APAC Legal Awards 2016

Legal

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

A nsiderac

awards 2016

Law Firm of the Year & Recognised Leaders in Securities & Capital Markets - China

We’ve Got it Covered Lextech is a leading Australian mortgage services company dedicated to providing Software with a service”.

We spoke to General Manager Dean Hurlston who talked us through the firm’s software and how it supports clients.

Leading the Way Alan McDonald of McDonald Murholme talks us through the firm and how it came to achieve its current success.

The Very Highest The Family Law Standard of Service Firm of Choice We invited President and Patent Attorney Makoto Onda at ONDA TECHNO Intl. Patent Attorneys to talk us through the firm and how it has achieved its long standing success.

Beatrice Yeo Poh Tiang is one of Singapore’s leading family law specialists and founded Yeo & Associates LLC. She recently spoke to us about her firm’s strengths and her plans for expansion.

DEEP & FAR Attorneys-at-Law 13th F1., No. 27, Sec. 3, Chung San N. Rd. Taipei 104, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel: +886-2-2585-6688 Fax: +886-2-25989900/25978989 email@deepnfar.com.tw Deep & Far was founded in 1992 and is one of the largest law firms in this country.

The firm is presently focused on the practice in separate or in combination of all aspects of intellectual property rights (IPRs) including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, and/or licensing, counseling, litigation and/ or transaction thereof. Since this firm edges itself into the IPRs field, the firm quickly comes to fame. As an illustration, this firm often is one of the largest sources from which foreign filing orders originate.

The fascinating rise of this firm begins from the founder of Deep & Far attorneysat-law, C. F. Tsai, who is the one first patent practitioner in this country who both has technological and law backgrounds and is qualified as a local attorney-at-law.

The patent attorneys and patent engineers in this firm normally hold outstanding and advanced degrees and are generally graduated from the top five universities in this country and/or the university in the US. Our prominent staffs are dedicated to provide the best quality service in IPRs. As a proof, about one half of top 100 incorporations in this country have experiences of seeking patented their techniques, but more than one fifth of the top 100 incorporations are/were clients of this firm.

Furthermore, Hi-Tech companies in the science-based industrial park located at Hsin Chu play an important role in booming the economy of this country. About one half of which have experiences in seeking patented their techniques, and out of more than 60% of the patent-experienced companies in that park have ever entrusted their IPR works to this firm.

We have experienced in seeking IPR-protections for our clients in more than 100 territories all over the world. We have thousands of IPR-cases respectively prosecuted before official Patent Offices of major industrialized countries.

This firm not only is the most competent in IPR-related matters in this country but also is very familiar with IPR-practices in major industrialized countries. As a matter of fact, this firm oftentimes tries and makes precedents of new claim-drafting styles. While we might have become wonderfully famed locally with remarkable appreciation and respects, we would like to extend our services for internationalized or quality service-requiring foreign conglomerated giants, corporations or individuals. We strongly believe that we will win more

www.deepnfar.com.tw

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welcome to the 2016 APAC Insider Legal Awards The legal industry is vital to the success of any region: keeping law and order and ensuring that businesses and citizens are protected from wrongdoing. The APAC region, which stretches across continents, is subject to a vast array of legal and regulatory constrictions.

Working within such an area is therefore extremely tough, which is why the 2016 Legal Awards, which are now in their second year, seek to ensure that the firms, and the professionals behind them, that provide legal support throughout the Asia Pacific are recognised and rewarded for their dedication to serving clients and remaining at the forefront of the ever changing legal market.

4. Law Firm of the Year - China & Recognised Leaders in Securities & Capital Markets - China AllBright Law Offices 6. Best for End-to-End Mortgage Processing Solutions 2016 Lextech 10. Best Employment Law Firm 2016 - Australia McDonald Murholme Solicitors 14. Best Patent Law Firm 2016 - Japan ONDA TECHNO Intl. Patent Attys.

18. Best Commercial Technology & IP Law Boutique - Victoria Switch Legal Pty Ltd 22. Best Family Law Firm - Singapore Yeo & Associates LLC 28. Best IP Law Firm - Singapore Ella Cheong LLC 30. IP Lawyer of the Year - Asia Hogan Lovells 32. Best Insurance Law Firm 2016 - New Zealand Fee Langstone 34. Best International Trade Law Firm 2016- Australia IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers 36. Best Financial Services Legal Boutique 2016 - Australia Innoinvest 38. Business & Tax Law Specialist of the Year - Australia & Most Innovative Commercial Law Firm - Australia J. P. Sesto & Co. 40. Best International Family Law Practice 2016 - Australia Kennedy Partners Lawyers Pty Ltd 42. Best Conveyancing & Property Law Firm - Australia Northey Lawyers 44. Best Start-Up Law Boutique 2016 - Australia & Most Innovative Commercial IP Firm 2016 Silberstein & Associates 46. Most Client-Focused Family & Estate Law Firm - Victoria TBA Law 48. Most Client-Focused Multi-Disciplinary Law Firm - Australia TST Partners Lawyers 50. Best Estate & Elder Law Litigation Firm - Australia Wilcox Lawyers 52. Best Commercial Litigation Firm 2016 - Australia Madison Branson Lawyers 56. Best Emerging M&A Law Firm - India Agram Legal Consultants 57. Best for Corporate Legal Services - Melbourne Corporate Counsel Pty Ltd 58. APAC IP Valuations Firm of the Year 2016 & Award for Excellence in IP Transactions 2016 Griffith Hack 59. Best Debt Restructuring & Collection Attorney - Indonesia HADS Partnership Law Office 60. Best for ADR Services - Hong Kong Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre 61. Best Full Service Law Firm - India & Recognised Leaders in Corporate Law - India Link Legal India Law Services 62. Best Domestic & Business Conveyancing Firm - Victoria Mendis & Gibson Lawyers 63. Best Full-Service Alcoholic Beverage Law Firm 2016 - Australia Omond & Co 64. Best Boutique Corporate Finance Law Firm - Singapore Opal Lawyers LLC 65. Best Discrimination Law Firm - Victoria & Award for Excellence in Commercial Disputes PFJS Lawyers 66. Best Corporate & Franchise Law Firm 2016 - Victoria Q&L Lawyers 67. Best for Patent Litigation 2016 - Japan Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP 68. Best Commercial Mediator 2016 - Asia Pacific Geoff Sharp 70. Best In-House Financial Law Team - Hong Kong Sun Life Hong Kong Limited 71. Best In-House Commercial Law Team - China Yum! Brands, Inc. China Division

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AllBright Law Offices Established in 1999

11, 12/F, Shanghai Tower, No.501, Yincheng Middle Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200120, P.R.China Tel: +86 21 2051 1000 Fax: +86 21 2051 1999

Languages spoken: Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Mandarin Key areas of practice: Corporate and Commercial, Securities and Capital Markets,

Website: www. allbrightlaw.com

Banking and Financing, Real Estate and

Managing partner: Wu Mingde

Construction, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual

Partners: 367

Property, International Trade, Special Areas

Lawyers: 1339

AllBright Offices are are one one of the full-service ChineseChinese law firmslaw in the People’s AllBrightLaw Law Offices ofleading the leading full-service firms in the People’s Republic As aAs national law firm in Shanghai, we provide RepublicofofChina China(“PRC”). (“PRC”). a national law headquartered firm headquartered in Shanghai, we aprovide a comprehensive range of high quality legal services to both domestic and international clients from comprehensive range of high quality legal services to both domestic and international clients from our Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, our seventeen seventeen offices, offices,respectively respectivelyininShanghai, Shanghai,Beijing, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Xiamen, Zhengzhou and and Hefei,Jinan, Jinan,Nanjing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Xiamen, Zhengzhou Hong Kong.

Hong Kong.

While of of many indicators of the and resourcefulness of a law While size sizeisisonly onlyone one many indicators of success the success and resourcefulness of firm, a lawwefirm, we certainly lead in this respect among our peers in Shanghai. We are the largest law firm based in certainly lead in this respect among our peers in Shanghai. We are the largest law firm based in Shanghai (and in the whole Eastern China region).

Shanghai (and in the whole Eastern China region).

We have 1339 registered lawyers (including approximately 367 partners haveapproximately approximately 1339 registered lawyers (including approximately 367 and partners and senior consultants).

Aside from our regular working language of Chinese (Mandarin and consultants). Aside from our regular working language of Chinese (Mandarin major and major dialects), areare alsoalso fluent in English, Japanese, French, German, and other dialects), many manyofofour ourlawyers lawyers fluent in English, Japanese, French, German, and other major languages, and many are also admitted in international jurisdictions.

Our partners and major languages, and many are also admitted in international jurisdictions. Our partners and senior from diverse professional and and personal backgrounds.

ManyMany senior consultants consultantscame cametotothe thefirm firm from diverse professional personal backgrounds. transactional practiced forfor years in top law firms in leading transactional lawyers lawyershave have practiced years in international top international law and/or firms and/or in leading multinational companies.

A number of our litigators once were judges and prosecutors, and many multinational companies. A number of our litigators once were judges and prosecutors, and many are active arbitrators. We also have access to a strong network of former government officials and are active arbitrators. We also have access to a strong network of former government officials and legislators. Supported by a large team of translators and legal assistants, our professionals have legislators. Supported by a large team of translators and legal assistants, our professionals have undertaken many complex and high profile transactions, and have won many landmark cases. undertaken many complex and high profile transactions, and have won many landmark cases.

Our lawyers have played critical roles in advising the government on, and actually drafting, many of thelawyers core Chinese laws and regulations ourgovernment daily practices They were also many Our have played critical roles ininvolved advisinginthe on,today. and actually drafting, involved in drafting international treaties concerning investment, trade andalso of the core Chineseseveral laws and regulations involved in our international daily practices today. They were other forms of economic cooperation. involved in drafting several international treaties concerning international investment, trade and other forms of economic cooperation.

Ultimately our practitioners possess a wealth of first-hand experience and legal expertise in Ultimatelyeffective our practitioners wealth of oflegal first-hand experience legal expertise providing solutions to possess the mostacomplex issues, including theand application of laws in providing effective solutions to the most complex of legal issues, including the application of laws and regulations, governmental approval and legal procedures. and regulations, governmental approval and legal procedures.

Contact Us Shanghai 11, 12/F, Shanghai Tower, No.501, Yincheng Middle Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200120 P.R.China Tel: +86 21 2051 1000 Fax: +86 21 2051 1999 Beijing • Chengdu • Chongqing • Fuzhou • Hangzhou • Hefei • Jinan • Nanjing Qingdao • Shenzhen • Suzhou • Taiyuan • Tianjin • Xiamen • Zhengzhou • Hong Kong

www.allbrightlaw.com

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Best for End-to-End Mortgage Processing Solutions 2016

Lextech is a leading Australian mortgage services company dedicated to providing “Software with a service”, as General Manager Dean Hurlston explains.

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Lextech support a range of Australian mutual banks, credit unions, and a number of large non-bank lenders, providing an innovative platform that can be tailored to any lender globally. Dean talks us through the firm’s software and how it supports clients.

“At Lextech we cover all aspects of mortgage services, debt collection and recovery, and specialised advice relating to lending matters. Our unique platform allows all parties to see the entire transaction transparently, and this drives efficiency and ease of delivery for our clients.”

With decades of experience at the front line managing lending and sales teams in the mutual banking industry, Dean is in a strong position to help drive the company forward. He outlines this in greater detail as he discusses how he draws on his experience to ensure the continued success of Lextech.

“Coming from the mutuals industry means that I have walked in the shoes of our clients – that is very important.

Personally, my experience led me to believe that the traditional Solicitor - Lender relationship was an uneasy one. Solicitors traditionally took instructions from their lenders and then dropped the curtain. They would single-mindedly pursue the requested result only reporting back once it was done. I felt that after instructing my solicitor I, as a lender, had lost control of the lending process and has lost control of my customer’s experience. This, to me, was a risk. I had worked very hard to secure that customer and I was now leaving their continued satisfaction in the hands of someone else.

A chance meeting with Simon Purcell (Founder and Managing Director of Lextech) felt like it was an “answer” to the industries problem. Simon has always had a revolutionary attitude and had already created a software platform specifically designed to address my problem.

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Company: Lextech (Backed by Purcell Partners) Name: Dean Hurlston – General Manager Email: dean.hurlston@lex-tech.com.au Web Address: www.lex-tech.com.au

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The Lextech software lets lenders see into the solicitor’s file at any time, from any device. The lender and the solicitor share a single file and what one party knows the other party will find out instantly. Through total transparency the lender remains in control of the customer experience.

“Our software digitally disrupts the way lenders engage with their solicitors. By delivering control to lenders it solves a very real problem inherent in the way legal services have traditionally been delivered to the Australian market. It is a real achievement and one of which I am very proud.”

Whilst Lextech is a frontrunner in the software space, Dean believes that the “service” aspect of the company’s “software with a service” model is just as important to the client experience. He talks to us about his aim to cultivate a supportive and innovative culture.

“We realise that the way you treat your people will be directly reflected in the way that they treat your clients. Our staff are the cornerstone of our service delivery and ultimately determine the success of our business. We have worked very hard to create a supportive workplace that fosters and rewards innovative talent. This has allowed us to attract some of the best lawyers, developers, and service professionals that the Australian labour market has to offer.

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This strong pool of talent means that our Service Standards, which are included in every client contract, are reliably delivered. Our team are acutely tuned to the needs of our lenders and do whatever it takes to drive a positive result. We are very proud of the high standard of service that they provide.”

As we draw towards the end of our interview Dean is eager to comment on the effect that technology has had on both his firm and the wider legal industry.

“The legal industry is fraught with deeply engrained tradition, and is rife with people resistant to change. Outside pressures, particularly client expectations, are nevertheless slowly driving change in our industry and that change is exponential. The legislative acknowledgement of digital keys and electronic registration have paved the way for the truly paperless Australian settlement.

We firmly believe that these drivers will catalyze massive upheavals in the way mortgage backed securities are dealt with in Australia. We’re talking about the transition from horse and buggy to automobiles. We are lucky enough to be on the forefront of that change, although that comes with its own challenges.

Disruption of tradition has always made people uncomfortable, and that feeling needs to be delicately managed to ensure that trepidation does not dismiss opportunity. Technology enables – people connect. This industry is always and has always been about people – it’s the human condition that technology will never satisfy alone. That’s why we firmly believe that, when talking about digital innovation, the service is as important as the software.

Ultimately, technology enables settlements via smartphone, signing documents by electronic means or enabling a client face to face conversation rather than a tradi- tional phone call. Whilst many of Lextech’s competitors struggle to keep pace with technological advances, Dean is eager to emphasise the fact that his firm are driven by them, and will continue to be so moving forward.

