In this annual ranking, we honour the top technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) lawyers across Asia who have powered through the pandemic, continuing to grow their practices at a remarkable pace while adapting to new markets, disruptive technology and ever-changing regulatory regimes.
Stuart Beraha of Latham & Watkins’ TMT practice has over twenty years of experience in Japan and a loyal client base that includes Kioxia, Yahoo Japan (YJ), Otsuka, TDK and Hitachi. Charuwan Charoonchitsathian leads Tilleke & Gibbins’ TMT transactional and regulatory practice in Thailand. In her 16-year legal career, she has helped many of the world’s top entertainment, e-commerce, technology, satellite and AI companies enter and excel in the Thai market, advising on product launches, business structuring and regulatory compliance.
Data and technology lawyer Kieran Donovan has been a touchpoint for global companies on TMT and data-related matters in Asia. He has advised on a number of significant projects involving global privacy compliance programs for leading technology conglomerates, as well as emerging companies in the same sector.
Nishimura & Asahi’s competition and international trade partner, Kojiro Fujii, is a leading advisor to the world’s top tech companies, driving a range of innovative public policy and regulatory matters in the TMT and digital economy sectors.
Lee & Ko TMT partner Ju Bong Jang carries over two decades of experience advising on some of the top South Korean deals in the space. This includes the acquisition of Korea’s second-largest cable TV operator, T-broad by SK Broad-band, worth over $3 billion.
With 30 years of legal experience, Lim Chong Kin has played a key role in the development of Singapore’s telecommunications, media and postal industries. Apart from leading the TMT practice at Drew & Napier, Lim is also a managing director of the firm’s corporate and finance practice; co-heads the competition law and regulatory practice; and data protection, privacy and cybersecurity. He is currently assisting Singapore’s IMDA in drafting and implementing a comprehensive competition code for the telecommunications and media industries. He also works with Brunei’s AITI on setting up the country’s personal data protection framework. This is in addition to his representation of top global telecom, data and technology companies on their expansion into Asia.
Zul Rafique’s TMT practice head Darren Kor Yit Meng has over two decades of experience advising Malaysia’s biggest TMT players.
Morrison Foerster’s Asia technology practice leader Gordon Milner has over two decades of expertise in the gaming sector, from advising NetEase on the historical, ground-breaking deal that brought World of Warcraft to China, to more recently advising Unity Technologies on its joint venture with Alibaba and ByteDance and advising Roblox on the roll out of its first-of-its-kind online gaming platform, in China and across Asia. Milner also offers particular expertise in generative AI and data issues.
DSK Legal partner Chandrima Mitra is one of India’s leading lawyers to A list film actors, some of the biggest production houses, and film associations in the Indian film industry.
Putu Raditya Nugraha has been a partner in UMBRA – Strategic Legal Solutions’ banking and finance, technology and M&A practice groups for over five years, guiding some of the largest cross-border transactions in the country. Nugraha led UMBRA’s representation of travel and lifestyle company Loka Hold-ings in obtaining $300 million in financ-ing from a global financial syndicate. Connell O’Neill heads Gibson Dunn’s APAC TMT, data, sourcing and technology transactions practices. He is geographically mobile and regularly works across APAC.
Kim & Chang attorney Min Chul Park has over 19 years of experience advising Waewpen Piemwichai has spent the last 9 years of her legal career at Tilleke & Gibbins’ Hanoi office (after eight years in Bangkok) advising companies on TMT, data protection, financial technology and commercial transactions. In 2021, she assisted a global satellite communications company on its offering of services and devices in Vietnam.
Rajah & Tann’s TMT partner, Steve Tan, has emerged as one of the region’s top legal minds on data privacy and cybersecurity. Tan was the first lawyer in Singapore to conceive and conceptualise outsourced data protection officer services, and now serves as Data Protection Officer for over 10 companies in the country.
Namita Vishwanath, a TMT partner at IndusLaw, brings her decade-long extensive in-house experience working with Bharti Airtel, Oracle and Lenovo to deliver dynamic advice to clients focused on meeting their business objectives. Her client list includes Amazon, FedEx, Google.
ALB ASIA TOP 15 TMT LAWYERS 2023 |
STUART BERAHA CHARUWAN CHAROONCHITSATHIAN KIERAN DONOVAN KOJIRO FUJII JU BONG JANG LIM CHONG KIN DARREN KOR YIT MENG GORDON MILNER CHANDRIMA MITRA PUTU RADITYA NUGRAHA CONNELL O’NEILL MIN CHUL PARK WAEWPEN PIEMWICHAI STEVE TAN NAMITA VISWANATH |
JURISDICTION |
SUBMISSIONS |
WINNERS |
Hong Kong |
7 |
2 |
India |
16 |
2 |
Indonesia |
4 |
1 |
Japan |
4 |
2 |
Malaysia |
1 |
1 |
Singapore |
7 |
3 |
South Korea |
6 |
2 |
Thailand |
3 |
1 |
Vietnam |
2 |
1 |
Total |
50 |
15 |