Cybersecurity breaches, AI ethics violations, and automated workplace decisions will drive legal disputes across Asia in 2025, according to Baker McKenzie's latest Global Disputes Forecast. The survey of 600 senior in-house lawyers, including 200 from Hong Kong and Singapore, reveals that 84 percent of Hong Kong respondents and 87 percent in Singapore expect their legal spending to increase or remain steady as technology transforms business operations and creates new categories of legal risk.
When asked to identify their most significant dispute risks, 52 percent of Hong Kong respondents and 45 percent in Singapore placed cybersecurity and data privacy at the top. Recent regulatory enforcement actions across the region have elevated these concerns from IT issues to board-level priorities.
Hong Kong and Singapore diverge in their approach to these challenges. While 70 percent of Hong Kong organizations struggle to implement or update relevant technology, 82 percent of Singapore entities identify employee training as their primary challenge.
“The fast-changing regulatory landscape requires organizations to continuously monitor and update their compliance programs, which can be quite resource-intensive,” explains Nandakumar Ponniya, chair of Baker McKenzie's Asia Pacific dispute resolution practice.
AI has emerged as the second-highest dispute risk, but again, concerns are different. Hong Kong businesses worry more about ethical issues such as improper or undisclosed use of AI, along with data privacy and security. Singapore respondents focus on intellectual property implications, particularly AI-generated output at risk of IP infringement and other IP risks such as inadvertent trademark infringement or personality rights violations.
“AI regulation remains very much driven by jurisdictional nuances, including the patchwork of existing IP laws and the specific policies put in place or under consultation by regulators and legislators,” observes Isabella Liu, partner at Baker McKenzie Hong Kong. “Ultimately, court decisions are likely to look very different across jurisdictions, due to the nature of how local law views and/or defines the concepts of IP ownership, validity and infringement, and the specific nature and use of the AI tools at issue in each case.”
Technology continues to reshape workplace disputes across Asia. In Hong Kong, 74 percent of respondents report that AI and automated decision-making are driving employment dispute risks. Singapore companies face intense scrutiny over compensation practices, with 71 percent citing equal pay considerations as their primary concern.
Both markets report significant workplace investigation activity. Over 60 percent of respondents in both Hong Kong and Singapore have concerns about discrimination or harassment disputes, reflecting increased regulatory scrutiny of workplace conduct.
“In Singapore, we have seen a number of relatively high-profile cases involving the enforcement of restrictive covenants in the Singapore Courts, and there is increased public interest,” notes Celeste Ang, principal at Baker McKenzie Singapore. “The Ministry of Manpower indicated in early 2024 that it was working with other tripartite partners to develop a set of guidelines to shape norms and provide guidance on the inclusion of restrictive clauses in employment contracts.”
When asked what prevents their organizations from effectively preparing for litigation, 58 percent of Hong Kong and 59 percent of Singapore respondents cited the inability to keep pace with regulatory developments. This suggests the regulatory landscape is evolving faster than corporate legal departments can adapt.
Supply chain transparency requirements have created another vulnerability, with 51 percent of Hong Kong respondents and 43 percent in Singapore identifying supply chain vulnerabilities as a barrier to litigation preparedness.
Richard Allen, local principal in Singapore, explains: “Supply chain vulnerabilities are cited as one of the key barriers to litigation preparedness, most notably in the industrials, manufacturing and transportation sector, which reflects the particularly complex and interdependent nature of supply chains in this sector. With the growing regulatory trend toward supply chain transparency and the imposition of liability for ESG-related harms down the supply chain, we regularly advise clients on the policies and contractual protections that should be put in place to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
The survey data suggests proactive Asian legal departments are implementing several key strategies: Mapping their technology footprint against relevant regulations; developing cross-functional AI governance committees; conducting assessments before deploying new workplace systems; and implementing comprehensive supply chain due diligence programs.
For Asian legal departments navigating this complex landscape, developing integrated cybersecurity approaches, establishing comprehensive AI governance frameworks, and proactively addressing employment practices will be essential to mitigate emerging risks, the report recommends.