“Currently we are working through an entire re-write of our service platform to take advantage of regulatory changes and ultimately deliver more value and opportunities to our clients. We see our future success tied to same day and next day settlements and we already know the lending market it hungry for it. This fills us with confidence that we are on the right path. We certainly believe our company will continue to expand and grow at a rapid rate of knots, but we will never lose our focus on service, which is our constant focus.”

www.apacinsider.com

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Best Employment Law Firm 2016 - Australia

McDonald Murholme is the leading employment law firm for employees based in Victoria and South Australia. Managing Director Mr Alan McDonald talks us through the firm and how it came to achieve its current success.

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McDonald Murholme practices almost exclusively in employment law – being the only plaintiff law firm in Melbourne to do so on a substantial scale, employing 11 dedicated employment law experts for the purpose.

The firm has been dedicated to allowing employees access to the employment laws within Australia, aiming to provide sound legal advice and strategy to make the laws work for employees when confronted with a better resourced and more powerful employer. As such, its employees are skilled and very experienced in dispute resolution, to the benefit of both employees and employers.

It is the firm’s innovative structure which ensures that clients receive the very best level of service from its employees. Each Lawyer has a unique team of support staff, ensuring all the needs of the client are met. Each Lawyer is supported by a Junior Lawyer and an Administration Assistant, as well as a team of communications staff who act as a liaison between the Lawyer and Client.

This structure ensures that each client receives a highly personalised service. From the first appointment the prospective client is introduced to a member of the communications team who briefly explains the process of their claim and the steps moving forward. The Communications Assistant remains in contact with the client on a regular basis.

This overcomes the common problem where busy lawyers do not spend sufficient time understanding the client’s perspective on how the case is proceeding. This perspective is well understood by a professionally trained Communications Assistant, rather than a PA to the Lawyer.

Alongside this innovative structure, job satisfaction is also key to ensuring that clients get the very best from the practice’s staff. Mr McDonald outlines the most rewarding aspects of the firm’s work and how it aims to ensure its professionals are always at the top of their game.

“The legal sector provides a framework for the orderly resolution of a wide range of disputes which inevitably occur in the business and wider community. Within this framework, one can be creative and innovative in the ways and means of resolving disputes with a raft of laws, often in conflict with each other, providing a challenging backdrop.

“It is rewarding to enable employees to utilise these laws to fight a better resourced employer. McDonald Murholme prides itself on providing expert legal advice and guidance for employees from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, with some

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Company: McDonald Murholme Solicitors Web Address: www.mcdonaldmurholme.com.au Address: Level 12, 90 Collins St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000 Telephone: (03) 9650 4555

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of the most rewarding results coming from those cases fought for a client on a lower income. Overall, here at McDonald Murholme we are unashamedly innovative and entrepreneurial in what we do. Our employee training programs are constant and well advanced.”

All of the firm’s recruitment is done in-house, as the firm feel that existing staff members are in a better position to decide on new employees as they live and breathe the company values. “Our recruitment is led by our General Manager and Senior Law Clerk who have experience in human resources,” adds Mr McDonald. “To ensure that we attract the best talent, it is vital we look after our existing talent. We endeavour to provide a fantastic workplace where employees enjoy the work they do and get recognised for it.”

The firm’s overall mission is to focus on fairness no matter what socio-economic background the client comes from and is dedicated to innovation in the practice of law.

To achieve this, McDonald Murholme is also passionate about spreading the word of employee rights in the workplace through awareness campaigns and partnerships with various non-for-profit organisations such as Beyond Blue and tertiary institutions such as Monash University. Mr McDonald proudly outlines how the firm has provided insight to the wider industry recently in order to share its wealth of experience and knowledge.

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“In the last year, commentary provided by McDonald Murholme has featured in two front page articles in The Age newspaper – which has been syndicated across many other Fairfax publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, again demonstrating the authority of the commentary from McDonald Murholme’s solicitors.

“Notably, McDonald Murholme has also been called upon a number of times by the Australian Financial Review and The Australian, to comment on various issues facing the legal industry – such as the issues being faced by other legal practices.”

In addition, McDonald Murholme prides itself in being a leader in the employment law field by not only assisting clients but also educating the public through its free online resource: Employment Law Online (ELO) (www.employmentlawonline.com.au).

ELO is structured in a question and answer style format, which provides easy to read access to some of the most common issues seen in Australian workplaces. Many clients utilise this website to empower themselves with some initial knowledge and revert back to McDonald Murholme when required.

Within the wider legal industry currently, the largest of the law firms have felt the pressure to amalgamate with larger overseas law firms. This has disempowered and frustrated many local lawyers, who feel that they are working for large international corporates with less say over their own personal futures.

Not all of the global mergers have been successful and even those deemed a success have not delivered substantial increases in incomes for Australian lawyers.

“Some mid-sized law firms have expanded strongly while a few of the very small law firms have gone out of business altogether,” states Mr McDonald. “This combined has created valuable business opportunity for our firm to consistently grow at a rate of more than 25% per annum over recent years.”

Looking to the future, McDonald Murholme is eager to capitalise on this growth, and as such has recently expanded to South Australia, opening an office in the Adelaide CBD. This venture has allowed South Australian residents to access experienced employment lawyers who are able to provide legal advice and strategy to make these laws work for them.

Ultimately, McDonald Murholme is focussed on outcomes and has a well-known reputation for doing so. It will meet the market as required in terms of pursuing a claim to its best outcome, even if doing so means offering a very competitive price.

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Best Patent Law Firm 2016 - Japan

ONDA TECHNO Intl. Patent Attorneys is a market leading Japanese law firm specialising in IP law. We invited President and Patent Attorney Makoto Onda to talk us through the firm and how it has achieved its long standing success.

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Established in 1968 ONDA TECHNO is a full service intellectual property firm supporting clients around the world from its offices in Gifu (a suburb of Nagoya), Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, and Taipei.

The firm has extensive experience in IP prosecution and litigation, which is highlighted by the fact that it was ranked number four for total patent filings (published patents) at the JPO for 2015.

As his opening comment Makoto discusses his firm’s service offering and the means by which it provides the very highest standard of service to clients.

“ONDA TECHNO is one of the top firms in Japan not only for patents but also for total design filings at the JPO. We have filed approximately 15,000 design applications and 2,000 responses to office actions since the establishment of our firm. Our clients appreciate our strategy for obtaining the broadest design protection possible and for establishing a strong design portfolio.

“As a firm we have 280 employees including 34 patent attorneys, two US patent attorneys, seven Chinese patent attorneys, and over 100 patent engineers in Japan that serve numerous clients worldwide with patent, design, trademark, and search services. We are staffed with highly educated engineers and legal staff. This combination allows us to provide fast, efficient and cost effective service. Further, we have a patent attorney dedicated to search, a qualified search staff, and in-house translators and drawing staff. Thus, we have a great deal of control over the quality of our services, translations, and drawings.”

Over the years the firm has changed the face of the Asian legal industry, acting as pioneers in a number of areas, as Makoto emphasises.

“ONDA TECHNO was the first Japanese IP firm to establish offices in China and Taiwan.

With our offices in Japan, Shanghai and Taipei, we provide our clients with a one-stop shop for IP filings in all three countries. Upon request, we can file applications in China and Taiwan from our Shanghai and Taipei offices.

“Technology is another area in which we are always eager to innovate, and as such we have developed our own software for checking applications before filing with the JPO and for docketing systems and have prevented clerical errors by use of these systems.

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Company: ONDA TECHNO Intl. Patent Attys.

Address: 12-1, Omiya-cho 2-chome, Gifu city, 500-8731, Japan Phone: 81-58-265-9124 Fax: 81-58-266-8069 Website: www.ondatechno.com

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“Our security measures include monitoring networks, recordation of operational logs, and restriction of access to our clients’ data. Since Japan is a quake-prone country, ONDA TECHNO regularly stores backed-up data at a remote location and is well prepared for unexpected problems and disasters.

“Further, our IT specialists routinely facilitate the transition to e-billing for our clients, and can accommodate a variety of e-billing systems including CounselLink, Tymetrix, Serengeti Tracker, Ascent, Collaborati and other systems. By being up to date with the very latest technology we are able to ensure that we always offer our clients the very best possible service, which according to our clients, is hard to find.”

By offering an unrivalled service the firm is able to achieve its mission, which Makoto discusses in detail.

“Here at ONDA TECHNO our mission is to provide benefits to our clients by protecting their intellectual property. A patent is issued on excellent technology and brings benefits to our clients. We support our clients to obtain patents, trademarks and designs, and our clients appreciate our quality work. Our work results connect development of technology in the world. I believe that all our work supports today’s world, so I feel content and also feel that I am fortunate to work in the patent sector.”

Staff are also central to the firm’s success, and Makoto believes leadership and constant development are vital to the continued satisfaction of his workforce.

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“At ONDA TECHNO we provide good service thanks to our skilled and dedicated employees. Our professionals provide the most suitable advice in order to add additional value.

To keep up the skill of our engineers, we hold study meetings for both technology and law so that they are constantly improving their skills and enhancing their knowledge.

“As President I try to manage the company based on a philosophy of striving to keep of all our members happy both professionally and personally. It is our aim that all workers in our company can enjoy the working environment in our offices. To achieve one of our goals, being the nicest firm in the world, all workers have the service spirit to satisfy our clients’ needs. I also attend all job interviews personally in order to share our philosophy for running the company, and hire people who agree with our firm philosophy.

“Alongside this all members attend morning meetings that are held every Monday and listen to speeches from the president and the chairman. Members in other offices also attend the meeting via our video conference system. In this way, we share information about our clients, how to avoid mistakes, circumstances and direction of the firm management, results of our work, how we should work for our clients’ satisfaction, and so on, and we therefore follow the same high standard. We also recite our credo at the beginning of the Monday morning meeting. Further, we read our firm philosophy book, in which numerous examples of the way of work are introduced, with group members from time to time in order to keep the basic standards in mind.”

Currently the Japanese IP market is facing a number of changes which will provide Makoto and his firm with a number of opportunities, as he explains.

“Since manufacturing bases have shifted to other Asian countries, the number of orders for filing patent applications has been reduced. On the other hand, manufacturing bases are coming back to Japan due to the possibility of elevating labor costs in Asia, the high reputation for safe products made in Japan, and so on. Thus, I believe that Japan is an important country as a manufacturing base and also has a strong market which will help the overall industry and increase the opportunities for growth for firms such as ours.”

Looking ahead, Makoto is eager to outline his plans for the future of the firm and the areas he would like it to expand into.

“Moving forward, I would like to continue our activities supporting IP protection in East Asia through the work for Seven Seas IP Group. I would especially like to concentrate on the development of our Chinese and Taiwanese offices. Further, I would like to expand our support to clients by establishing a good relationship with agents in ASEAN countries.

These aims will provide us with numerous exciting opportunities which we look forward to taking advantage of.”

www.apacinsider.com

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Best Commercial Technology & IP Law Boutique - Victoria

Switch Legal is a boutique IT/IP and related general commercial law firm focusing on disrupting the legal services market and offering cost effective and commercially focused legal services. We caught up with Melanie Noble to learn more about the firm and the services it provides.

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Established in 2012, Switch Legal are Melbourne-based, but have clients throughout Australia and across Asia Pacific, as well as several multi-national companies and a handful of US clients. Melanie discusses who these clients are and what services the firm supplies to them.

“Our client base spans all walks of life, including start-ups, not-for-profits and charities (often on a pro bono basis), private companies (SMEs through to multi-national companies) and the public sector. In the projects space, we act for both suppliers and acquirers.

“Our key areas of practice are technology, outsourcing, procurement/supply, e-commerce and IP law – including a dedicated trade mark portfolio management practice that is second to none in quality and value for money (being delivered at a fraction of the costs charged by other firms in Australia).”

Prior to forming Switch, most of the firm’s lawyers and attorneys also spent many years in (and leading) the in-house IT/IP legal teams of two major Australian Banks – where they often worked not just as lawyers, but also as advisors to / secretaries on internal procurement, risk, audit and strategy committees. This background provides the firm with a depth of commercial knowledge and experience to properly support its clients and it constantly draws on this background to ensure that clients receive the very highest standard of advice, both at a legal and commercial/strategic level.

Offering a cost effective service is also a key selling point.

“Coming from in-house, we understand our clients’ need for cost certainty and value.

Switch aims to ensure that our fees reflect the value of work to our clients. Because we are not weighed down by large overheads, our rates tend to be less than ½ those charged by our larger competitors and we offer innovative value-billing models on an ongoing and sustainable basis – giving our clients upfront cost certainty, so they can assess value and budget effectively at the outset.

“Our fee models are based on mutual trust and value. They reflect what’s significant to our clients – their goals, strategy and priorities. We agree with clients upfront, which fee model best suits their needs. Also, rather than offering these models to clients as a one-off (e.g., to win a competitive legal tender, or as a loss leader to secure the client), we offer them as part of our standard business practice. Whatever option the client chooses, our focus is always on outcomes, efficiency and fair return.”

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Company: Switch Legal Pty Ltd Name: Melanie Noble Email: melanie@switchlegal.com.au Web Address: www.switchlegal.com.au Address: 2/26 High Street, Northcote Vic 3070 Telephone: +61 (0)432 755 070

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But Melanie also stresses that cost effectiveness is not delivered at the expense of high quality service.

“Keeping costs down in fact allows our clients to involve us to a much greater extent in their projects and initiatives – using us as strategic sounding boards, procurement / commercial advisers, IP / brand managers etc. We provide strategic and pragmatic business advice aligned to the commercial context, risk profile and desired outcome – thinking outside the box to derive practical solutions, not just legal ones.

“We’re also prepared to take time, at our own cost, to understand each client’s organisation, goals and policies, and the risks and issues that are important to them – e.g., so that we can provide tailored, relevant and useful advice, that is not so heavily qualified or disclaimed that it cannot effectively be relied upon.

“And getting to know our clients and their businesses to the level we do, means we understand their needs, ways, policies and strategies and can deliver our advice in the most useful way. We pride ourselves on providing plain English, practical advice and simply getting the deal done.”

Melanie explains that the in-house experience of its members has also helped to make them more efficient in their work practices - again supporting a cost effective and commercially focussed offering.

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In order to achieve this high standard of service, Switch focusses on providing senior lawyers/attorneys who meet each client’s needs single-handedly, rather than through a layering of expertise levels. The firm believes that the “blended rate” model can lead to significant double-handling that does not deliver value – and can reduce the degree to which the advisers can embed themselves in the client’s business.

As such, great operators are vital to the firm’s client-focused approach, and are a vital asset to the firm. But it’s equally important to have a great culture and to enjoy the company of the people you work with, as Melanie explains.

