IHC Commended External Counsel Singapore, 2022-23

December 13, 2023
India Philippines UAE Vietnam Hong Kong China Thailand Malaysia South Korea In recognition of outstanding contributions and commendable service in external legal support, the Commended External Counsel of the Year 20233-2023 awards serves as a testament to the invaluable partnership between private practice lawyers and in-house legal teams. Selected through recommendations, votes and testimonials from the in-house counsel and other buyers of legal services in Asia and Middle East, this accolade highlights the crucial role played by these legal professionals in extending and enhancing the capabilities of in-house legal departments. Here are the Commended External Counsel 2022-2023, Singapore*. Aloysius Ng Allen & Gledhill Ameera Ashraf Wong & Partners Hanim Hamzah KPMG Law Alban Kang Bird &Bird Eng Beng Lee Rajah & Tann Shirin Tang Morrison & Foerster Edmund J Kronenburg Braddell Brothers Craig Loveless Norton Rose Craig Loveless Allen & Gledhill Bryan Tan Reed Smith Rajesh Sreenivasan Rajah & Tann Joyce A. Tan Joyce A. Tan & Partners Jai S. Pathak Gibson Dunn Valerie Kong Clifford Chance Fatim Jumabhoy Herbert Smith...

IHC Commended External Counsel South Korea, 2022-23

December 8, 2023
India Singapore UAE Vietnam Philippines China Thailand Malaysia South Korea In recognition of outstanding contributions and commendable service in external legal support, the Commended External Counsel of the Year 20233-2023 awards serves as a testament to the invaluable partnership between private practice lawyers and in-house legal teams. Selected through recommendations, votes and testimonials from the in-house counsel and other buyers of legal services in Asia and Middle East, this accolade highlights the crucial role played by these legal professionals in extending and enhancing the capabilities of in-house legal departments.Here are the Commended External Counsel 2022-2023, South Korea*. Dae Sagong Yoon & Yang dsagong@yoonyang.com Dae Sagong is a partner at Yoon & Yang LLC. Mr. Sagong has focused his practice on Energy & Utilities, Environmental & Waste, Project & Real Estate Development, Financing & Investing, M&A, Construction & Infrastructure, SOC, Aviation. Mr. Sagong has successfully advised and counselled numerous clients including Macquarie Asset Management, Macquarie Capital, IGIS Asset Management, KDB KIAMCO, Vena Energy, ØRSTED, Aquila Capital, Argo Energy, GS E&C, Hoban, Korean Air, KDB, Korea Eximbank based on his deep understanding of Korean legal system and expertise of such practices. I consider this award as a recognition bestowed by IHC on behalf of our clients, and therefore, I sincerely express my gratitude once again to both the esteemed clients and to IHC. I aim to share this honor with the entire Yoon & Yang LLC one team. Edward Dhong Yoon & Yang Daniel Sae-Chin Kim O’Melveny & Myers Iksoo Kim Paul Hastings Cho Young Kyun Kim & Chang Sean(Sungwoo) LIM Lee & Ko Jae Hoon KIM Lee & Ko Claudia...

IHC Commended External Counsel China, 2022-23

December 1, 2023
India Singapore UAE Vietnam Hong Kong Philippines Thailand Malaysia South Korea In recognition of outstanding contributions and commendable service in external legal support, the Commended External Counsel of the Year 20233-2023 awards serves as a testament to the invaluable partnership between private practice lawyers and in-house legal teams. Selected through recommendations, votes and testimonials from the in-house counsel and other buyers of legal services in Asia and Middle East, this accolade highlights the crucial role played by these legal professionals in extending and enhancing the capabilities of in-house legal departments. Here are the Commended External Counsel 2022-2023, China*. Laura Liu FenXun Partner Laura Liu (刘佳) is a partner at the Baker McKenzie FenXun Joint Operation Office in Beijing. She advises clients across a range of transactional, advisory and contentious competition matters. With a global perspective and deep understanding of clients’ businesses, Laura has assisted a significant number of China-based multinational companies in navigating layers of regulatory control, such as global multijurisdictional merger control and foreign investment review assessments in their cross-border M&A deals, as well as managing the global coordination of regulatory control filing strategies to obtain necessary clearances in China and overseas jurisdictions. Laura has also advised numerous clients on complex competition compliance and advisory matters. In addition, Laura has considerable experience in handling dawn raids and antitrust investigations facing the China competition authority. Clients have commented that “she is very diligent, responsive and definitely knows her stuff” and that “her advice is right to the point and commercially practical. Laura has been recognized as Rising Star: Antitrust & Competition, Legal 500, 2020-2021, and Future Leaders (Partner): Competition, Who’s Who...

