, COSCO Pacific; George Lamplough, Holman Fenwick Willan;
Michelle Hung, COSCO Pacific; Henry Fung, Holman Fenwick Willan (Presenter);
May Lau, COSCO Pacific; Patrick Cheung, Holman Fenwick Willan
Alibaba Group
THE MACALLAN FINE OAK
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY AWARD
HONG KONG IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER S
(L-R) Guangjie Hopton, Alibaba Group;
Lin Shi, Hong Kong Corporate
Counsel Association (Presenter)
Yong Kai Wong – Citic Capital; Rodney Chen – MTR Corp
HONG KONG
CORPORATE COUNSEL
ASSOCIATION AWARD
INNOVATIVE
IN-HOUSE TEAM
OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Alibaba Group
(L-R) William Chan, The Macallan (Presenter);
Yong Kai Wong, Citic Capital
Rodney Chen, MTR Corp
66
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
IN-HOUSE
TEAM OF
THE YEAR
DEALMAKER OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER S
W I N N ER
Jeanette Chan – Paul, Weiss,
Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Citigroup
Julie Gao – Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom
(L-R) Elaine Lo, Mayer Brown JSM;
Jane Lewis, Thomson Reuters (Presenter)
MANAGING
PARTNER OF
THE YEAR
W I N N ER
(L-R) Jonathan Ross, Starry Group (Presenter);
Jeanette Chan, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison
Elaine Lo – Mayer Brown JSM
(L-R) Philana Poon, The Hong Kong
Jockey Club (Presenter); Amy Reich, Matthew Brace,
Shuoying Lim, Joo Kim Ng, Citigroup
THE MACALLAN HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY AWARD
HONG KONG LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR
W I N N ER
Mayer Brown JSM
(L-R) Wu Jiejiang, Jingtian & Gongcheng; Tom Pugh, Benjamin Choi, Mei Ling Lew, Mayer Brown JSM; William Chan, The Macallan (Presenter);
Elaine Lo, Mayer Brown JSM; Chen Zejia, Jingtian & Gongcheng; Tow Lu Lim, Dean Young, Jonathan Mok, Alan Yip, Mayer Brown JSM
Global Solutions Local Strengths
Winner of ive ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2015
Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year
Managing Partner of the Year
Insolvency and Restructuring Law Firm of the Year
Insurance Law Firm of the Year
Real Estate Law Firm of the Year
All of this would not have been possible without the trust and support
of our valuable clients and staf. And for that, we thank you.
Americas | Asia | Europe | www.mayerbrownjsm.com
Mayer Brown is a global legal services provider comprising legal practices that are separate entities (the “Mayer Brown Practices”). The Mayer Brown Practices are: Mayer Brown LLP and Mayer Brown
Europe-Brussels LLP, both limited liability partnerships established in Illinois USA; Mayer Brown International LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales (authorized and
regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and registered in England and Wales number OC 303359); Mayer Brown, a SELAS established in France; Mayer Brown Mexico, S.C., a sociedad civil formed
under the laws of the State of Durango, Mexico; Mayer Brown JSM, a Hong Kong partnership and its associated legal practices in Asia; and Tauil & Chequer Advogados, a Brazilian law partnership with
which Mayer Brown is associated. Mayer Brown Consulting (Singapore) Pte. Ltd and its subsidiary, which are ailiated with Mayer Brown, provide customs and trade advisory and consultancy services,
not legal services.
“Mayer Brown” and the Mayer Brown logo are the trademarks of the Mayer Brown Practices in their respective jurisdictions.
© 2015 The Mayer Brown Practices. All rights reserved.
68
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
LAW AWARDS
“Winning the award for In-House
Lawyer of the Year is deinitely a signiicant milestone in my career
to date,” said MTR Corp’s Chen. “I believe the award has hopefully
recognised the long hours, hard work and valuable contribution
(as well as the occasional personal sacriices) I have made over the
past 12 months (and perhaps even longer) to MTR in its pursuit in
winning signiicant international rail investment projects, and the
completion of ive major new rail projects here in Hong Kong.”