“The core team at Switch have all worked together for many years, and more recent additions are known and trusted (both in terms of expertise and cultural fit) from past experience in other roles. We support each other to allow flexible work practices and a fair return for all. Culture is very important to us, and we hold regular team lunches / dinners, social events and strategy days to embed a culture of work hard, play hard and look after each other. We operate a flat revenue-share structure, and are without hierarchy – so there is a real enthusiasm to share knowledge and workload, and to support each other.

“In addition to our permanent team, we also have available a number of experienced lawyers who we know and trust from past experience, and who are available to work for us on a part time basis (casually or more regularly). And we have a network of similar trusted lawyers and junior barristers with their own practices in related areas of law to whom we can refer work (managing the relationship for the client if preferred).

“We work very flexibly, from our office in Northcote (in Melbourne’s north - so located to allow ease of parking, child pick-ups and drop-offs, and a fun environment for after-hours frivolities!), from home, from client sites or while inter-state/overseas. Even when we are distributed at client sites etc., we get together by regular conference calls, Skype or group emails to get across what’s happening, share useful information/advices and support colleagues in whatever challenges they are facing.

“In line with our cultural focus, we also organize regular external events called the “Reconnecting Drinks”, to which we invite clients, friends and past colleagues for a fun and relaxed evening out – the idea being to connect people, and allow old friends and colleagues to catch up – rather than as a marketing effort.”

We asked Melanie to outline how the firm seeks to innovates to deliver added value to its clients.

“Switch constantly strives to innovate, so that we can deliver further value to our clients.

Our IP strategy and portfolio management offering is a great example – providing both external IP portfolio management services at great value for money, and also helping clients achieve potentially massive savings by setting up their own in-house IP and brand management system and capability. The latter entails reviewing clients’ IP functions, then

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advising on the best structures, systems and processes to manage the client’s IP portfolio and support its IP strategy. In most cases, the benefits achieved by the client through this exercise outweigh the costs of delivering our service, even in the first year – with increased savings into the future.”

Having been established for over four years, Melanie is keen to emphasise that the firm has now settled into its space in the Australian market, and as such is eager to move to the next step.

“Looking ahead, we would like to broaden our footprint geographically and present at more industry forums – to get our brand out there and get involved in cutting edge initiatives and issues as they arise. We also have a continual focus on finding new ways of supporting our clients’ business needs and improving our own work-life balance. These developments will provide us with a number of exciting opportunities which we look forward to embracing.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160022

Best Family Law Firm - Singapore

Yeo & Associates LLC

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Yeo & Associates LLC is a specialist family law practice based in Singapore, whose team is dedicated to providing compassionate, bespoke solutions in all aspects of family and matrimonial law.

They have earned a strong reputation in Singapore as a market leader in the areas of matrimonial and family law. Their team’s family law experience, razor-sharp legal knowledge and exceptional client service is why they are the family law firm of choice.

The firm comprises of more than 20 members, making it one of the largest family law practices in the country. They represent clients from both Singapore and abroad in all aspects of family law, including divorce, annulments, separation, pre and post nuptial agreements, mediation, child custody and support, domestic violence and home exclusion. To aid client responsiveness and efficiency, their lawyers are supported by expert case managers and paralegals, all of whom have undergone specialist training in family law and family mediation. Yeo & Associates LLC have developed an unbeatable culture of integrity, compassion and client service; as a result, their client’s frequently refer their services to others.

Beatrice Yeo Poh Tiang is one of Singapore’s leading family law specialists and founded Yeo & Associates LLC, and recently spoke to us about her firm’s strengths and her plans for expansion.

Yeo & Associates LLC is a highly trusted name in Singapore when it comes to matters of matrimonial and family law, and my team and I have worked hard to earn this reputation.

We represent both domestic and international clients in all areas of family law, both Civil and Syariah, the restructuring family business and family trusts, and have recently extended our family practice to include trust and estate planning/litigation, drafting of wills and probate and administration practice.

We are totally dedicated to our clients and insist on retaining a personal touch. Everyone who engages our services receives specialised attention, regardless of the size and complexity of their case. I will personally meet and assess clients in person to determine how best to protect their interests. One of the greatest strengths of our team is our willingness and ability to truly listen to our clients, who often are reeling from personal circumstance and feeling a range of emotions, including anger and sadness. To succeed in family law, a lawyer has to work through these emotions with their client, to narrow in on the result they ultimately want to obtain.

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Company: Yeo & Associates LLC Address: 47A Circular Road, Singapore 049402 Phone: (65) 6220 3400 Fax: (65) 6225 5687 Email: yeo@yeolaw.com.sg Website: www.yeolaw.com.sg/

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

The changing landscape of family law in Singapore The family justice system in Singapore has undergone dramatic changes since the passing of the Family Justice Act in 2014 and there are more changes to come in 2016. As we specialize in family law and work with clients from a range of socio-economic backgrounds, we are well placed to advise clients on new developments in the family law system - so much so that we have been directly responsible for the creation of a considerable number of precedents whilst practicing the new laws.

In order to ensure that we always stay ahead of developments within our field, and to be certain that our legal advice is accurate and applicable our particular client’s circumstances, our team regularly participate in further professional education, which is something that we are proud to invest in.

Our team is alert to all changes in the family law sphere, both domestically and throughout the Asia region, and have been at the forefront of many of the recent improvements to Singapore’s family law system. We continue to make submissions to the Law Society and the Committee for Family Justice and are proud to play a direct role in shaping the country’s law, recommending policy changes where we feel they are needed. We believe this is an integral part of our social responsibility. One example of this can be seen in our recent campaigning to relevant organizations and government agencies to improve the social welfare and support provided to single mothers, who currently face severe discrimination for having a child out of wedlock.

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Service orientated, future thinking As a firm we have managed more than 10,000 cases to date, and the number of files we handle continues to grow alongside our reputation as a trusted family law specialist firm.

Many of these cases have involved highly complex, contentious divorce and ancillary hearings. As a result of this experience, my team and I have been able to provide incisive and often critical guidance on the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance.

However, we strongly believe that non-litigious resolution methods such as mediation and counselling should be engaged before resorting to formal litigation in family law matters, not only to limit client costs, but to preserve good relations between the parties, especially if children are involved. Thus, we only move forward with contested proceedings if early settlement cannot be achieved, or in cases where alternative dispute resolution methods are inappropriate.

We aim to provide a holistic service to our clients; to this end, we aim to provide a onestop family law hub for our clients, whereby all of their legal needs relating to matters of divorce can be managed. One example of this complete service is our establishment of a conveyancing department, which ensures our clients do not need to engage a separate lawyer to help them dispose their matrimonial homes in accordance with a court order.

Years of experience has shown us that providing a complete and integrated service truly does reduce unnecessary client stress.

As well as conveyancing services, we have expanded to include strong corporate, commercial and financial expertise within our family law team, a factor that we believe is unique to our firm. For clients with commercial interests which are affected by divorce proceedings, the knowledge that we have all of the necessary financial expertise from different areas together under one roof to assist them, ensures that they feel assured that our collective advice is comprehensive, precise and professional.

Another factor that sets us apart is our unique understanding and ability to manage highly complex financial aspects of divorce; a service valued highly by those with substantial assets or a high net worth. In addition, my team and I work closely with social workers, financial experts and health professionals to ensure effective and feasible financial arrangements are calculated to support the needs of any children involved in divorce proceedings. This support is on-going, continuing long after a settlement has been reached; we have hand-picked committed social service agencies who work closely alongside us to provide continuous and lasting emotional support.

Our firm’s ethos from management level to support staff is to be responsive to clients’ needs, and to help them through their family law issues whilst providing a quality service at a reasonable cost.

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

A close-knit team Based in the central business district, our office exudes a comfortable, homely feel which helps our clients feel at ease. Our management team invest the necessary time and money to recruit the right people who can add value to our organisation and our clients. When hiring new staff, we seek out people who have complimentary skills to those working in the department they will be joining. By employing this strategy, we ensure that each sector of the organisation can manage a wide range of legal and commercial family law issues.

In addition to the firm’s lawyers, who receive in-depth training and leadership from the management team, other staff including case managers are encouraged to grow their legal skills at the firm. We provide staff with the fullest opportunity to immerse themselves in all aspects of service that the firm provides. This includes shadowing seasoned family lawyers to the Family Justice Courts and mediation centres to master their strategy style with clients and opposing lawyers. They also have a chance to interact with clients (under the supervision of senior lawyers), to gain an understanding of the background of a particular case further so they can use this knowledge to provide additional assistance to our clients.

Investing in the future To ensure our clients receive the highest quality of service, we have invested in cutting-edge technology to provide a responsive and efficient service. My vision is to make the office paperless. To this end, we are currently working with a team of innovative software developers to create a new ‘app’ which will empower clients to check the status of their case online, anytime, anywhere. The aim of this investment is to increase the response to our clients and provide them with the most dynamic, innovative service in the region.

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However, regardless of the drive to shape the way family law is delivered in Singapore and beyond, we are committed to forging friendly, approachable relationships with our clients and never neglect the time-honoured values of integrity, loyalty and professionalism. We demonstrate this by providing direct telephone numbers and email addresses to our clients, giving them the confidence that their lawyer will be available to answer questions when needed.

Further expansion As our reputation and rate of referrals grows, further expansion is inevitable, however we will continue to operate exclusively within the family law sector, but increase our services to match the needs of our clients.

Family law in Singapore aims to provide therapeutic justice to the issue of separating families and to lessen acrimony amongst divorcing couples. As such, we are likely to see further drives to move family law out of the courtroom and away from adversarial proceedings. Mediation and counselling will continue to be encouraged as the preferred resolution method for family disputes. This provides clients with the opportunity to exert greater control over matters regarding children’s issues and financial settlements - something we enthusiastically support and are adequately trained for. As a skilled mediator and negotiator, I have successfully mediated and negotiated thousands of settlement agreements for my clients. My practical and innovative approach to suggesting feasible settlement terms for my clients has been much appreciated for its workability and flexibility.

Our expansion efforts will result in adding further talent to our team. We will continue to seek out people who demonstrate integrity, empathy and a commitment to getting the best result possible for our clients. We are looking for a certain toughness; family law is not for the faint hearted, it can be stressful and demanding. Our team pride ourselves in fighting resolutely for our clients’ rights and objectives. To achieve this, we act as a tight-knit team, supporting each other on a professional and personal level, leveraging each other’s expertise.

As we grow we will continue to invest in our people, supporting and encouraging their development within the firm. In turn, they provide the energy and vision to help us achieve our commercial objectives, ensuring our firm continues to expand and thrive in constantly changing times. Our overall aim is to remain boutique, specialised and highly competitive in price. We are delighted with the success we have achieved so far and we believe this is due to our desire as a team to provide the best service possible within our field, to anyone who engages our services.

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160035

Best IP Law Firm - Singapore

Ella Cheong LLC is a Singapore based law firm that specialises in intellectual property in the APAC region. We caught up with Soh Kar Liang to find out more about the firm’s history, service offering and future plans to build upon its current success.

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Ella Cheong LLC is committed to protecting the fruits of creativity with effective solutions to meet diverse needs. The firm provides clients with professionals who are experienced in delivering effective solutions involving IP across a broad spectrum of industries, to a wide range of setups; individuals, small to medium-sized businesses and multinational corporations alike.

In his opening comments Kar Liang talks us through the firm’s history and how it has come to embody a track record of providing strategic business advice and addressing complex legal issues.

“The firm takes its name from Ella Cheong, an internationally well-respected intellectual property practitioner who started professional practice in Hong Kong in the 70’s. In 1986, Ella Cheong set up the initial form of our practice in Singapore to meet the intellectual property demands of international businesses in this region and the rapidly evolving intellectual property needs of local businesses.

“Since inception, our practice has grown and adapted to the changes in the thriving intellectual property landscape in the region over the years. Its present incarnation is the culmination of a significant wealth of experience and capability in intellectual property services represented by a well-known brand in intellectual property services in Asia which our clients can count on.”

Apart from its regional IP prosecution practice focusing on Southeast Asia and South Asia, Ella Cheong LLC provides a comprehensive scope of legal services, including IP enforcement, commercialisation and strategy development. Offering such a wide range of services means that the firm needs to provide the very highest quality of staff, which is something the firm focuses on constantly, as Kar Liang is keen to emphasise.

“Our attorneys have a wealth of knowledge and experience in all aspects of domestic and international intellectual property. Our extensive legal and industry experience allows us to move swiftly in finding the right strategy for our clients’ businesses. This dynamic team comprises of qualified IP practitioners who together represent many years of experience in prosecution of applications for registration of IP, including Patents, Trade Marks and Designs, domestically and internationally.

“From initial contact with our firm to completion of a matter, our clients will find a team recognized for delivering exceptional leadership, client service, and value. The insight and clarity offered by our dynamic team help clients navigate risks, regulatory issues and the diverse challenges of a competitive marketplace – in the boardroom or the courtroom.

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Company: Ella Cheong LLC Name: Soh Kar Liang Email: mail@ellacheong.asia Web Address: www.ellacheong.asia Address: 300 Beach Road, #31-04/05 The Concourse, Singapore 199555 Telephone: +65 66925500

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“Fundamentally our team constantly strives to provide quality and cost effectiveness targeted at meeting IP and commercial needs. We take pride in our ability to think out-of-the-box, and our commitment to finding the best approach for each individual case.”

In recent years the increasing emphasis on IP in both public and private sectors and the growing public awareness of IP have been strong contributing factors to Ella Cheong LLC’s business development in recent years.

Looking to the future, Kar Liang believes that the firm is on target for strong growth which will support it in its aim to provide clients with the most up to the minute services in the region.

“Our firm recently welcomed two new lawyers (previously our practice trainees) Tan Yi Xin and Ching Pu Fang, and we now have 11 lawyers amongst our professional staff to further complement the firm’s client management capabilities.

“This growing team is helping us to develop initiatives to capitalise on the evolving IP environment in the region, and we look forward to the opportunities this endeavour will provide us.”

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160028

IP Lawyer of the Year - Asia

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Hogan Lovells offers extensive experience and insights gained from working in some of the world’s most complex legal environments and markets for corporations, financial institutions, and governments.

We invited the award winning Eugene Low, Partner in the firm’s Hong Kong office, to talk us through the firm and the role he has played in its success.

Hogan Lovells help clients identify and mitigate risk and make the most of opportunities.

The firm’s 2,500 lawyers on six continents provide practical legal solutions wherever their work takes them. Eugene, who is the firm’s IP partner, describes the firm’s IP practice in more detail.

