General counsel want their external law firm partners to know their stuff and stay on top. Law firms in Asia talk about how they strive to keep their clients up to date to minimise friction and also help achieve their business goals.

WHAT ARE YOU, AS A LAW FIRM, DOING TO MAKE SURE YOUR CLIENTS REMAIN REGULARLY UPDATED ON ISSUES RELEVANT TO THEM?

CYNTHIA CHUNG, partner, Deacons

It goes without saying that a good lawyer is one that keeps abreast with the latest legal landscape. Our firm takes this very seriously, and we are constantly on the lookout for developments, be it governmental announcements, regulatory consultations, or legislative amendments. Since our clients have very busy schedules, we have an array of channels and media types for communicating updates to our clients:

• Insights articles: access to information has now become so easy, and a good lawyer’s value lies not so much in spotting a new development, but in advising on the practical significance of a development, and how our clients could better position themselves to brace a change. We regularly publish (e.g., on LinkedIn and WeChat) and email newsletter articles to our clients doing exactly this.
• Vlogs: we have, in fact, started shooting short video logs (always within two minutes, if not less) as an alternative way to deliver updates to our clients (for example, see our Labour Law Grab n Go series) in an attempt to make things more lively and with more of a human touch, which we thought was very important during the pandemic when it was not feasible to meet with clients in person.
• In-house Corporate Counsel Forum: in addition to events hosted by different teams within the firm, our firm holds an in-house counsel forum each year, whereby presenters and panellists ranging from our partners to in-house counsels from multinational companies discuss the latest developments and challenges faced by the Hong Kong market.

AAKASH CHOUBEY, partner, Khaitan & Co

As a law firm with over 111 years of storied legacy, several of our clients are also second- or third-generation. We like to think proactively for our clients, whether we are representing them or not. Continuous client engagement sits at the heart of our culture. Our objective is to be their trusted advisor, which transcends a transactional relationship. Each client has its unique needs, culture, and style of working. Our engagement is holistic, catering to the diversity of our client mix. There are a number of initiatives, as value-added services, that we run for our clients. These include regular bespoke teach-in sessions to update on legal and market trends, issuing market studies and reports, regular training sessions for clients like our high-profile M&A masterclass, in-house counsel forum, and webinar series. We also regularly distribute focused newsletters and bespoke client alerts.

JUNE HO, partner, TSMP Law Corporation

At TSMP, we have a motto: Every client, our only client. We pride ourselves on high-touch, relevant engagement with them.

In a knowledge-based industry like the legal profession, we believe it’s not just what you know, but what you make of your knowledge that adds value. To this end, we started Forefront, our firm’s e-newsletter sent out to our clients and contacts every month, in 2015. An editorial piece written by partners and senior associates in our firm, Forefront, is where we apply a legal lens on news and current affairs. Topics as diverse as artificial intelligence, the philanthropy landscape, the property market and workplace discrimination have been written about, focusing on how they would impact businesses and business leaders. Forefront is also posted on our company website. On the social media front, LinkedIn is our platform to inform. Beyond our firm’s own profile page, where we share activities and news updates, our partners and senior associates use their personal profiles to share their opinions on and spark conversations about social, current and business affairs. Their followers include clients, business leaders, as well as members of the legal community, both locally and internationally. Of course, there’s nothing like a face-to-face lunch with clients for that personal connection. These serve as avenues to discuss evolving needs and address concerns more privately, ensuring our clients receive tailored updates and valuable information beyond legal matters.