Chen added: “The opportunity to work on signiicant, exciting
and complex projects has deinitely contributed towards winning
this wonderful award. The ability to take an active leadership role
and to become an integral member of the overall deal management team also helped a lot – whilst being more than just a ‘legal’
resource and providing more rounded practical commercial advice
was always welcomed and appreciated by all (internal and external)
stakeholders as well.”
Julie Gao of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Jeanette
Chan of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison were joint winners
of the Dealmaker of the Year Award. “To me, this award should go
to the irm. No one person can be a ‘dealmaker’ without the support
CO N T I N U E D F RO M PAGE 56
of his/her team. In my case, I am fortunate to have a fabulous team,
many of whom have worked with me for over a decade,” said Chan.
“I am grateful for the loyalty and the dedication of my colleagues
who, together with me, have worked so hard to service our clients.
My partners are also instrumental to me getting this award. Their
support to my practice is key and essential for our continued success. Of course I am also thankful to our clients, for their trust and
conidence in both me and the irm.”
Elaine Lo capped off a successful night for Mayer Brown JSM,
taking home the prestigious award for Managing Partner of the
Year. “The [Managing Partner of the Year] award should belong to
all my partners and staff in Mayer Brown JSM, whose unwavering
commitment to deliver high quality services to clients has secured
this recognition,” said Lo. “In Mayer Brown JSM, we aspire to continuous improvement and selless teamwork. We believe that our
people are our greatest asset, and we spare no effort to provide
them with opportunities to develop their skills and enable them to
reach their full potential. The encouragement, guidance and support given to me by my colleagues have undoubtedly helped me to
win this prestigious award for the third time.”
EVENT PARTNER
The Macallan
Founded in 1824 in the heart of Speyside, The Macallan was one of the
first distilleries in Scotland to be legally licensed. Since then it has built a
reputation as one of the world’s finest single malt whiskies. The story of The
Macallan is built on the Six Pillars, each influencing the whisky in its own
distinct way. From the spiritual home of Easter Elchies House; curiously small
stills giving richness and fruit to the pure spirit; finest cut or the best of the
best of the distillation to exceptional oak casks which account for over 60% of
the final whisky; natural colour and peerless spirit, The Macallan itself.
Wood sits at the heart of The Macallan. The vital contributing influences of
Spain, North America and Scotland, together with true mastery, set it apart
from the rest.
For more information on The Macallan, visit www.themacallan.com
PLATINUM SPONSOR
TMF Group
TMF Group helps global companies expand
and invest seamlessly across international
borders. Its expert accountants and legal, HR
and payroll professionals are located around the
world, helping clients to operate their corporate
structures, finance vehicles and investments in
different locations. With operations in more than
80 countries providing global business services,
TMF Group is the global expert that understands
local needs.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Mr Mark O’Sullivan, Managing Director, TMF Hong
Kong Limited
36/F, Tower Two, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3188 8333 / +852 3589 8899
Fax: +852 3589 8555 / +852 3188 8222
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.tmf-group.com
WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM
: @ALB_Magazine
: Connect with Asian Legal Business
AWARD SPONSORS
BDO Limited
BDO Limited is the Hong Kong member firm of
BDO International Limited, a global accountancy
network with over 1,300 offices in more than 150
countries and 60,000 people providing advisory
services throughout the world.
BDO Limited is served by 50 directors and a
staff of 1,000. Since our establishment in 1981,
we have committed ourselves to facilitating the
growth of businesses by advising the people
behind them. Our professional services include
assurance, business services & outsourcing,
risk advisory, specialist advisory and tax. We
possess comprehensive knowledge of accounting
standards, tax and investment regulations
prevailing in Hong Kong , China and other major
countries, and conduct ourselves with the highest
professional standards.
Website: www.bdo.com.hk
Holman Fenwick Willan
Holman Fenwick Willan is a global law firm
advising businesses on all aspects of international
commerce. With over 425 lawyers in 13 offices
(and two alliance offices) across 10 countries,
we have concentrated the development of our
capabilities and the growth of our expertise on a
limited number of industry sectors fundamental to
the way international commerce works, including
aviation; construction; commodities; energy;
financial institutions; insurance and reinsurance;
logistics; mining; ports and terminals; shipping;
space; superyachts; travel, cruise and leisure.