“Here at Hogan Lovells, our IP practice in particular is one of the leading global IP practices. We are the only firm to be ranked top tier for IP across Asia Europe and Globally by Chambers global 2012-2016.

“Personally, I have been practising IP for more than 11 years. Starting off as an IP litigator, I have now expanded my practice into advisory IP work as well as data privacy and consumer laws. The experience of seeing how things went wrong enables me to spot risks early, prevent problems from happening and resolve them in a practical manner.”

Serving as an appointed domain name panelist and an accredited mediator also helps Eugene evaluate issues from an adjudicator’s perspective. He outlines the reasons why he particularly enjoys working in IP law.

“IP is a very diverse discipline and requires a lot of creativity. My practice has afforded me the opportunity to connect with clients in many different industry sectors. It is fascinating to learn of the different challenges that people face and this keeps me on my toes.”

In order to provide the very highest quality service, Hogan Lovells has a very supportive culture which focuses on ensuring that staff receive the very best care so that they can offer a similar level of support to their clients, as Eugene explains.

“Hogan Lovells has a distinctive, open culture. We value the contribution everyone has to make, and place enormous importance on the contribution we can make to the wider community. We believe that our client service, commerciality and teamwork set us apart and make this a great place to work. We have an excellent track record in terms of citizenship, and believe that what we do should influence change for the better. Taking citizenship as an example we require all members of the firm to take part in 25 hours of pro bono or citizenship activities every year.

“Trust plays a big role in the way we work together and the training that our graduates experience. We never shelter trainees from the cut and thrust of real client work. Nor

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Company: Hogan Lovells Name: Eugene Low Email: eugene.low@hoganlovells.com Web Address: http://www.hoganlovells.com/en Address: 11th Floor, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong Telephone: +852 2840 5907

do we simply throw them in at the deep end without proper preparation and support. As a trainee or junior here you can expect a degree of contact with senior partners often unheard of in some major law firms.”

Recently the Asian legal market has seen a great many changes. In China, for example, the number of new laws and regulations in the past year has been phenomenal. There is increasing attention paid to emerging topics like data privacy and consumer rights, and these areas fall exactly within Eugene’s core practice. He describes his focuses in the region and why he enjoys practicing there.

“My practice focuses on Mainland China and Hong Kong. One main advantage of practising in this region is the fact that this is one of the fastest growing economies so there are lots of opportunities. But then it is also a hugely competitive market so my solution is to develop my niche and try to identify the next trend before everyone talks about it.”

Moving forward, Eugene is keen to highlight the great opportunities that are coming for both him and the legal industry itself.

“Within the wider legal industry the future is bright. Technological advancement may have a huge impact on the legal market and how the way people seek legal assistance. I firmly believe that lawyers nowadays must be open to new ideas otherwise the profession can easily become out of touch with the society.

“Personally I also have a number of exciting opportunities ahead of me. As a partner I am now spending more and more time training up my juniors and trainees. I am very fortunate to have my firm’s extensive and global IP platform to help expand my practice. I have been doing an increasing amount of multi-jurisdictional work with my overseas colleagues. This is always interesting as you can learn different perspectives and cultures. Overall it is really rewarding to build a succession plan and have some up-and-coming lawyers offering energy and new perspectives.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160023

Best Insurance Law Firm 2016 - New Zealand

Fee Langstone is a boutique specialist firm, with a long-standing commitment to representing insurers, brokers and their clientsto achieve the best possible results. Founding partner Philippa Fee talks us through the firm and the range of services it offers.

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For over 30 years, the partners of Fee Langstone have provided clients with personable, pragmatic and highly skilled legal representation in the context of some of New Zealand’s most significant litigation. In her opening comments Philippa discusses the firm’s commitment to supporting clients and how its experience and knowledge of the region is central to offering clients the highest quality of service.

“Here at Fee Langstone we are experts in the field of insurance law. We are a team of skilled litigation lawyers, able to work with you to provide strategies and robust solutions, fast.

“For over 30 years we have partnered with insurers (general, life and marine), insurance brokers, and their clientsto provide legal representation of the highest standard. This vast wealth of experience has given us a strong understanding of the New Zealand legal market, which we draw on when working on every case.

“As such we know how to bring and defend proceedings. We know how to resolve disputes. We have the knowledge and expertise to provide all of our clients with expert advice on the legal framework and practices for their business to proactively manage risk.

Our experience is a vital asset, and one which our clients have come to rely on.”

Although the firm itself is relatively young, its staff have long standing experience and are able to offer clients a wide range of skills. In the late 1980s Philippa Fee and Craig Langstone were partners in the firm of Heaney Jones. In 1996, together with Pauline Barratt, they were partners in the firm of Jones Fee. Cecily Brick became a partner of Jones Fee in 2010. Together they formed Fee Langstone in 2015. Matthew Atkinson joined as a partner in February 2016, after having been a valued member of the staff for over 10 years.

Philippa explains the firm’s continued commitment to employing the very best legal talent in order to offer clients a level of service they cannot find elsewhere.

“At Fee Langstone we are truly passionate about what we do. Individually, we have highly specialised areas of expertise. Collectively, this deep and varied experience creates a powerhouse of legal expertise to support our clients.

“Fee Langstone employs lawyers who come from a variety of backgrounds, including many with international experience, so we are able to match our clients’ needs with specialised skills. In addition to technical ability, the lawyers at Fee Langstone are open, personable and inclusive in their approach.

“The firm’s partners have acted for some clients for over 20 years – a testament to the strength of the relationship and our commitment to having a client-focused attitude to each case we handle.”

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Company: Fee Langstone Address: Level 13, 51 Shortland Street, PO Box 1801, Auckland 1140 Phone: +64 9 373 0050 Email: reception@feelangstone.co.nz Website: http://www.feelangstone.co.nz/

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Practice areas the firm is able to work in include insurance, dispute resolution, employment, construction law, corporate law and policy advice. Offering this wide range of services enables the firm to support a wide range of clients, all of whom receive the same high standard of care, as Philippa outlines.

“The nature of insurance problems can mean a web of complex issues. With our expertise, we will cut through this complexity and get to commercial clarity, fast. We provide litigation services covering many specialist areas of expertise including insurance, receivership and insolvency, employment law, maritime, corporate legal services and more. Our services also include advisory work to avoid litigation, dispute resolution and mediation.”

Ultimately, Fee Langstone is a law firm that takes a professional, principled, yet personable, approach to business, and Philippa makes it clear that moving forward, the firm’s focus will continue to be on offering the same high standard of service.

“As of September the firm celebrates its first birthday, and we are very proud of how far we have come in just one year. In the future we are keen to build upon our current success and continue to offer the same high standard of quality on which we have come to pride ourselves.”

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160005

Best International Trade Law Firm 2016- Australia

IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers is an Australia based legal firm supporting international trade needs of SME clients from across the region, with a strong focus on China. We caught up with Joseph Buccheri to learn more.

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IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers, whose name is derived from an abbreviation of import/ export, work primarily with SMEs, providing dedicated support and advice for all their import, export and international trade needs. Joseph, who gained many years’ experience working as a trade facilitator before training as a lawyer, believes that it is his firm’s global reach and collaborative approach which is the secret behind its success.

“At IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers we pride ourselves on having the cultural and linguistic abilities to support our clients with their trade and investment negotiations around the world. I personally have lived and worked in many countries in my previous role, and my team has the language capabilities to support clients in their work, particularly in China.

“Additionally, we utilise our network of alliance partners to ensure that our clients have access to the support they need to enter into almost any market around the world. These contacts also keep our firm up to date with the latest developments in the industry and ensure that we are always able to provide clients with the very best support and advice possible.

“One of the main partnerships which we are very fortunate to have developed is the collaborative respect of Invest Hong Kong, and this has helped us to become the go to Melbourne Australia law firm to assist Australian businesses enter the China market by using Hong Kong as the super connecting gateway. Under China’s one country two system policy, Invest Hong Kong is the department of the Hong Kong SAR Government responsible for Foreign Direct Investment, supporting overseas businesses to set up and expand in Hong Kong and China generally.”

In addition, in conjunction with Invest Hong Kong, we have hosted numerous delegations and round-table workshops with Heads of Invest Hong Kong’s various industry teams including their Ambassador Mr. Thomas Wong and Australia Head: Dr. Luca de Leonardis, highlighting the strength of the relationship.

The firm serves clients across three key areas: Chinese firms looking to trade in the Australian market, Australian firms looking to trade in the Chinese market and Chinese companies operating in Australia. Joseph depicts how the firm’s unique skillset helps it to serve clients across these three areas.

“In order to support clients in working within our three key focus areas, our firm is mindful of the differing styles of how Australians and Chinese do business, we see ourselves as providing a pristine fiduciary bridge of trust and expertise that bi-laterally mitigates time, cost, confusion and risk. Essentially we network our clients into long established trusted business, political and professional “guanxi” networks to best navigate and maximise cross cultural commercial success.”

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Company: IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers Phone: 61 3 9999 7494 Website: http://impexlaw.com/ Email: joseph@impexlaw.com

Moving forward, Joseph believes that the Asian market will become the forefront of the international trade market, and is keen to be able to support his clients within the rapidly changing market.

“Within the international trade market we are increasingly seeing Hong Kong being used as the bilateral bridge for China and Australia trade and investment for its obvious advantages including being in the heart of Asia within five hour’s flight to half the words population, low and simple tax regime and most importantly of all, a trusted forum where common law prevails to give certainty and enforceability for both Chinese and Australian businesses executing binding contractual arrangements.

“As such we are eager to adapt around these developments and work with clients to help them utilise these opportunities. IMPEX Lawyers & Advisers is a very nimble, agile and well connected firm, meaning that we have the capabilities to support clients through whatever developments the market provides. We are keen to continue growing alongside our clients, as we continue to provide the same high quality services which we have become renowned for.

“Ultimately IMPEX is very proud to have won the APAC Insider International Trade Law Firm for 2016- Australia, and going forward we will continue to diligently build, forge and strengthen bilateral trade and investment business between Australia/China and beyond.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160025

Best Financial Services Legal Boutique 2016 - Australia

Innoinvest Innoinvest is a boutique legal advisory practice operating in Australia. We invited the firm’s Principal, Su-King Hii to tell us more about the firm and its practice areas.

Innoinvest specialises in Australian financial services laws and regulations, licensing, compliance and risk management, as well as corporate governance.

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Su-King himself has over 15 years’ experience in the legal industry. He discusses his own experience and how this has helped shape the firm’s areas of focus.

“My expertise in Australian financial services arena has been recognised by many of my clients and peers alike. This is evident in the widespread word of mouth referrals and feedback I have received in the last 17 years of my experience practising Australian financial services work.

“I have tremendous interest in Australian corporate governance. My extensive experience working closely with Board of Directors of numerous local and international financial services businesses has helped to shape my reputation for great technical skill and excellence in Australian financial services advisory services.

“My experience also extends to corporate roles including General Manager of Australian Pacific Exchange (now known as Sydney Stock Exchange), company secretary of an Australian listed company, as well as Market Supervision and Compliance Committee of Sydney Stock Exchange.”

Supporting the firm’s clients is of vital importance to the firm and forms a central aspect of everything the firm does, as Su-King is eager to outline.

“Our aim is to provide practical advice to our clients, which they are confident to implement so that they can focus on their financial services business and expand their services offering and products. We are transparent, and we have open communications with our clients, outlining the potential risks involved, and assisting our clients in delivering optimal results.

“These clients are varied and include local and international financial services business operators. We have previously assisted many clients in setting up financial services businesses, and have witnessed exponential growth that our clients have experienced, increasing their financial services as well as products. We work closely with our clients and seek to engage with them at every stage of their business planning, as well as during the growth cycle: our focus is to deliver practical and pragmatic solutions.”

Staff are also crucial to ensuring that clients’ needs are met and, therefore, that the firm’s overall mission is achieved. Su-King depicts what the firm looks for in staff and how it aims to attract and retain the best talent in the region.

“Here at Innoinvest we are interested in staff who has strong interests in corporate, commercial and financial services issues. We strive to deliver highly technical skill in financial services advisory work. We have regular technical discussions with our staff and challenge our staff to achieve excellence in the work that we do. Our staff enjoy in the chal-

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Company: Innoinvest Name: Su-King Hii Email: shii@innoinvest.com.au Web Address: innoinvest.com.au Address: Level 10, 50 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: 02 9247 0022

lenges we set for them, and they are immensely fill with a sense of pride and achievement in the results that we deliver for our clients.

“To ensure that our staff feel supported and encouraged we have an open and respectful culture. We encourage our staff to respect each other, and work harmoniously. We have a regular working lunch to promote the working relationship among our staff, as well as offering the opportunity for everyone to share about their experiences and take pride in their work.

“Ultimately our quality is assured because I believe in the importance of strong leadership. I understand my clients’ expectations, and I work well with the regulators, and I am bridging all the relationships in order to deliver the best results for our clients.”

Looking to the future, Su-King foresees a number of exciting developments in the Australian legal market which will provide many opportunities for his firm.

“Moving forward, we believe Australia is in a prime position to experience the exponential growth from Asia and India. With the rapid increase in robotic technology we are experiencing around the globe, Australia is assured to be a very strategic contributor to modernise the world’s financial services developments.

“As such, here at Innoinvest we are eager to take advantage of the opportunities this expected growth provides. We are avid participants in financial services policy, as well as providing our feedback to the regulators. We believe our passion, talent and pursuits in contributing to modernise the Australian financial services regulatory framework, and assisting prospective clients in understanding Australian financial services regulations will all combine to provide us with a bright and prosperous future.”

structuresxx / Shutterstock.com

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160048

Business & Tax Law Specialist of the Year - Australia & Most Innovative Commercial Law Firm - Australia

J.P. Sesto & Co

J.P. Sesto & Co is a Melbourne based specialist commercial law practice. We invited Founder John Sesto to tell us more.

Established in 1999, J.P. Sesto & Co is entrusted with the care of the commercial and business interests of corporate clients, property developers, private companies and high worth individuals, investors and self-employed persons.

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John, who is an Accredited Business Law Specialist and a Tax Specialist under the Law Institute’s specialist accreditation scheme, outlines how his firm differentiates itself from its competition.

“Here at J.P. Sesto & Co, the range of commercial work we do often brings our firm up against the reputable large and medium sized legal practices in Melbourne. To compete effectively against these firms with their expansive resources and to deliver our client the best commercial outcome, requires an internal confidence that you have the legal knowledge and ability to dialogue effectively with these firms.

“Our key competitive advantage lies in personal service and accumulated knowledge of our client’s business and affairs, as well as our ability to offer a more competitive pricing regime.

In fact our relative charge out rates are lower than many larger, city based firms.

