VIETNAM

Team size
One would assume (as those surveyed last year in Vietnam did) that in Vietnam’s emerging market, in-house teams are growing, and this assumption has been proven correct, notably due to the fact that none of those surveyed last year were in teams of over 20, while this year, 2.3 percent are in the 21-50 bracket. The jurisdiction also boasts a higher percentage of teams between six and 20, as this year, 27.9 percent of departments are this size, compared to last year’s 19.6 percent. The remainder were working solo (18.6 percent) or in teams of two-to-five (51.2 percent).

Though there was a lower percentage working alone last year (15.2 percent), the prediction last year – that all teams would either remain the same size or grow (50 percent believing their teams would grow, 50 percent expecting them to stay as they were) – may still have been correct, as this year’s survey could include newly-found legal departments, employed by businesses that previously only outsourced legal work. This year, fewer (28.6 percent) foresee growth, 69 percent expect their teams to sustain and 2.4 percent anticipate shrinking.

Control of headcount and wanting to stabilise the business were the main reasons respondents said their teams would remain as they were, many wanting to level off after recent expansions. Those expecting a higher quantity of in-house lawyers by the end of the year cited business growth and the fact that legal responsibility and risk had grown and would continue to do so. Many business expansions noted were on an international stage as well as a domestic one, showing the ambition of many of the jurisdiction’s companies.

Recruitment
The most popular means of finding additional in-house legal support among those surveyed this year is placing job advertisements (34.9 percent).

Using legal recruiters (of which there are are few in Vietnam) and referrals from other in-house lawyers drew on 32.6 percent. Referrals from others within the company were a noteworthy fourth with 23.3 percent of the votes.

KEY ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Amongst the community’s key concerns in Vietnam was the complaint that “unlike international companies, local companies have little awareness and understanding of the role of in-house counsel”, suggesting the jurisdiction still has a long way to go as far as corporate law is concerned to catch up to more mature markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Some also said that laws are often ambiguous “… non-transparent laws and regulations, too many (and unexpected) changes to laws, inconsistent implementation of the laws and corruption in the market” made their role difficult.

Over the next year, respondents anticipate that the laws will continue to change as the jurisdiction evolves, and expect keeping up with the developments to be of considerable importance and demand a lot of their time. Some referred specifically to OFAC, EU and UN sanctions, and said that complying with these “without affecting our business” would be a challenge.

Working with external counsel
Lawyers in Vietnam are not just expecting more in-house work, but also more legal work in general, as 35.9 percent of those asked stated that they would use external aid more over the next 12 months, over four times the amount expecting to use them less (7.7 percent). The other 56.4 percent expect the amount of work referred to outside counsel to remain the same.

As would be expected in an emerging market, business expansion and venturing into new areas of law were the most common reason respondents claimed they would use external counsel more. Reasons people expected to use firms less were cost and an increased reliance on the in-house function, while those who said they would use external help about as much frequently stated that their businesses had recently plateaued in terms of expansion, as well as that they would only go out-of-house when necessary, and currently saw no reason for this.

Expertise in a certain area are again the most important factor to in-house counsel in Vietnam, though even more so this year, as this was a top priority for 73.9 percent last year and is one for 83.7 percent this year – almost a 10 percent leap. Responsiveness (48.8 percent) and fees (44.2 percent) are the second and third-highest considerations, and sway far more people than the fourth-highest – reputation of an individual lawyer – which is persuasive according to 25.6 percent. (Figure 31)

Issues that have raised concern for Vietnam’s In-House Community when dealing with external counsel, and therefore issues firms should work on if they want to differentiate themselves, are foremost excessive fees and failure to completely understand the business: problems found by 48.8 percent each. These were the two most significant drawbacks according to last year’s survey too. Subsequent concerns are a lack of updates (18.6 percent), wrong or bad advice given (16.3 percent) and a lack of involvement from partners (14 percent). (Figure 32)