Getting To Know…Paul Haswell

July 12, 2023
A lover of all things tech, Paul Haswell is a highly-regarded TMT focused lawyer, most recently as a Partner with Seyfarth Shaw in Hong Kong. He is also a ‘tech and law’ podcaster, but residents of the city are as likely (or perhaps more so) to know him for his other main passion, music. Haswell has a long running stint spinning the discs on RTHK’s ‘Sunday Escape’ radio programme, and as a club and podcast DJ with Clockenflap, both of which he fulfils with his ‘Crimes Against Pop’ partner, Carolyn Wright. Tim Gilkison recently spoke to Haswell about his journey in law, the importance of mentorship, AI, new music…oh, and time travel! K&L Gates Welcomes Hong Kong Technology Partner Which came first, your love of technology or an interest in the law? Technology, by quite a long way. When I was very young I had three main interests: computers, science fiction, and music. Bear in mind that this was during the very early 1980s, so my interest was being stoked by Star Wars, Star Trek and Doctor Who, the Atari 2600 and then Commodore 64, and whatever I could hear on the radio at the time or find to play on my rather battered hand-me-down record player. I got my first computer (the aforementioned Commodore 64) in about 1984 and spent most of my childhood using it for rudimentary programming, games, and for some reason I even thought that doing my homework using it was exciting. That began my love of computers and technology in general, and ever since then I have been obsessed with new gadgets, the use...

Getting to know… Peter Godwin of Herbert Smith Freehills, Malaysia

May 24, 2023
Q&A with Peter Godwin: On leading an auspicious career, being open to opportunities and embracing diversity You Have Led An Illustrious Career, Spanning Many Decades And Countries Across Asia. Can You Tell Us A Little About This Journey In The Legal Industry And Where You Are Now? My career in law started as a consequence of a teacher at school, knowing that maths was my real strength, suggesting that if I was thinking of a career in Accountancy (I was), I should do something else at University. His suggestion was law. That is what I did and, partly because I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of law and partly no doubt because my friends on the course were doing so, I found myself applying for a training contract and so stepped onto the legal conveyor belt. After 6 years practising in London, I decided it was time for a change so I headed to Hong Kong (where I had spent six months as a trainee). The plan was to do 2-3 years there and then head home. However, best laid plans…. My stint in Hong Kong happened to coincide with a period of Asia expansion for the firm, with us opening offices in Jakarta and Bangkok. Then, just as I was thinking of returning home, the firm opened in Tokyo and I was asked to transfer as a then Senior Associate to establish our disputes practice. At the time I had never been to Japan, even for a holiday, so I went to see the place and made the mistake of taking my then 3 year old son to Disney...

Q&A with Ira Eddymurthy of SSEK as They Celebrate 30 Years of Operation

March 9, 2023
From participation in groundbreaking commercial law reform and beyond, this Indonesian law firm is just getting started Can you please provide us with a short highlights reel of SSEK’s first three decades of operation? Ira Eddymurthy: SSEK was established in 1992 with only five people and over the last 30 years we have grown to a family of more than 130 people. From our earliest days, SSEK has been involved in vital projects and initiatives in Indonesia, as the firm has put its experience and expertise at the service of helping the country grow into an economic powerhouse. SSEK’s senior lawyers played vital roles in the Economic Law and Improved Procurement Systems (ELIPS) Project, Indonesia’s commercial law reform project from 1992-1998, at the time the largest single-country effort of its kind in the world. They helped to draft, finalise, and socialise several laws, including Indonesia’s Company Law and Fiducia Law. During the 1997 Asian economic crisis, we participated in Indonesia’s Initiative Group and contributed ideas on ways to deal with unsettled debt, an effort that resulted in, among other achievements, Indonesia’s new Bankruptcy Law. SSEK, acting as Indonesian counsel to state electricity company PLN, advised on a groundbreaking power project in Central Java designed by the International Finance Corporation and intended as a model for future projects in Indonesia. More recently, we advised the Indonesian Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises and PT Pertamina on the formation of Indonesia’s largest state-owned holding company, the Oil and Gas Holding SOE. SSEK has been named Indonesia Law Firm of the Year numerous times by legal directories, we have won multiple Deal of the Year...

Is Business Travel Dead?

December 20, 2022
It is a pleasant, sunny morning. My coffee is frothing nicely, the delectable aroma wafting gently about my bedroom. I have just donned my favourite pair of beach Bermudas, in striking blue emblazoned with little yellow pina coladas. I draw the curtains wide to let in the bright sunshine and grab a bag of potato chips on my way across the room. Unfortunately, I am not heading off for a nice swim or frisbee in the park. Instead, it is a Monday, and I settle at my desk to log on for a meeting with my international counterparts.  This is 2022, and the world has been upended by more than two years of a global pandemic. Many of our offices have gone from comprising system furniture parked in long rows in a nondescript high-rise commercial building, to comfortable gaming chairs and ergonomic tables nestled in our bedrooms or study rooms. Our colleagues no longer lean over the cubicle partitions with coffee cups in hand, sharing their latest run-in with the HR department, but now stare at us emotionlessly out of little digital pigeonholes on our monitor screen, their silhouettes morphing oddly with every twitch or shake of the head. “Let’s meet at the lobby for lunch” has vanished from our vernacular, replaced by “I think your mic is muted”.   Against the backdrop of all this, a genuine question arises – when the pandemic is fully behind us, will people return to in-person meetings and dispute resolution hearings? Or will the comfort of our homes and the inertia of not needing to wear proper trousers prove decisive in shaping the...

Getting to know Ban Jiun Ean of Maxwell Chambers, Singapore

October 3, 2022
In-House Community Magazine sits down with Ban Jiun Ean, and talks to him about coming back to Maxwell Chambers as its Chief Executive, ADR, and the future of the dispute resolution centre in Singapore. You have recently taken up the mantle of Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers, but this isn’t your first turn at the helm – you previously served as CE from 2010 to 2015. What have you been busy with while away? I’ve been on a fairly eclectic journey, spending time developing and running a theatre and arts centre, launching a World War 2-themed board game and several educational card games (one of which is still being used in schools till this day), and writing three young adult fiction novels. I also ran the Singapore Mediation Centre for three years prior to returning to Maxwell, working to build the mediation scene in Singapore. Leaving Maxwell Chambers in 2015, after having steered the organisation from inception to a good measure of success, what were your biggest takeaways and lesson learned? One of my biggest lessons learnt was that there is a huge gap between a good idea on paper and a good idea properly executed. There are literally thousands of brilliant ideas sloshing around all over the world, but few of them have been translated into actual products or services that can benefit customers. So I’ve learnt to manage the idea generation phase better and to lean heavily into building teams that are good at execution. Returning in 2022, what is your vision for the future direction of Maxwell Chambers under your present leadership? The priority at the...