Our personal approach can be contrasted with the costly approach of the larger city-based legal firms who usually allocate two or three lawyers, (usually junior lawyers) to every job, often with those lawyers not having had any past connection with the client’s affairs.

“As such, there is no continuity which results in charge out rates being higher than necessary . Invariably, their charges include a factor for the client to educate the lawyers about the client’s business, whereas our dedicated lawyers are committed to learning this from the start, and stay with their client from inception through to completion of their matter.”

Within the legal industry currently the speed of Internet and communication by email means that clients expect a quick turnover of documents and responses to email requests.

This is particularly so in transactional commercial matters, as John has found, however he believes that his firm’s passion and dedication means that clients are guaranteed the very highest standard of service.

“As we are mainly a commercial transactional based practice, in relation to our commercial matters, our approach to clients is personal communication, and we aim to always be passionate about our work and support clients to the highest standard possible.

We value the use of the telephone even though email seems to be the standard form of communication these days.

“Through this approach we not only keep the client informed of the progress of their matter, the client is aware that you are “on the case” and thinking about them and so if there are delays in achieving a client’s objective, then the client has a better understanding of what has transpired to cause the delay.”

www.apacinsider.com

Company: J. P. Sesto & Co. Phone: 03 9670 9601 Fax: 03 9606 0899 Email: john@sesto.com.au Address: Normanby Chambers, 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. VIC 3000

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Best International Family Law Practice 2016 - Australia

Kennedy Partners Lawyers Kennedy Partners provides high quality family law services with a resolution focused approach to its clients’ needs. We have profiled the firm and explored how it has come to achieve this accolade.

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Kennedy Partners is a Melbourne-based specialist practice with an unrivalled national and international reputation for providing high-quality legal services in all areas of family and de facto relationship law to a diverse client base ranging from high net worth families, corporate entities, other law firms, and individuals, both men and woman, from traditional and non-traditional families and relationships.

The Kennedy Partners team, led by Ian Kennedy AM (who has been described as pre-eminent, and Australia’s best on cross-border matters), has unparalleled expertise in dealing with the whole spectrum of international family law matters and offers a high-level service to clients confronting multi-jurisdictional issues, with an emphasis on resolution-focused approaches to their needs.

The firm has acted in matters involving jurisdictions ranging from the United Kingdom and Europe through North America, the Asia/Pacific region, South and Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. By virtue of the professional relationships Ian has developed as an Executive Member and President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and other global bodies, Kennedy Partners has connections with, and in cross-border matters works closely with, practitioners in other jurisdictions, providing expertise with respect to Australian law and how the Australian Courts deal with the international issues, and integrating that with input from colleagues in the other relevant jurisdictions who add their specialised knowledge.

Kennedy Partners has a strong culture of ongoing professional development and it’s lawyers are encouraged to expand their knowledge and expertise throughout their careers.

It invests in attracting, retaining and developing the best talent, and its professional team are individuals who combine strong academic track records with excellent technical ability and bring clarity to complex situations through their deep knowledge, wide experience and exceptional problem-solving skills.

The firm is also strongly committed to improvement of professional standards and the developmental side of family law nationally through the executive committees of the Family Law Sections of the Law Council of Australia and the Law Institute of Victoria and outside Australia through the International Academy of Family Lawyers and other global bodies.

Kennedy Partners lawyers are regularly involved in family law form initiatives, write extensively on family law issues and present widely at conferences and seminars throughout Australia and internationally.

Kennedy Partners encourages and values collaboration within its team, who work closely together with each other, and with their clients, to obtain optimal outcomes in what are often very complex and challenging situations and who have been involved in many ground-breaking cases both within and beyond Australia, while promoting leadership and excellence both within the firm and in the broader legal profession.

www.apacinsider.com

Company: Kennedy Partners Lawyers Pty Ltd Phone: +61 3 9618 7300 Fax: +61 3 9618 7322 Address: Level 29, 459 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000 Email: enquiries@kennedylaw.com.au Website: http://www.kennedypartnerslawyers.com.au

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Best Conveyancing & Property Law Firm - Australia

Northey Legal & Conveyancing

Northey Lawyers is an Australia based law firm offering a wide variety of services. We caught up with Principal Sandra Northey to find out more about the firm and the support it offers clients.

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Northey Lawyers offer a range of services across the commercial, property and elder law sectors, as well as supporting civil litigation. Sandra talks us through the firm’s service offering and how her own experience helped her to steer the firm to its current success.

“Here at Northey Lawyers, we are a small legal firm with myself as Principal solicitor, as well as an experienced conveyancer, law clerk, legal secretary and legal assistant. Our focus is primarily on all types of property conveyancing, as well as wills and estates. These are provided to a range of clients, from local families and farmers to commercial clients and developers.

“Personally, through my career I have worked in local small to medium firms primarily in the area of conveyancing and wills and estates. I have worked in business with systems and book keeping. This experience has helped me set up my own successful firm, taking it from a sole practice working from home in 2008 to where we are today.”

Sandra is a qualified solicitor after having studied by distance education at Deakin University and gaining her admission into practice in 2005. She worked at a number of legal firms in Albury Wodonga before setting up Northey Legal and Conveyancing in 2008.

Since that time Northey Legal has grown quickly due to the firm’s emphasis on good, friendly communication and providing an excellent, competitive and professional service.

Operating in a small town, reputation spreads fast, and ultimately Sandra believes that the most important aspect of her work is to provide the very highest standard of quality in every service her firm offers.

“In order to be successful in offering legal services, establishing a great reputation in a specialised area, in my case conveyancing, and not trying to cater for too many areas of law is of vital importance.”

www.apacinsider.com

Company: Northey Lawyers Pty Lts tas Northey Legal & Conveyancing Name: Sandra Northey Email: sandra@northeylegal.com.au Web Address: www.northeylegal.com.au Address: 18 Stanley Street, Wodonga Victoria 3690 Telephone: 0260557200

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Best Start-Up Law Boutique 2016 - Australia & Most Innovative Commercial IP Firm 2016

Silberstein & Associates is an Australian-based corporate services legal firm. We invited Founder Robert Silberstein to talk us through the firm and how it has achieved its current success.

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Established in 2014, Silberstein & Associates is a rising star of boutique firms, offering clients specialist expertise in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, litigation and commercial law.

The firm was established by Dr Rob Silberstein, who has a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Health Law, and Master of Industrial Property.

He is also a registered Australian and registered New Zealand Patent Attorney and Trade Marks Attorney, registered Medical Practitioner (non-practicing), and Admitted Solicitor.

Rob has a deep knowledge of intellectual property, commercial law and litigation and dispute resolution, developed through years of senior in-house roles in multi-national companies, such as Johnson and Johnson and Alphapharm-Mylan, and senior private practice roles in top tier law firms and patent & trade mark attorney firms, such as Allens Linklaters and Spruson & Ferguson.

As the firm’s Founder, Rob has drawn on his impressive experience and background to create a law firm which is capable of providing its clients with all their commercial legal needs in one place. They have access to expert knowledge from patent attorney, corporate/commercial counsel and litigation experts (including a former barrister). Drawing from his in-house experience, Rob was determined to create a law firm that places the client’s commercial needs at the centre of all strategic thinking and legal decision-making. He discusses how his firm utilises its vast combined experience in order to provide the very highest standard of services to its clients.

“Here at Silberstein & Associates we offer clients significant patent and trademarks experience. We have drafted and prosecuted patent and trade mark applications across the globe; managed IP portfolios containing 500+ patent, trade mark and design family members. We are capable in all aspects of protecting, commercialising and enforcing IP rights across the globe and our dedicated team of experts work with individuals, entrepreneurs, corporation and start-ups, both within Australia and internationally, to find commercially sensible legal solutions.

In addition, our firm has expert knowledge in product launch strategy. We have managed and conducted “freedom to operate” (FTO) analyses for launches of products in multiple technology areas in multiple jurisdictions, including a significant focus on generic pharmaceutical product launches.

We also have expert experience in Corporate and Commercial Law, as well as in general commercial litigation.”

In order to stay innovative and provide the most up to the minute service to clients, Silberstein & Associates has implemented an innovative practice management method.

The firm is essentially paperless, reducing unnecessary overheads and costs for its cli-

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Company: Silberstein & Associates Pty Ltd Name: Robert Silberstein Email: info@silberstein.net.au Web Address: www.silberstein.net.au Address: Level 36 Gateway Tower, 1 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: + 61 2 8075 4699

ents. Silberstein & Associates is a leader in adopting entirely cloud-based practice and document management.

This approach benefits clients because documents can be readily shared, edited and returned efficiently between the clients and the professional staff within high level online security and protection. The advantage of this is that the client is put into the driving seat with the lawyer and the experience resolving issues as they arise can be a collaborative one. Legal costs are reduced as the overheads for running the matter are much smaller than the traditional law firm model. For example, the need for administration staff is greatly reduced as external consultants are able to easily assist with practice management issues remotely.

Looking to the future, Rob believes technology and digitisation are causing the greatest changes to the legal market. He explains that the tendency for clients to believe they can simply purchase a cheaper template solution that will adequately protect their commercial interests, is forcing law firms to reassess how they conduct their business. The traditional time-based method of billing clients is being challenged by clients, who are demanding more transparency with charges, and the movement towards fixed costs is also challenging the profit-margins of firms.

Despite these challenges, Rob is eager to highlight his firm’s expansion plans, which will provide it with excellent opportunities to work with a wider range of clients going forward.

“Looking ahead, Silberstein & Associates hopes to continue to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region. The firm’s current success has prompted the evolution and creation of another new law firm – Purview Legal – an exciting new concept for a law firm with a vision of being a positive disruptor of the traditional law firm model. Purview Legal has evolved from the success of Silberstein & Associates and pushes the boundaries yet again of how a law firm can be run.

“As such Silberstein & Associates, together with Wrays Patent Attorneys, has created Purview Legal, which it is hoped will have a global impact. Using the cloud-based practice management model developed for Silberstein & Associates, Purview Legal enables lawyers across different firms to collaborate with each other within an unprecedented e-firm platform. Purview Legal hopes to see legal professionals in Australia working collaboratively alongside leading legal professionals from all over the globe.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Most Client-Focused Family & Estate Law Firm - Victoria

TBA Law is a Victorian based law firm specialising in family and estate law. We invited Owner Jacqui Brauman to tell us more.

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TBA Law is owned by Jacqui Brauman, who bought the firm from Rod Theobald in October 2012. The firm had been a small sole practice for 35 years, and it has doubled in size since then to now employ four staff and service a wider area. The focus of the firm is very much the clients and providing a service to the community, as Jacqui explains in more detail.

“Rather than being a general practice that takes on every client that walks through the door, our services have narrowed to property law, estate planning, probate and estate administration, family law, and small business.

“This focus ensures that all of our clients receive the very highest possible quality of service. At the forefront of my mind every day is that I am a lawyer to provide a service.

I want to serve my community, and my clients are the ones that keep me in business. I have a policy that every client who contacts our office, whether by phone or email, gets contacted back the same day. I am approachable and accessible, so clients have access to me to ask questions. I also want to do things as quickly and efficiently as possible, so clients know they can rely on me to get their work done.

“Our firm is still small, and we work in an open environment. There are no individual offices, so we are all available to ask questions of each other throughout the day, to discuss matters arising, and to participate in banter. Our culture is also very flat. Everyone is the same, is expected to get their work done, and no one is above anyone else. I clean the toilets and vacuum the office, and I answer the phones and do other administration work to help out other staff members if needed, and they do likewise to help me. I lead by example.”

Jacqui commenced her legal career in a country firm 10 years ago. She had prior case management experience, having overseen the rehabilitation of offenders in the community. Country legal service has a strong client focus, but the equal frustration of trying to know multiple areas of the law and being stretched thin. She then moved to Sydney and spent a couple of years as an in-house practitioner within a large company. With this broader business experience, Jacqui returned to the country to buy her practice with the idea in mind that doing a few things really well was the key. Jacqui went on to complete her Masters Degree in Applied Law (Wills and Estates) to give the special knowledge required to specialise. She expresses her pride in her specialist area and outlines how her focus has improved her service to clients: “Estate planning is an area of the law where clients come to you motivated to achieve something and wanting to work with you, unlike a lot of areas of litigation where clients resent the situation they find themselves in and having to use legal services at all. Working with clients who want to work with you adds a feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction.

“My focus on estate planning has also enabled me to write a couple of papers and books, and to start speaking to other professional groups to provide valuable information to those who need it or can influence people into realising they need it. The books I have written In Case of Emergency and Death and Social Media.”

www.apacinsider.com

Company: Theobald Lawyers Pty Ltd trading as TBA Law Name: Jacqui Brauman Email: jacqui@tbalaw.com.au Web Address: www.tbalaw.com.au Address: 145 High Street, Nagambie VIC 3608 Telephone: 03 5794 2334

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Going forward, the legal industry in Australia will change as a greater division in services is introduced.

Lawyers will have to take back a fair bit of the work that accountants have adopted, and as such need to be trusted advisors again instead of document preparers.

Administrative and drafting work will be outsourced more, and lawyers should be left to see clients and give advice, which is why Jacqui is keen to grow her business in order to continue offering the same high quality of service which she prides herself on. “In the future I intend to grow the business in order to serve more clients with a quality service. I have also recently achieved my Law Institute accredited specialisation in Wills and Estates.�

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Most Client-Focused Multi-Disciplinary Law Firm - Australia

TST Partners Group is a multidisciplinary financial services firm which provides accounting, legal, finance brokering and corporate advisory services in Melbourne. Group Managing Director Francis Gu discusses the firm and the services it provides.

TST Partners Lawyers is the legal arm of the TST Partners Group, which provides accounting, legal and corporate finance advisory services, specialising in providing legal services to clients across the APAC region as well as servicing the local market. Francis provides more detail on the firm’s service offering and how it aims to ensure that clients receive the legal solutions which meet their needs.

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“At TST Partners we provide full range of legal services including commercial litigation, family law, property law, criminal law and corporate law. We pride ourselves on being multi-disciplined, as our principals across the group have in excess of 100 years of experience in law, finance and accounting. This provides our clients with a wide spectrum of expertise at their disposal. As a group, we are focused on building strong and lasting relationships with every client and remain committed to our philosophy of ultimate client satisfaction above all else.

“Our approach to client service centres around treating every client as if we were providing our services to our own family. This means we are always access able, honest, and hardworking, making sure that our clients understand that we have a stake in the result they are striving to achieve. Whether it is to resolve a dispute, minimise tax, complete a business transaction smoothly, we will always serve the client to the best of our abilities as if we had a personal interest in the end result.”

