The 21st Kingfisher ALB Hong Kong Law Awards made an epic comeback at the Island Shangri-La and the Ritz-Carlton on Sept. 9 after two years of stringent social distancing restrictions, utilising a first-of-its kind approach to stage Asia’s most prestigious legal extravaganza.

As high daily Covid-19 numbers prompted the government to cap the number of event participants, ALB innovatively held the annual celebration simultaneously at two venues – connected by a livestream – that allowed around 200 people to attend.

As a result, the anti-pandemic measures, some of which “Asia’s World City” had endured for almost three years, had no chance of dampening the high spirits at the combined ceremonies. As evening lights adorned the city’s skyline, private practitioners, in-house counsel, and leaders of the legal community gathered at the two venues to celebrate not just legal excellence, but also the industry’s fortitude.

“For the first time in the history of ALB award ceremonies, this is both in-person and online, so that we are celebrating the same award programme together yet separate and appropriately socially distanced at the same time,” said Amantha Chia, Head of Legal Media Business at Thomson Reuters, in her welcome address. “The team pulled out all the stops to make this happen, to be as creative yet safe and compliant as we need to be. I sincerely hope you can feel that commitment we have towards delivering the best experience we can to you.”

Kingfisher Recruitment Group, first-time event partner of the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards, echoed the exhilaration for this year’s in-person event. “I always refer to ALB’s awards as the Oscars of the legal industry. We are very happy to be a part of this event and it's very meaningful to be here after two years," said Levana Huang, regional business director at Kingfisher.

Reflecting the fast-changing landscape of the legal industry, this year’s 47 awards categories saw the introduction of the ESG and Sustainability Law Firm of the Year awards. A total of 652 entries were submitted by 121 law firms and in-house teams across all categories.

Mayer Brown and Clifford Chance emerged the biggest winners of the night with four awards apiece (excluding deals). Mayer Brown was freshly minted as Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year, on top of winning Construction Law Firm of the Year, Real Estate Law Firm of the Year and Restructuring and Insolvency Law Firm of the Year.

Clifford Chance added the Aviation Law Firm of the Year and Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year trophies to its accolades. Partner Angela Chan was crowned Woman Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm), with Connie Heng being named Managing Partner of the Year. The Magic Circle firm also made a strong showing in the deal categories, with its contributions recognised in the Debt Market Deal of the Year and Finance Deal of the Year.

Other big winners included Herbert Smith Freehills, which claimed the much-hyped ESG and Sustainability Law Firm of the Year award. It was also named Civil Litigation Law Firm of the Year and International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year.

Also achieving a three-award haul was Baker McKenzie, which took home the Labour and Employment Law Firm of the Year, Regulations and Investigation Law Firm of the Year, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year categories.

FedEx Express emerged victorious in the in-house categories, winning Innovative In-House Team of the Year and Hong Kong In-House Team of the Year. Managing Legal Director Shogo Osaka put the icing on the cake with the In-House Lawyer of the Year title.

Other individual victories included Donovan Ferguson of King & Wood Mallesons clinching the much-coveted Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year award. Withers’ Jocelyn Tsao won Young Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm), with Edward Tung of ORI Capital being named as the in-house equivalent for the second year in a row.