Sharifah Julina Afaf Syed Jalaludin, Group General Counsel at Malaysia Airlines (MAS), tells us about her high-flying role and the improving relationship between her legal team and the business

Thavakumar Kandiahpillai, General Counsel for the Shell Group of Companies in Malaysia discusses his transition from private practice to life as an in-house lawyer, and shares why Shell’s extensive recruitment process helps retain the cream of the crop.

In this month’s cover feature, we take a look at the reasons why in-house counsel need to stay alert to restructuring and insolvency trends, and talk to experts from around the region about the practical considerations which should be taken into account when advising clients in the current climate.

In this month’s cover feature, we look at trends in the role and composition of in-house teams across South-East Asia (SEA). In addition, Dr Le Net and Chau Huy Quang of AGZI LCT Law Firm provide an overview of opportunities for PPP and infrastructure development and M&A in Vietnam.

Off the back of an extraordinary year of growth, modest economic expectations in the year to come are the current trend. Asian-Counsel provides a regional overview in addition to special features on Islamic finance in Japan, recent developments in Malaysian securities law and regulations and Islamic banking and finance regulations in the United Arab Emirates.

Throughout Asia, 2007 may be remembered as a year of significant labour law reform. While amendments may be symptomatic of the strength of the region’s economy as a whole, the changes are unique to the realities of the nations who have enacted them.