Within the legal industry currently, the significant increase in foreign investment in Australia has resulted in an ever-growing demand to provide legal services to non-English speaking clients. Alongside this, providing legal services to clients who come from a vastly different legal landscape, where security and risk minimisation is not achieved via agreements and contract, but via trust and relationships, has meant that TST Partners has had to adapt by building a bridge between various business cultures. Francis also explains how a relationship based approach to client management benefits both clients and the firm itself.

“Working collaboratively means that we focus heavily on maintaining our relationship with clients across all their business and personal affairs. As a multidiscipline firm, we look after our clients’ every need from preparing their tax return, to representing them in court and everything in between.

“This supportive approach is implemented internally as well as to our clients. As such we offer our workforce a culture of growth, and we encourage all staff from Interns to Partners to take part in the growth of the company by rewarding referrals and developing ideas which help improve the firm in any capacity. As part of this culture we believe in internal promotions.

Many of our staff have been with us since they interned upon graduation. We provide a pathway to leadership and empower our staff to make decisions without micro-management.”

In his concluding comments Francis discusses the firm’s future plans, which revolve around growth as the firm seeks to continue to build upon its current achievements.

“For TST Partners the future is an exciting time as we look to expand through mergers and acquisitions in 2017 with plans to venture into each capital city so that we can serve our clients to the highest possible standard.”

www.apacinsider.com

Company: TST Partners Lawyers Name: Francis Gu Email: francisgu@tstpartners.com.au Web Address: www.tstpartners.com.au Address: Level 6 488 Bourke Street Melbourne Telephone: +61 3 8080 1525

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Best Estate & Elder Law Litigation Firm - Australia

Wilcox & Associates Lawyers Wilcox Lawyers is a boutique private client law firm specialising in litigation. We invited CEO Stephen Wilcox to tell us more.

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Wilcox Lawyers focuses on providing a quality service by working with a limited range of clients at any one time, in order to focus all of their expertise on these cases. Stephen provides more detail on how the firm aims to give clients the highest possible quality of service, which is of vital importance to his practice.

“Client service is a complicated process, but at Wilcox Lawyers we always aim to offer the very highest level of service, utilising our expertise and dedication to provide strategic and effective legal advice. Service is provided around the clock, seven days a week, to ensure that clients receive the support they need at all times.”

As a global lawyer the principal of the firm Stephen has worked across multiple jurisdictions, focusing on the core practice areas of banking and property. His 25 years’ experience gives Stephen skill, depth and wisdom, and it is his obsession with perfection in everything the firm does give it the edge over its competitors. Stephen discusses his personal experience and how he draws on this when working on every case.

“Personally I have litigated against some large corporations, and these corporations employ the best lawyers, always looking for the very top level of service, which has helped me when working with exacting clients seeking only the best. The key is to learn from those lawyers during the litigation, examining how they work and what tactics they employ and then drawing on this in your own work.”

Alongside his high level of expertise, Stephen believes that what truly sets his firm apart is its focus on the higher end of the market and small size, both of which allow the company to provide a highly focused client service.

“What differentiates Wilcox Law from its competitors is that we focus on the higher end of the market, and as such we do not do pro bono and we limit our relationships with other law firms as we often end up working against them. We charge high rates and do not discount, informing every client that proposes to litigate that it is going to be extremely unpleasant and time consuming. By being upfront and direct clients respect that we do one thing – the provision of first class legal services. Whilst this is a direct approach it works.

“In addition, the advantage of being small is this we can confront large firms in ambush tactics. With most large firms there will be a partner, a senior associate, a lawyer, a paralegal and a secretary all working on the matter. This can cause information blockages within the firm which we can then undermine. In one of our firm’s major wins we had the opponent dismiss its law firm.”

www.apacinsider.com

Company: Wilcox Lawyers Name: Stephen Wilcox Email: wilcoxlawyers@bigpond.com Web Address: www.wilcoxlawyers.com.au Address: PO Box 1228 Windsor Victoria 3181 Australia Telephone: + 61 3 9534 6884

Looking to the future, Stephen is keen to emphasise that the firm’s focus will be on continuing to offer the same high level of service, whilst at the same time expanding geographically in order to serve a wider client base.

“The future is looking bright here at Wilcox Lawyers as we continue to offer the same high level of service to our clients, whilst at the same time seeking to open new offices in New South Wales and London, so as to bring our quality litigation services to new markets.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

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Best Commercial Litigation Firm 2016 - Australia

Madison Branson Lawyers is a boutique, full service law firm which has forged a network of member firms, affiliates and strategic relationships, and combines the expertise of its legal specialists with that network to provide clients with tailored and innovative commercial solutions. We profile the firm and explore how it has earned its reputation for providing excellent quality legal services.

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Established in 2014, Madison Branson Lawyers has grown quickly into a full-service law firm. Services offered by the firm include commercial law; property law including building and construction; litigation and alternative dispute resolution; criminal law; immigration; family law; wills and estates; and intellectual property.

Madison Branson Lawyers has seen significant growth between 2015 and 2016, which it has attributed to the lawyers in the firm, who strive for excellence and have a keen eye for their client’s ultimate aims.

The commercial & criminal litigation department, operated by Simon Tsapepas, is testament to the superior service provided to Madison Branson Lawyers’ clients, and the firm’s high calibre of the lawyers that it demands.

A dynamic commercial and criminal litigator in Australia’s State and Federal jurisdictions, as well as a skilled and tactful negotiator, Simon is credited for his commercially sensible and intelligent approach to his clients’ matters.

Through his work acting for major banks, manufacturers, individuals, SMEs and a broad range of corporations including ASX listed companies, Simon has developed his practice, and the department of the firm, extensively in a number of legal disciplines including proceeds of crime litigation under the Commonwealth regime, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth), and the State regime in Victoria, the Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic), as well as personal and corporate insolvency and reconstruction and shareholders’ disputes and oppression actions under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Other areas the department has gained experience in are trade and commerce disputes; as well as international arbitration, among others.

This vast experience, combined with the firm’s client focused approach are key to its success. As such, at Madison Branson Lawyers, the client is always at the forefront of its lawyer’s minds. This approach is not always about achieving the most desirable legal outcome for the clients. Sometimes, the legal outcome is not the most desirable at all. To achieve the ultimate outcome, Madison Branson Lawyers prides itself on understanding intricately the personal and business affairs of its clients.

Noticing a rapid technological shift in the industry, Madison Branson Lawyers embraces technology to ensure innovative and efficient legal solutions are provided to its clients in such a way that is expected in the modern business world, whilst retaining traditional values and standards of professionalism and loyalty.

Ultimately, Madison Branson Lawyers is dedicated to providing support to its clients during and after business hours. Staying ahead of, or moving with, the changes in the industry, is critical to ensure that Madison Branson Lawyers continues to exceed its clients’ expectations and to define them.

www.apacinsider.com

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Company: Madison Branson Lawyers Name: Simon Tsapepas Email: stsapepas@madisonbranson.com Web Address: www.madisonbranson.com Address: 201/737 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria 3123 Telephone: 1300 653 189

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

Madison Branson Lawyers’ is dedicated to providing its clients with highly skilled and qualified practitioners, including:

JAMES BULT – SENIOR ASSOCIATE James is a Senior Associate at Madison Branson Lawyers, with more than 15 years’ experience in the industry.

Throughout his career, particularly as a family lawyer, James has built a solid reputation for providing diligent and honest advice to individuals and families.

He provides clients with realistic and balanced legal advice and assists them with understanding the relevant legal issues in their matter.

James has extensive experience in parenting matters as an Independent Children’s Lawyer, and has appeared in many family law matters in this capacity.

Additionally, James has extensive experience in property related matters which involve the division of the assets and superannuation of parties, typically following a marriage/relationship breakdown, and has experience in complex cases involving self-managed superannuation funds, trusts and transfers of company ownership. He has been involved in many cases which have created new Legal Precedence/new Laws in both the Family Court and The Federal Circuit Court (formerly the Federal Magistrates’ Court) (“the Courts”) during this 15-year period, involving many complex family law cases, where there have been complex mental health issues, domestic violence and alleged illicit substance use/abuse issues.

Attention to detail in negotiation between parties and in the context of Family Law Litigation is a key focus for James, to ensure that clients receive the highest level of professionalism and quality of work in their matters.

Most importantly, James is a family man and so understands the vital importance for clients of maintaining a significant relationship with their children wherever possible. He also strives to obtain the most favourable property settlements possible for his clients.

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PHOEBE JUEBNER - ASSOCIATE Phoebe joined Madison Branson Lawyers as an Associate in 2016. With a background in commercial law, Phoebe now practises predominantly in children’s and family law matters.

Prior to joining Madison Branson Lawyers, Phoebe was a solicitor advocate in the Child Protection Litigation Office of the Department of Health and Human Services. In that role, Phoebe gained extensive experience as a solicitor advocate, appearing in Victorian courts in a range of applications concerning parenting and child welfare issues. Phoebe also has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution, having regularly attended court convened conciliation conferences. Phoebe has particular expertise in assisting vulnerable clients with parenting, child welfare and family violence issues. She understands the sensitivity of parenting disputes and the impact that such disputes can have on children.

Phoebe also has experience in commercial law, having commenced her legal career as a solicitor at Minter Ellison Lawyers in 2003. Whilst at Minter Ellison Lawyers, she practised in commercial litigation and project and corporate finance. Phoebe has experience in contractual and property related matters and is able to apply that experience to family disputes.

She approaches her work with professionalism and empathy. She is committed to providing responsive and honest advice to clients in a timely manner, whether that be in relation to children’s, parenting or property matters. Whilst striving to maximise her clients’ outcomes through litigation, she embraces the benefits of alternative dispute resolution and the possibility of facilitating negotiated outcomes without protracted litigation.

Her commercial background, in conjunction with her experience assisting families in high conflict situations, places Phoebe in an excellent position to achieve clients’ objectives in children’s and family law disputes.

www.apacinsider.com

UYEN TU - SOLICITOR Uyen Tu joined Madison Branson Lawyers as a solicitor in early 2016 and brings with her extensive experience and a wealth of knowledge to the areas of Commercial & Property Law and Immigration Law. Uyen has acted for developers as well as individual purchasers and vendors by providing high level advice in relation to property matters including subdivision, acquisition, disposals, leases and property management issues.

She is also a registered Migration Agent and she manages all migration matters at Madison Branson Lawyers. Uyen has assisted many clients in bringing family and friends to Australia on visiting visas, alongside partner and parent visas and she has excelled in assisting Australian and multinational companies with their employment of foreign workers. She has also assisted well-established foreign companies with business investments in Australia. Uyen’s high standard of legal support has successfully assisted and retained clients from all over the world. Uyen is always up for a challenge and regularly attends seminars and training sessions to keep abreast of the changing nature of law.

HARBANI BAWA - SOLICITOR Harbani joined Madison Branson Lawyers as a Solicitor in 2014. She specialises in the area of property-related transactions, commercial and retail leases, and corporate structures, and provides high-level advice within the legislative framework of the Transfer of Land Act 1958, Property Law Act 1958 and Duties Act 2000.

Harbani delivers a comprehensive range of property-related legal services for developers, public and private companies, landlords, property fund managers, self-managed superannuation funds, seasoned investors, as well as first home buyers. She has assisted clients with multi-million dollar acquisitions and disposals and proved herself to be a trusted adviser to many mid-tier to large entities. Her technical capability and transaction experience is second to none.

Harbani is an expert in: • Dealings with Foreign Investment Review Board approvals and regulations to enable property acquisitions by international residents; • Complex superannuation acquisitions, particularly real assets, advising on related duty exemptions and limited recourse borrowing transactions; • Multi-staged subdivisions, off-the-plan developments including master planned communities for apartments and townhouses; • Acquisitions and disposals of major commercial real assets; • Commercial, industrial and retail leasing including preparing and negotiating lease and disclosure documentation (including agreements for lease, sale and leaseback arrangements, subleases, assignments, variations, surrenders and renewals); • Contract negotiations and trust formations; • Sales and purchases of business; • Joint venture structuring, subdivision and owners’ corporation matters; • Hotel and resort acquisitions and divestments; and • Property and commercial disputes and representing clients in the Supreme Court of Victoria and Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for leasing disputes pursuant to the Retail Leases Act 2003 and Residential Tenancies Act 1997, injunctive relief.

Harbani has previously volunteered for several not-for-profit organisations and has a strong interest in this area.

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160044 Company: Agram Legal Consultants Name: Vaishali Sharma Email: vaishali.sharma@agramlegal.com Web Address: www.agramlegal.com Address: 1201A, Tower 2A, One Indiabulls Center, 841 Senapati Bapat Marg, Mumbai - 400013, India.

Telephone: +9122 6108 1111

Best Emerging M&A Law Firm - India

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Agram Legal Consultants is an India based legal firm with a focus on Corporate Law. We invited Founding Partner Vaishali Sharma to tell us more.

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Agram Legal Consultants was founded on April 1, 2014 and since then, we have been servicing clients across sectors and jurisdictions. The firm’s practice is currently focussed on corporate law, with particular emphasis on merger and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, competition law, investment strategies and general corporate advisory matters.

Prior to founding the firm my role was as a partner of top tier firms like AZB & Partners and Khaitan & Co, and I also did a secondment with Clifford Chance LLP, London. After 15 years of experience in dealing with various fields of law and diverse practices, I made a conscious decision to begin focusing on corporate law, owing to the diversity it offers.

As a practice we are solution oriented. We aim to provide prompt, practical and business sensitive advice to clients, while staying within the boundaries of the law. We focus on our core areas of expertise and strive to be the best at what we do. When it comes to billing, we are conscious of our client’s needs and budgets and try our best to provide them the best service they desire being mindful of the costs constraints they have.

The most rewarding aspect of working in the legal sector is that your life is not restricted to one particular sector. You get to work with and learn about diverse sectors with every transaction you do and that keeps people ticking.

Looking ahead, the most significant development within the Indian legal industry we face is the near possibility of the legal sector opening up to legal firms from abroad. With the Bar Council of India (“BCI”) issuing draft rules on the entry of foreign law firms in India earlier this year, the government meeting and vigorously indulging in discussions with the BCI and lobby groups, liberalisation is closer than ever now. Though the gates to India are not yet open and so the firm is not affected at the moment, it is certain that once the same is done, there is sure to be increased competition in the immediate market. It is almost certain that a lot, if not all such foreign law firms would like to have offices in Mumbai (also the firm’s headquarter), it being the economic hub of India.

Ultimately, India is a country of decentralised legislation. While central legislations guide and lay down the foundation for state legislations, the small details of all state legislations vary and not all law is electronically available. Therefore, while in some cases, one can manage providing clients with wholesome advice based on their own research and available sources, in many cases, local lawyers play an important part and are required for completing the jig-saw.