Hong Kong Lawyers are Walking for Good

November 10, 2023
The Hong Kong Legal Walk begins on 20 October 2023, marking only the second event in its history. As the opening ceremony approaches, Phil Taylor looks at what makes the event special, and what it means for its participants, benefactors and charities Walking for a just cause may be in lawyers’ bones. Over the years, and across the world, countless causes have been supported in this way. Walking together in public is a way of showing solidarity and raising money for those less fortunate, lawyers have often been at the forefront of these initiatives. It was while mulling over thoughts like these in late 2020, that Jonathan Bell, an entrepreneur with extensive background in the legal sector, realised that something was missing in Hong Kong. The London Legal Walk, a popular annual fundraising event supporting free legal advice services, is approaching its 20th anniversary and has raised over £10 million in that time. Similar events take place in other cities. But there was a noticeable gap in Hong Kong. “This idea came to me: there’s that great initiative in London, so let’s take that initiative and that model, and run it in Hong Kong – or walk it, for that matter,” says Bell. And so the Hong Kong Legal Walk (HKLW) was born. The timing could not have been much better. After the challenges of the past few years, including the long months of lockdown and isolation, many people were keen to get outside and get involved in something bigger. Speaking to the Hong Kong Legal Talk podcast in September, Amanda Rasmussen, Managing Director of FTI Consulting, summarised this...

Cyber Security Breaches in Hong Kong

November 10, 2023
A Growing Trend and a Call to Action JENNIFER WU Hong Kong has witnessed a recent surge in cyber security breaches, with both private and public sectors falling prey to cyberattacks. According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (“PCPD”) in Hong Kong, there was a more than 20% increase in reported data breaches in the first half of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022. These breaches have had a profound impact on businesses and individuals, from disrupting business operations to compromising sensitive personal data including credit card details, login credentials and, more severely, medical records. The consequences of these breaches extend beyond financial losses, affecting trust and reputation in the long run. Acknowledging the magnitude and impact of these breaches, the PCPD has taken a more proactive approach to combat the issue. The PCPD is actively investigating and reporting breaches of data privacy and issuing comprehensive guidelines to help organisations improve their data management and security practices. This article aims to shed light on the cyber security risks, recent enforcement actions taken by the PCPD, and the recommended measures to prevent data breaches. An Insight Into A Recent Investigation The PCPD’s investigation into the unauthorised access to credit data in the TE Credit Reference System (“System”) is one example of the impact of data breaches and the remedial measures that could have helped prevent the incident. The complainant discovered that their credit records in the System had been accessed without their knowledge and consent by several other money lending companies. The System was developed and operated by Softmedia Technology Company Limited (“Softmedia”). Around...

Marriage & Acrimony: Recent Trends in M&A Disputes

November 10, 2023
Global M&A activity has slowed significantly – the total value of M&A fell to US$732.82 billion in the second quarter of 2023, from $1.14 trillion in the second quarter of 2022 according to Dealogic data as of June 29 20231. While there have been fewer ‘marriages’ in the past year, we are seeing an uptick in acrimony and ‘divorces’. By that, we mean M&A related disputes in the context of both ongoing M&A activity and deals that have been completed in recent years. This growth appears to have been prompted by the economic headwinds that have seen all businesses suffer. These include record levels of inflation and high interest rates, coupled with a slower than expected economic recovery by the second largest economy in the world, China, and the continuing conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, obtaining maximum value from M&A ongoing and past activity has never been more important. This article explores three scenarios in M&A disputes that have come to the fore in recent times, highlighting their implications and possible mitigating measures for businesses and their inhouse lawyers. Material Adverse Change (mac) And Conditionality Related Disputes MAC clauses provide a contractual mechanism that may allow the buyer to terminate the acquisition agreement and withdraw from the transaction if, before completion, certain events occur which negatively impact the target company’s value or operations. MAC clauses provide a means for allocating risk between the parties before completion – essentially providing an exit route for buyers in certain, limited, circumstances. Other conditions precedent for the completion of a transaction are also often necessary for regulatory or commercial reasons. The present global environment...