Within those sectors, we have built a firm that
can meet all of our clients’ legal needs covering
transactional, regulatory and dispute resolution
services.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Paul Hatzer, Partner, Holman Fenwick Willan
15th Floor, Tower One, Lippo Centre, 89
Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3983 7788
Email: [email protected]
Lewis Sanders
Lewis Sanders is a specialist legal recruitment
consultancy offering a full range of recruitment
solutions. Using our extensive market knowledge
and expertise, we place lawyers and compliance
LAW AWARDS
69
professionals at all levels with international law
firms, global financial institutions and multinational companies across Asia. Lewis Sanders
has built its reputation on its core values of
integrity, trust and professionalism. This approach
has enabled us to establish and maintain long
standing relationships with candidates and clients
and has positioned us as one of Hong Kong’s
leading and largest legal recruiters.
Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2847 2000
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sweetandmaxwell.com.hk
CONTACT DETAILS:
Lindsey Sanders, Managing Director,
+852 2537 7409, [email protected]
2001, Winway Building, 50 Wellington Street,
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2537 7410
Fax: +852 2537 7412
General Inquires: [email protected]
Website: www.lewissanders.com
Withers
Withers is the world’s first international law
firm dedicated to the business, personal and
philanthropic interests of successful people, their
businesses, families, banks and advisers.
The firm has advised 42% of the top 100 UK
Sunday Times Rich List and over 20% of the top
100 US Forbes Lists as well as numerous families
in Asia.
Withers has 17 offices worldwide in Hong Kong,
Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, London, New York,
New Haven, Greenwich, San Francisco, San Diego,
Los Angeles, Rancho Santa Fe, the BVI, Geneva,
Zurich, Milan and Padua. The firm is a member
of the Withers SBL alliance, which has offices in
Melbourne and Sydney. The firm has over 150
partners worldwide.
Established in 2008, our Hong Kong office
has US, UK, Australian, BVI and Hong Kong
qualified lawyers who advise on family law, wealth
planning and tax structuring. Our lawyers are
also expert on probate and trust work, litigation
(for companies and individuals), employment,
immigration and corporate finance transactions.
Paul, Weiss
Paul, Weiss is a world-class law firm with a premier
Technology, Media and Telecommunications
practice. Our team in Asia is consistently
recognized as top of its field by leading industry
publications and peers, in recognition of our
M&A, private equity and regulatory clients in their
transactions across the region.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Jeanette K. Chan, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison
Hong Kong Club Building, 12th Floor, 3A Chater
Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2846 0300
Email: [email protected]
CONTACT DETAILS:
Sharon Ser, Withers
20/F, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark, 15
Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3711 1600
Email: [email protected]
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS
Sweet & Maxwell
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source
of intelligent information for businesses and
professionals. We combine industry expertise
with innovative technology to deliver critical
information to leading decision makers in the
financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting,
intellectual property and science and media
markets, powered by the world’s most trusted
news organization.
Sweet & Maxwell, part of Thomson Reuters,
has more than 200 years of heritage in legal
publishing offering detailed and specialist
knowledge across a wide range of subjects, and
in various formats including books, eBooks,
journals, CD-ROMs and online services. Thomson
Reuters has become one of Asia’s most respected
providers of resources including Westlaw Asia,
Practical Law and other online products for the
legal and regulatory professions.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Limited, 10/F
AWARD PATRON
SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
70
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
EVENTS
Opening Address by Rimsky Yuen,
Secretary for Justice, Department of
Justice, The Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
Re-positioning the in-house counsel function panel: (L-R) Yong Kai Wong,
Managing Director, Head of Legal & Compliance, CITIC Capital Holdings Limited;
Christopher To, Executive Director, Hong Kong Construction Industry Council;
Stephen Man, Associate General Counsel, APAC Head of Legal, Uber; Brian W
Tang, Managing Director, Asia Capital Markets Institute (ACMI); Richard Pu,
Assistant Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Tencent Holdings Limited
HONG KONG
IN-HOUSE
LEGAL SUMMIT
Jezamine Fewins, Partner, Litigation,
Stephenson Harwood
CONRAD,
HONG KONG
22 SEPTEMBER 2015
Oliver Massmann, Partner,
Duane Morris Vietnam LLC
WORKSHOP SPONSORS
The history of Global Law Office dates back to 1984, when it
became the first law firm in the PRC to take an international
perspective on its business. Having been recognized by both
international and domestic league tables and legal institutions as an elite Chinese law firm,
Global Law Office has more than 240 lawyers practicing in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen
offices, and has the ability to deliver exceptionally high-quality, ‘one-stop’ services across a
diverse set of practice areas for a comprehensive range of industries and sectors.