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LG160046 Company: Corporate Counsel Pty Ltd Name: Sophie Karzis Email: sk@ccounsel.com.au Address: Level 1, 61 Spring Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Telephone: 03 9286 7500

Best for Corporate Legal Services - Melbourne

Corporate Counsel Pty Ltd Corporate Counsel is a Melbourne based legal practice with a particular focus on providing corporate governance advice and company secretarial services to companies across Australia. Founder Sophie Karzis outlines the techniques the firm has employed to achieve its current success.

Established in 2004 by Corporate and Commercial Lawyer Sophie Karzis, Corporate Counsel has since garnered a reputation for excellence in serving Australian corporations of all sizes.

The firm has a client base comprised of private companies, public unlisted companies and companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Typical clients of the firm include companies wishing to outsource their company secretarial functions in a cost-effective manner; new start-up companies (particularly those seeking a listing on ASX); Australian companies with foreign operating subsidiaries in a range of countries including China, USA, New Zealand and Singapore; foreign companies with Australian subsidiaries wishing to ensure compliance with Australian law; and companies undertaking corporate actions such as restructurings, takeovers, capital raisings and buybacks.

Key to the firm’s service offering is playing a significant role as a trusted adviser to boards and senior management in addressing the key corporate governance and corporate administration issues that arise both at the times of critical decision making and in general day to day operations.

“At Corporate Counsel we aim to provide a service to our clients which meets their commercial needs and takes into account the aims of their business,” Sophie states. “We are in tune with our clients’ short and long term business goals and know what their management teams are focusing on from month to month due to our involvement in our client’s Board meetings and our provision of corporate secretarial services. We use our deep knowledge of our clients’ culture, aims, and business operations to ensure that the work we produce meets their needs from a commercial perspective as well as from a legal perspective.

“In addition, we are also involved with the day to day legal and regulatory operations of our ongoing clients to the same extent that in-house counsel would ordinarily be involved, and one of our lawyers undertakes the role of company secretary for many of our clients.

However, we are also an external law firm which provides general legal advice and undertakes one-off projects for clients which go beyond the general scope of in-house counsel.

In this sense we provide a unique service to our clients.”

Ultimately, it is this commitment to client support and dedication to providing a wide range of services which sets the firm apart, and which will be its continued focus going forward.

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG0003 Company: Griffith Hack Name: Tim Heberden Email: tim.heberden@griffithhack.com Web Address: www.griffithhack.com Address: Level 29, 100 Miller Street, North Sydney, Australia Telephone: +61 29925 5919 & +61 405 121 820

APAC IP Valuations Firm of the Year 2016 & Award for Excellence in IP Transactions 2016

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Griffith Hack is a leading Australian intellectual property (IP) firm; offering patent & trademark, IP law and advisory services. We invited IP Economics Director Tim Heberden to talk us through his department’s work.

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Griffith Hack’s IP Economics team is delighted to repeat last year’s success in receiving not one but two APAC Insiders Legal Awards. We regard the awards as an endorsement of our firm’s integrated approach to helping clients generate value through intellectual property. In addition to Valuations, our services include Patent Analytics, Tech Economics and Brand Economics.

Intangible assets represent 85% of the value of NASDAQ listed companies, and over half of other leading stock exchanges. Technology, brands and artistic works are pivotal to the value of all organisations. Yet the value of these IP-centric assets is often poorly understood. Griffith Hack’s IP Economics practice fills this gap.

Working with a range of IP stakeholders, we have noticed some interesting developments.

During the last year there has been greater use of IP valuations to support equity raising, M&A and debt financing. In addition, there is increased boardroom recognition that IP risk management requires effective metrics.

From a tax perspective, there is recognition by authorities and multinationals that IP transfer pricing should reflect the economics of this complex asset category. Finally, in order to target innovation and inform IP strategy, we are seeing integrated use of patent analytics and economic modelling.

Griffith Hack’s 360 perspective of the IP landscape results in robust valuations and insightful recommendations to leverage value through IP. Our valuations integrate an understanding of the functional, legal and economic characteristics of each subject asset. In addition to core skills in corporate finance and analytics, our IP Economics team benefits from the firm’s patent attorneys specialising in life sciences, electrical and engineering.

Although based in Australia, Griffith Hack IP Economics has an international client base of blue-chip IP owners, start-ups, corporate finance advisers and lawyers, and is therefore well set up for a bright and prosperous future.

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LG160020 Company: HADS Partnership Law Office Name: Sugiharta Gunawarman, S.H., M.H. Email: sugiharta.gunawan@hadspartnership.com Address: Multivision Tower, 5th Floor, Unit 8, Jalan Kuningan Mulia No.9B, Kota Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia Telephone: +62 21 22837970 Website: http://hadspartnership.com/

Best Debt Restructuring & Collection Attorney - Indonesia

HADS Partnership Law Office is committed to provide unprecedented legal services to its valuable clients. We invited Sugiharta Gunawarman to talk us through the firm and the range of services it provides.

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Established in 2005 by talented professional lawyers with a wide range of legal expertise and experiences, since inception HADS Partnership has built itself a strong reputation for providing precise advice, managing strategic commercial deals, as well as representing clients in various judicial institutions. Sugiharta describes how the firm aims to offer the very best legal services in Indonesia.

“HADS Partnership continuously strives to be a leading law office in providing high quality legal services in various area including corporate, litigation, and intellectual property.

“A key part of achieving this is our understanding that clients require more than just plain advice, they need solutions. From this standpoint, HADS Partnership is committed to provide its services in the most efficient and highest professional standards with personal approach to meet specific needs of the client. With the extensive capability of our team, we ensure that our clients will be provided with punctual, practical, applicable service in the most cost-effective method.”

According to Sugiharta the most rewarding aspect of legal work is achieving a good outcome for the client, which is therefore a key focus for the firm.

“The most rewarding aspect of working in the legal sector is client satisfaction. We are very proud and pleased when the work, culture and values that we apply in our legal services that can create the satisfaction for our clients, who entrust their legal needs to us.”

The development in the business world today is accelerating at an incredible rate, with the advent of technology and internet era meaning that adaptability is key and competition fierce. The same rapid changes and increased competition can also be seen in the legal industry, and as such Sugiharta makes it clear that HADS Partnership is keen to adapt and evolve in order to meet the ever changing needs of the industry.

“In order to adapt around the ever changing needs of our clients and the industries in which they work, HADS Partnership is currently growing to be a law office that provides ‘One Stop Legal Service’. Therefore, we are currently focused on development of our lawyers and the addition of new divisions in the fields of commercial litigation that will support us, in the future, to provide the best possible legal services to our clients.”

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160007 Organization: Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre Name: Albert So Email: mediation@hkmaac.org Web Address: www.hkmaac.org Address: Level 12, Infinitus Plaza, 199 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 3796 3366

Best for ADR Services - Hong Kong

Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre

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Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre (HKMAAC) is a professional association in Asia Pacific region established in the year of 2009 by a group of professionals after the civil justice reform in Hong Kong. We profile the firm and explore the services it offers.

Ever since its establishment, HKMAAC has aimed to promote mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services through both efficient and cost effective ways.

It is now one of the leading and most reputable Alternative Dispute Resolution Centres in the Asia Pacific region, and is dedicated to serving the development needs of Asia Pacific as a mediation and arbitration centre.

To enhance the public awareness on mediation and Alternative Disputes Resolution, HKMAAC has been providing Pro Bono mediation and legal consultation services to different organizations, NGOs and the general public. Additionally, in order to demonstrate its dedication and commitment in educating the young future leaders, it has established scholarships (Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre Scholarship) and (Hong Kong Mediation and Arbitration Centre Professional Award Scheme) with 9 universities. In 2013, the group organized the first Joint University Mediation Competition and had provided full sponsorship for the champion to receive further education at Harvard University.

All of the group’s members come from different jurisdictions with various professional backgrounds, including former solicitors, barristers, prosecutors, regulators, government officers, accountants, university lecturers, medical doctors, nurses, bankers, senior management executives, engineers, surveyors, social workers, counsellors, psychologists and even teachers.

Chairman Albert So is a practicing solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong, and has over 10 years of professional experience in both the Hong Kong and English legal industries.

Throughout his professional career at working with the regulatory authorities he has personally handled over 1,000 financial disputes and the relevant litigations.

Recently, Albert had also been working as a consultant for one of the largest global investment banks, being in charge of the global legal/compliance team and also being responsible for different regulatory legal projects across 12 jurisdictions (including Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, PRC, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Hong Kong) in the Asia Pacific region. Moving forward, both he and HKMAAC are committed to continuing supporting the further development of the APAC region’s legal industry.

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LG160021 Company: Link Legal India Law Services Name: Atul Sharma (Managing Partner) Email: linklegal@linklegal.in Web Address: www.linklegal.in Address: Thapar House, Central Wing, First Floor, 124 Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001, India.

Telephone: 011-46511000

Best Full Service Law Firm - India & Recognised Leaders in Corporate Law - India

Link Legal India Law Services is a full service law firm with its principal office in New Delhi and other offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Managing Partner Atul Sharma discusses the firm’s service offering and the secrets behind its success.

Established in 1999, Link Legal India Law Services is known for its business focussed comprehensive legal advice and strategy on multifarious issues and matters. Atul discusses the firm’s service offering and how the experience it has gained has helped shape its service offering.

“Link Legal India Law Services provides partner driven specialised legal services to a wide clientele – including some of India’s leading business groups, public sector undertakings, public and private sector banks, and multinationals across jurisdictions of United States, Europe, MENA and Asia.

The firm also has extensive experience of advising clients on complex matters pertaining to infrastructure, private equity, M&A, exchange control and foreign investments, project financing, litigation, arbitration and mediation, labour and employment, policy and regulatory, real estate and contract management in diverse sectors including airports, metro rail and urban transport, roads, ports, real estate, power, aviation, water, waste management, media, information technology, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, mining, insurance and banking.”

What sets the firm apart, according to Atul, is its skilled and dedicated staff who work diligently to support each and every one of the firm’s clients.

“The strength of the Link Legal India Law Services is its experienced, well trained and qualified lawyers, who integrate their skills to provide comprehensive legal advice and strategy on complex commercial issues that meets the clients’ needs and expectations.

The partners bring hands on experience and approach on each transaction from a strategic perspective by understanding client objectives and identifying potential issues in areas of public policy or litigation. Each client enjoys a high level of personal service and has the advantage of discussing matters directly with a partner including the senior partners.”

In the future, Atul states that the firm’s focus will be firmly on growth, whilst at the same time retaining the same high level of service it has come to pride itself on.

“Moving forward, Link Legal India Law Services is keen to retain the client forward approach, whilst at the same time motivated to develop our services, expanding the firm’s reach to offer international services and be well known in the international legal sphere as well.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160030 Company: Mendis & Gibson Lawyers (Conveyancers & Migration Agents) Name: Sidney Mendis Email: info@mendisgibsonlawyers.com.au Web Address: www.mendisgibsonlawyers.com.au Address: Suite 2, Level 1, 330, Keilor road, Niddrie, Victoria 3042, Australia.

Best Domestic & Business Conveyancing Firm - Victoria

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Mendis & Gibson Lawyers is a general practice firm based in Victoria, Australia, and specialising in litigation. We invited Principal Solicitor Sidney Mendis to talk us through the firm and its service offering.

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Mendis & Gibson Lawyers have been providing legal services to clients for more than a decade, specialising in various legal areas, offering a great legal team with diversity of cultural backgrounds, languages, gender balance. Sidney outlines how this diverse and experienced team is vital to its aim of providing the highest quality of service to its clients.

“Here at Mendis & Gibson Lawyers our specialised legal team understand that legal problem causes stress and confusion. Our diverse team consist of staffs who can speak various languages such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Bahasa, Italian, Spanish, German, Sinhala, Burmese and Fijian.

“Overall it is our goal to help our clients understand their cases, providing options and the recommended avenue to pursue and achieve the best desired outcomes. To achieve this, we always advise our clients on whether they need a lawyer, or if there are other options to pursue an alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. Alternative dispute resolution, in most cases is not only cost efficient but time saving tactic to avoid lengthy court procedures.”

In his final comments, Sidney outlines the firm’s pride in supporting both the wider community and the environment.

“What truly sets Mendis & Gibson Lawyers apart is our dedication to supporting everyone we work with as well as the wider market, and as such we have volunteered in community organisations and provided funds for various charities. We believe in giving back to our community and our firm believes that it’s our duty to serve the community. We are proud to announce that Mendis & Gibson Lawyers is an environmental friendly practice. We have currently reduced paper waste and have encouraged staff to use electronic copies and also limited our printing only for necessary court documents and others.

“According to Ecology website (Sam Martin) has mentioned that World consumption of paper has grown 400% in the last 40 years. Now nearly 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent. As a law firm, we consume large number of papers. We value the environment by encouraging our staff to place paper waste into the designated bins for recycling and the re-use one-sided papers for note taking or electronic devices such as Tablets and IPad. Moving forward, continuing this standard of excellence and maintaining our eco-friendly credentials will be our focus.”

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LG160018 Company: Omond & Co Name: James Omond Email: mail@omond.com.au Web Address: www.omond.com.au Address: 15B Merton Street, Albert Park, Victoria, 3206, Australia Telephone: +61 (0)3 9682 6688

Best Full-Service Alcoholic Beverage Law Firm 2016 - Australia

Omond & Co is a boutique firm providing the full range of legal services required by businesses operating in the alcoholic beverage industry. We invited Founder James Omond to tell us more about the firm and its niche service offering.

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Omond & Co works with a wide range of clients including the Australian subsidiaries of multi-national firms such as Pernod Ricard and Domaine Chandon, as well as small to medium-sized wine, beer and spirits producers, and producer associations.

Whilst the firm has a specialisation in trademarks and other intellectual property protection, it also provides advice in relation to liquor licencing, agency and distribution arrangements, wine equalisation tax, trading terms, compliance, and sale and purchase of businesses, vineyards, etc. James outlines how the firm’s focused expertise sets it apart and marks it out as the best option for clients.

“The key factors which sets Omond & Co apart from most of its competitors are our in-depth involvement and experience in the industries in which we practise, and the continuity of representation that comes from not having a regular turnover of younger staff members.

“Fundamentally Omond & Co. does not try to be all things to all clients, but rather focuses its work in areas where it has specialist expertise and experience, and can add significant value to each of its client’s needs.

“If work ever arises beyond these parameters, the firm has a broad network of like-minded firms to which it is able to refer work (or manage it on behalf of the client).”

