Submissions and Nominations Open: Counsel of the Year Awards 2024

May 13, 2024
We are pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the prestigious IHC Counsel of the Year Awards 2024. As a cornerstone event in the legal community, we extend a formal invitation to all in-house counsel and compliance professionals to participate in this distinguished opportunity. The Counsel of the Year Awards seek to recognise and celebrate legal teams and counsel who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to excellence in their roles. We are actively seeking nominations that embody key attributes such as dedication, innovation, efficiency, value, integration, encouragement, improvement, CSR initiatives, and a steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion. In-House Legal Team of the Year 2024 Download Form Top-Tier In-House Counsel 2024 Download Form To nominate yourself or a deserving colleague, please complete the nomination form and ensure its submission before the deadline on the 28th of June 2024. Comprehensive instructions and criteria can be found within the provided form, which we strongly encourage all potential nominees to carefully review. All submissions will undergo meticulous evaluation by our esteemed panel of judges and the In-House Community editorial team. Their impartial assessment will ensure a fair and thorough selection process. The winners of the Counsel of the Year Awards will be announced during our highly anticipated annual awards ceremony, scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. We encourage you to share this invitation within your professional circles, facilitating broader participation and ensuring deserving candidates receive the recognition they deserve. The Counsel of the Year Awards serve as a platform to spotlight and commend the invaluable contributions of legal professionals, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation within our community. This...

Merger Notification Thresholds Effective 01 March 2024

May 13, 2024
Pursuant to Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”) Resolution No. 01-2024, the new thresholds for mandatory or compulsory notification of mergers and acquisition (“M&A”) transactions with PCC is at PhP 7.8 Billion for size of party (“SOP”) and PhP 3.2 Billion for size of transaction (“SOT”). To be subject to compulsory notification, the proposed transaction should satisfy both the: (1) SOP Test and the (2) SOT Test. Failure to meet any of the 2 tests exempts a transaction from the notification requirement. The new thresholds are an increase from the SOP and SOT of PhP 7 Billion and PhP 2.9 Billion, respectively, that were in effect from 01 March 2023 to 29 February 2024. The new thresholds do not affect notifications filed before 01 March 2024, M&As currently under review, or those already reviewed and decided upon by the PCC. The thresholds are adjusted on the 1st day of March of every succeeding year by the PCC based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (“PSA”) office estimate of the nominal gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth of the previous calendar year.                     Kristin Charisse Siao Kristin Charisse Siao (“KC”) is a Partner at Villaraza & Angangco and the head of the firm’s M&A, Competition Law, and Energy practice areas. She is a Corporate and M&A lawyer with a convergence of expertise in Tax and Competition Laws that uniquely positions her to provide seamless transaction legal support – from deal structuring, to legal due diligence, transaction documentation, closing and post-transaction integration.                 Ira Mari J. Sembrano Ira Mari...

A&O Shearman Appoints Regional Managing Partner in META

May 10, 2024
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling (Shearman) has appointed David Foster as regional managing partner for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa for the combined firm A&O Shearman, effective May 1, 2024 with an initial term of two years. David’s appointment follows the recent election of Khalid Garousha as senior partner of A&O Shearman. Khalid, who will take up his role on May 1, has led A&O’s Middle East and Turkey operation since 2020. “I would like to thank Khalid for his leadership and commitment to deepening relationships with our clients, and for helping to build our Middle East and Turkey practice to the formidable position it is in today. I have always felt privileged to be part of the A&O regional team, and am extremely excited to have the opportunity to lead one of the region’s most highly regarded full-service legal practices, said David Foster. “As A&O Shearman, we’ll be able to bring together the global breadth of the world’s third largest integrated law firm, with the deep local expertise of over 200 lawyers in the META region. I look forward to continuing to work with our clients and our people to grow our regional practice to even greater heights,” he added. Khalid Garousha commented: “I am delighted that David has agreed to take on this role. He epitomises the unrivalled quality and excellence of A&O Shearman in the region, and will no doubt lead our combined regional practice to even greater success. From May 1, the Middle East and Turkey region will also be joined by our colleagues in Morocco and South Africa, and David will assume...

Cedar White Bradley Launches New Brand Identity

May 8, 2024
Following the merger of leading intellectual property specialists Cedar White Bradley, Hahn & Hahn and PETOŠEVIĆ Group, CWB emerged as an unrivalled super-regional firm in 2023. With 29 offices, 150 practitioners, and 250 employees, CWB now services and manages the portfolios of some of the world’s leading IP owners across 100+ jurisdictions in Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. To represent the merged entity, the group developed a new brand inspired by the identities of the three merging firms, uniting and evolving the features of their former logos. The CWB ARROW symbolizes a firm that is rising above limitations, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, to set new standards and transform how IP services are delivered and consumed. As a firm, CWB ARROW is driven to rise above the everyday limitations and trade-offs inherent to the regions where it operates to create sustained certainty in an uncertain landscape. CWB ARROW holds itself to the highest standards of performance to deliver a consistent level of quality service across a large geographical area, despite all the challenges posed by the jurisdictions it operates in. CWB ARROW also adopted THINKING BEYOND as its slogan to capture and express its purpose and what it stands for. The merged firm aims to make the future better by thinking beyond possibilities to enable and empower creators and innovators to efficiently and effectively extend their IP into secondary markets to effect social reform, economic development, and technological advancement. The change is much more than just cosmetic, as it represents CWB ARROW’s commitment to creating a unified, cohesive, and powerful CWB brand...

Firms Of The Year Results 2023 China

May 4, 2024
In-House Community Firms of the Year 2023 – Top Law Firms in China Winners in ⭐bold Honourable mentions in italics Alternative Investment Funds (Including Private Equity)   ⭐ Fangda Partners ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ Jingtian & Gongcheng ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm JunHe LLP King & Wood Mallesons Capital Markets   ⭐ Commerce & Finance Law Offices ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ Jingtian Gongcheng ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Allbright Law Offices Baker McKenzie FenXun Tian Yuan Law Firm Employment   ⭐ Anjie Broad Law Firm ⭐ Baohua Law Firm ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Baker McKenzie FenXun Fangda Partners Antitrust/ Competition ⭐ Baker McKenzie FenXun ⭐ Hylands Law Firm ⭐ Tian Yuan Law Firm ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Dacheng Law Firm Fangda Partners Compliance And Regulatory   ⭐ Anjie Broad Law Firm ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Fangda Partners Haiwen & Partners Energy And Projects   ⭐ Allen & Overy ⭐ JunHe LLP ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Herbert Smith Freehills Banking And Finance   ⭐ Anjie Broad Law Firm ⭐ Clifford Chance ⭐ Fangda Partners ⭐ Global Law Offices ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm JunHe LLP King & Wood Mallesons Tian Yuan Law Firm Corporate And M&A   ⭐ Allbright Law Offices ⭐ Fangda Partners ⭐ Jingtian & Gongcheng ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm Global Law Offices Haiwen & Partners JunHe LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Intellectual Property   ⭐...