Albert Ho, Assistant Commissioner, Hong Kong
Customs and Excise Department
Streamlining M&A transactions in China panel: (L-R) Steven Yu, Partner,
Global Law Office; Jerry Fang, Partner, Global Law Office; Jerry Liu, Partner,
Global Law Office; Harold Shen, Partner, Global Law Office; Meph Jia Gui,
Partner, Global Law Office; Jeffrey Zhu, Partner, Global Law Office
SPONSOR
ALB SUPPORTS
ASSOCIATE SPONSOR
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS
17 - 18 NOVEMBER 2015 - LONDON
72
ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2015
EVENTS
Panel of experts tackling the ASEAN Infrasturcture development
in the onset of ASEAN Integration (L-R) Sam Sharpe, Duane
Morris & Selvam; Hodaka Shoji, Mizuho AsiaInfra Capital;
Mark Bedingham, Singapore Myanmar Investco; Christopher
Stephens, Asian Development Bank
Panel talks about the recent successes of PPP in SE Asia (L-R)
Minerva Lau, Thomson Reuters; Jin Teik Oon, Singapore
Sports Hub; Allard Nooy, InfraCo Asia; James Cameron,
HSBC; Mark Moseley, World Bank
SE ASIA
PROJECT FINANCE
CONFERENCE
MANDARIN ORCHARD,
SINGAPORE
10 SEPTEMBER 2015
Professor Huang Jing of Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy talks
about the vision of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Asia
The last session of the day with great insight from experts
on the political risks in project financing in SE Asia (L-R)
Robert Tiong Lee Kong, Nanyang Technological University;
Sam Sharpe, Duane Morris & Selvam; Steven Liew, APCO
Worldwide; Roddy Adams, KPMG
A discussion on energy project opportunities in SE Asia
(L-R) Allard Nooy, InfraCo Asia; Valery Tubbax, SMBC;
Muneer Valappil, Orka Energy; Mark Leslie, The
Alternative Energy Corporation
MEDIA PARTNER
SUPPORTING ORGANISATION
ALB SUPPORTS
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
NEW LAUNCH
IN
HONG KONG
Celebrating the launch of
Nixon Peabody CWL
On October 1, 2015, Nixon Peabody LLP
and CWL Partners consolidated operations
and marketing in Hong Kong and launched
Nixon Peabody CWL. We have been formally
associated with each other since December
2010. With more than 30 lawyers and legal
professionals in one of the world’s most
dynamic economic centers and offices in 15
other global cities, we can provide seamless
legal service in Asia and around the world.
Nixon Peabody cwl | Bank of China Tower, 50th Floor
1 Garden Road, Central | Hong Kong SAR
nixonpeabodycwl.com | @nixonpeabodyllp
Emerging
Africa
Conference
Legal Strategies for Investment and Growth
March 3-4, 2016 | Cape Town
Africa’s impressive economic growth is changing
the game for investors. Are you ready?
Join senior corporate counsel, executive decision-makers and legal
experts in Cape Town for an in-depth look at investment in Africa.
Hear from those with on-the-ground experience, including
experts from corporate legal departments, Lex Mundi member
firms and regional organizations, as they share insights on Africa’s
political, economic, demographic and social drivers and approaches
for long-term success.
Presented by:
Register Now
www.lexmundi.com/2016EmergingAfrica
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