In the last 12 months, Omond & Co. has been involved in some major activities in the alcoholic beverage space, including running prominent cases in the Federal Court of Australia involving trade mark infringement (acting for Pernod Ricard in relation to a Jacobs Creek line extension), and passing off (acting for Stone & Wood to protect its “Pacific Ale” brand), as well as acting in many contested Opposition and Removal actions in the Trade Marks Office. It has also advised in relation to various wine business, winery and vineyard sales and purchases, including Innocent Bystander, the former Red Hill Estate Winery and Logan Wines.

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160012 Company: Opal Lawyers LLC Name: Wee Woon Hong Email: mail@opal.sg Web Address: www.opal.sg Address: 30 Raffles Place, #19-04 Chevron House, Singapore 048622 Telephone: + (65) 6236 0670 Fax: + (65) 6536 0688

Best Boutique Corporate Finance Law Firm - Singapore

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Opal Lawyers LLC is a boutique law firm specialising in corporate and corporate finance. We invited Founder Wee Woon Hong to talk us through the firm and its approach to supporting clients.

Established in 2006 as Wee Woon Hong & Associates, since inception Opal Lawyers has completed more than 20 IPO and reverse takeover (RTO) transactions, acting either as Solicitors to the Issuer or the Issue Manager/Underwriter/Placement Agent. Woon Hong talks us through the factors which set the firm apart from its competitors and marks it out as a strong option to clients. “ Opal Lawyers’ core strength lies in serving small and medium enterprises and Chinese speaking clients. With the emerging Asia, the firm has increasingly been involved in IPO and corporate transactions that require foreign legal counsels in jurisdictions outside Singapore, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Australia, Europe and United States.

“Our previous experience indicates to us that the smaller corporate clients are appreciative and see the value of our services. This spurs us to focus on this target segment of corporate clients, who need specialised corporate finance legal services which we are able to provide.”

Singapore is well-placed in emerging Asia with an abundance of opportunities to offer legal services to companies on investments, fund raising and M&A projects. Despite these opportunities, Woon Hong states that there are also challenges which the firm faces, and it has adapted in recent years to accommodate these.

“There has been a huge decline of IPO listings and corporate finance work in Singapore since 2009, which cause a downward pressure on professional fees. As such, we work with captive clients who have less tendency to select lawyers based on price point.”

Looking ahead, Woon Hong believes that the future outlook for the APAC industry is bright for small firms such as Opal Lawyers, and as such the firm is keen to continue offering the highest standard of services to its clients.

“Moving forward, the small and mid-tier space of corporate clients which are generally underserved will tend to look for smaller specialised legal firms to handle their specific legal assignments. This trend will likely continue as the larger legal firms continue to grow bigger and have the tendency to leave behind their smaller corporate clients. This offers opportunities for smaller legal set-ups such as Opal Lawyers, and we fully intend to take advantage of the opportunities this brings by continuing to hire the very best lawyers to support our clients.”

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LG160036 Company: PFJS Lawyers Address: Level 4, 89 High Street Kew 3101 Phone: 1800 423 060 Fax: (03)8677 9413 Email: info@pfjslawyers.com Website: http://www.pfjslawyers.com.au/

Best Discrimination Law Firm - Victoria & Award for Excellence in Commercial Disputes

ADVICE | REPRESENTATION | RESOLUTIONÂŽ

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PFJS Lawyers is a vibrant, up to date Eastern Suburbs law firm with a progressive and innovative attitude. We profile the firm and explore the services it offers.

PFJS Lawyers approach every client with a focus on integrity, advocacy and understanding. priding itself on excellence in providing innovative, smart, sensible, and cost-effective legal and business solutions for its clients.

As a small firm, PFJS Lawyers are able to offer competitive and often better rates than many other larger firms. Offering a diverse range of services ensures that they are able to meet any need efficiently and effectively.

Alongside this, PFJS Lawyers are focused and driven to minimize, or where possible, eliminate any potential legal situations that its clients may encounter. Although the firm are based in the Eastern suburbs in the City of Boroondara, the team at PFJS Lawyers can meet with clients at any location which is most convenient, without charging travel costs.

Ultimately PFJS Lawyers are committed to providing the very highest standard of service, and moving forward this will continue to be their focus.

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160014 Company: Q&L Lawyers Name: Grace Xiao Email: grace.xiao@qllawyers.com Web Address: http://www.qllawyers.com.au/ Address: Level 10, 356 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Telephone: +613 9021 7229

Best Corporate & Franchise Law Firm 2016 - Victoria

Q&L Lawyers

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Q&L Lawyers is a dynamic and progressive Melbourne based law firm dedicated to provide expert advice and legal services to individual and private enterprises. We invited Partner Grace Xiao to give us an insight into the firm and the services it provides.

Q&L Lawyers are experienced in property law, business and commercial transactions, civil disputes and litigations as well as retail and commercial leases. On top of this, we provide advice on complying legal requirements for foreign investments.

As one of the partners at Q&L Lawyers, I previously worked in an Asian law firm and was greatly exposed to the Asian culture and style of client services. This has sparked my determination to grow Q&L Lawyers into a dynamic and all-rounded Asian law firm. This does not preclude Q&L Lawyers from providing tailored legal services to local clients and enterprises. Australia is a multicultural country and high integration of client base will further advance Q&L Lawyers’ future development.

Q&L Lawyers offer a highly personalized approach to our clients. We take the time needed to fully understand our clients and their businesses to provide professional advice and services. We are flexible in the form of media we adopt when communicating with the clients for their conveniences. The firm provide English, Mandarin and Cantonese services to remove language barriers and make sure our clients’ needs are better attended to.

The legal sector is constantly evolving and transcending, and being part of this dynamic and exciting firm and being able to provide my clients with the highest possible level of service makes Q&L Lawyers the best place to work for ambitious lawyers such as myself.

The Victorian Bar Council recently commissioned and published a report propagate equality of opportunity for all women and to eliminate practices and attitudes which discriminate against women. This shows that the legal industry is putting more and more emphasis on equality of opportunity for women lawyers. Being a female lawyer myself, I share a great resonance with this cause and its value. One of our main focuses is to join this cause and increase women lawyer representation in the whole industry by hiring more talented female lawyers and offering equal opportunities and more female specific employee benefits.

Overall, Australia has a steady growth on its Asian immigrant population. Together with this growth is the Asian representation in Australian major business and corporations.

This presents a great opportunity for our firm’s growth and development. Meanwhile, there are currently a lot of other Asian law firms in the industry. While this creates strong competition, at the same time this challenge provides us with some great opportunities to learn and grow.

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LG160010

Company: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP Website: http://www.quinnemanuel.com/

Best for Patent Litigation 2016 - Japan

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is a renowned trial firm that represents Fortune 500 companies and other enterprises in virtually every type of business dispute. We profile the firm and explore the secrets behind its success.

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Touted as “a global force in business litigation” by The Wall Street Journal, “International Law Firm of the Year” by The Lawyer, and a “most feared litigation opponent” by BTI Consulting, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is the largest law firm in the world that devotes its practice to commercial litigation and arbitration.

With over 650 lawyers in 20 global office locations, the firm serves clients such as Google, Sony, Toshiba, Kyocera, Ricoh, Seiko Epson, Furuno Electric, Clarion, AIG, Motorola, Morgan Stanley, Qualcomm, Pfizer, and many others in a broad spectrum of business disputes spanning many industries. Quinn Emanuel lawyers have tried over 2,500 cases and have won 88% of them. The firm represents defendants in the majority of its engagements, but when representing plaintiffs, its lawyers have won over $51 billion in judgments and settlements. Its attorneys have also obtained five 9-figure jury verdicts, 27 9-figure settlements, and fourteen 10-figure settlements.

Quinn Emanuel Tokyo specializes in counseling and representing Japanese companies in litigations outside of Japan. The office is comprised of highly-acclaimed litigators who understand Japan business practices, are fluent in Japanese, and work on all types of business litigation, including complex patent cases, class action disputes, product liability work, white collar and FCPA investigations, and arbitrations. The firm’s Tokyo attorneys have extensive experience in U.S. litigation. They represent Japanese clients in cases across the United States, and have a proven track record of achieving success.

Ultimately, Quinn Emanuel is renowned for having the best litigation practice in the U.S., and its European offices have received similar accolades. In multi-jurisdictional litigation, the firm’s Tokyo office seamlessly collaborates with other Quinn Emanuel IP lawyers around the globe to provide clients with cost-efficient and effective representation in these matters worldwide.

APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG160009 Company: Clifton Chambers (NZ) and Brick Court Chambers (UK) Name: Geoff Sharp Email: Geoff.Sharp@CliftonChambers.co.nz Web Address: www.geoffsharp.co.nz Address: Clifton Chambers, level 1, 70 The Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand Telephone: +64 21 629561

Best Commercial Mediator 2016 - Asia Pacific

Geoff Sharp

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Geoff Sharp is a barrister specialising in commercial mediation work throughout the Asia Pacific facilitating private resolution of legal disputes and assisting business to address increasingly complex relationships. We invited Geoff to tell us more.

Geoff is based at Clifton Chambers in New Zealand and at Brick Court Chambers in London, one of the leading sets of barristers’ chambers in Europe. He talks us through his prior experience and how it has helped him to shape his current mediation focus.

“I was a litigation lawyer for two decades with a national commercial law firm before specialising in commercial mediation and have now completed many hundreds of mediations since – with the rising popularity of mediation as a dispute management tool I regularly mediate cross border disputes in a variety of locations, including the trusted dispute resolution hubs of London, Singapore and Dubai.

“My experience as a litigator allows me to facilitate constructive discussions around a legal dispute without compromising the parties’ legal strategy which is very important if we are asking lawyers and disputants to trust the mediation process with their cases.

“I am increasingly specialising in commercial disputes that have a transnational flavour.

Usually I am engaged by law firms involved in cross-border litigation or arbitration and I have mediated a range of fascinating cases involving commercial parties from a variety of cultures. Much of my work involves construction and infrastructure mediation, especially in growth areas such as Asia and the Middle East. London mediation, on the other hand, often involves financial matters.”

Mediation is a very rewarding and varied occupation, as Geoff is eager to emphasise.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of my role as a commercial mediator is the diversity of disputes and people I get involved with – one day it can be an infrastructure project gone wrong in the Philippines, the next day it might be a rights (share) issue or an international licensing agreement in the Middle East involving interesting legal and cross-cultural aspects.”

Looking to the future, Geoff sees a greater focus on the Asian market and he plans to adapt around this development.

“Cross-border mediation is only going to increase in an increasingly complex world and it is the perfect time to be a globetrotting mediator. I will spend more time in Singapore, a place I am very fond of, with the possibility of establishing a presence there in the future, in addition to spending significant time in London at Brick Court Chambers, in particular with Brexit issues coming to the fore over the next five years or so.”

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APAC Insider 2016 Legal Awards

LG0006

Company: Sun Life Hong Kong Limited Website: https://www.sunlife.com.hk

Best In-House Financial Law Team - Hong Kong

Sun Life Hong Kong Limited

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Sun Life Hong Kong Limited is part of the Sun Life Financial group which is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate clients. We invited Judy Yang to provide us with a fascinating overview of the company’s Hong Kong in-house legal team and the services it provides.

Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda, with total assets under management of CDN$865 billion.

Judy talks us through the Hong Kong legal team and how it aims to provide the company with the very highest level of service.

“Our legal team is made up of professional staff with at least 10 years’ experience in private commercial and dispute practice and/or the life insurance industry. It consists of dedicated employees who have worked on Hong Kong as well as foreign transactions and laws. Both factors have equipped us to competently deal with the issues that our business faces day to day with clients, regulators and service providers.”

“Collaboration is a key aspect of our work, as we believe in working closely with our business teams, using our legal expertise to work out practical and effective solutions as opposed to just providing a straight legal analysis. We believe an effective in-house team enables the business and not just polices them.”

Working closely with the business teams to gain an understanding of their needs is also a vital part of the in-house legal team’s approach, as Judy explains.

“Overall, we believe in a hands-on approach when working with the business. We aim to understand the environment our business operates in and to work with them closely. This allows us to effectively anticipate problems in advance as well as for us to tailor the most appropriate legal solutions. A legal solution is only worth how well it suits the business needs and the best way to achieve this is to really understand the business our company is involved in.”

Moving forward, Judy states that the team is keen to grow and expand in order to meet the ever changing needs of the market.

“Looking into the future, our goal is to continue growing with our business teams. We have just acquired the pension business of another insurance company and it will be exciting as well as challenging as we integrate the acquired business – both from a legal and practical point of view. We will definitely be learning many new things from this experience and are excited for the opportunities this will bring.”

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LG160039 Company: Yum! Brands, Inc. China Division Name: Shella Ng Email: shella.ng@yumchina.com Web Address: yumchina.com Address: 16/F Two Grand Gateway, 3 Hongqiao Road, Shanghai 200030, China Telephone: +86-21-2407-7777

Best In-House Commercial Law Team - China

Yum! Brands, Inc. China Division is the company which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Little Sheep and East Dawning branded restaurants in mainland China. Head of Yum China’s in-house legal team Shella Ng discusses her department’s role in ensuring the success of this company.

Yum China, a division of the NYSE listed Yum! Brands Inc., is the largest restaurant group in China in terms of number of units. Shella has led the Yum China legal department since its inception in 1997 after the company was split from PepsiCo. Shella talks us through the role her department plays in the company and how it works to support the overall running of the business.

“The Yum China legal team members are internal business partners to the colleagues whose responsibilities range from restaurant operations, marketing, supply chain, logistics, real estate and leases, finance as well as franchising. Our team is very involved with all aspects of the company business at different levels.”

“The lawyers in Yum China legal team have savvy business acumen and a good understanding of the business needs. This ensures that we always stay ahead of the market curve and are able to tackle new challenges and new norms. One example is how we worked closely with our marketing department at one point to facilitate and launch a digital marketing program that no one in the market place has done before legally.”

This is particularly vital as the Chinese legal environment is getting more regulated over time which is a very good sign for business operation. Business people in China nowadays respect the need of legal advice in designing and crafting the legal structure and contract details to govern the business relationship. The market players here are more geared towards legal compliance too. Shella outlines the challenges her department is encountering and how they are overcoming these.

“The Chinese legal market is very dynamic, fast changing and competitive. The ways we overcome challenges are by being both avid learners on new business opportunities and humbled practitioners to learn from other market players on their best practices.”

Moving forward, Shella is excited for the future as the China Division seeks to become an independent entity, which will provide exciting new opportunities for both Shella and her department.

“Looking to the future, Yum! Brands, Inc. is spinning off the China Division and we will become an independent company whose shares will be listed on New York Stock Exchange on 1st November. This opens a new horizon for the whole company. Our legal department is ready and has built adequate capability to cope with the public company compliance work.”

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