Russians have been moving their business and dispute resolution to Asia for over a decade, but new sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine has significantly hastened that process. Dispute resolution hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo are increasingly attracting Russian businesses following the implementation of Western sanctions, and that trend is set to continue as the conflict drags on. 

India recently passed a wide-ranging data protection law. Lawyers share what companies need to do to keep up.

In July, a court in France issued a verdict that was hailed by the Malaysian government as a “decisive victory” in its decades-long dispute with a group of alleged Filipino heirs of a 19th-century sultanate over claims to Malaysian state assets overseas.

In recent years, the traditional pricing arrangement between a law firm and a client has been increasingly challenged by requests for alternative frameworks, while the turbulent economic environment has further squeezed budgets on legal spending. Law firms in Asia share what they have experienced with clients’ demands in fee arrangements and how they are navigating the new dynamics to achieve continued profitability.

For the longest time, the Indian legal industry had kept the management of a law firm in the hands of its senior partners. Business development, branding, and expenditures were at a partner’s discretion and availability, while non-legal roles at law firms were limited to knowledge management, such as coordinating legal summaries of legal developments from partners to share with clients.

As in other years, ALB highlights exceptional private practitioners in India when it comes to client service. These lawyers were selected based on client recommendations sent directly to ALB. The list is in alphabetical order, and some lawyers have been profiled.

In India's dynamic legal landscape, focusing on client needs has never been more important. In this roundtable discussion, leading lawyers talk about blending legal expertise with the specific and varied requirements of clients.

Third-party litigation funding is now an established global commodity, with an expected revenue of $17 billion in 2023, according to research analyst Future Market Insights. Across the Asian region, uptake has been slow, however, although India is a market that is showing keen interest.

In conversations around ESG, the emphasis has often been on the environmental aspect, with the social part receiving less attention. Sonvi Khanna and Rohan Nadimpally of Social Compact, the social governance arm of Mumbai-based non-profit Dasra, discuss the need for a fresh perspective on corporate social governance in India, and why companies need to focus on the “S” in ESG. 

According to a survey of general counsel in the UK and the U.S. conducted by content marketing platform Passle, almost half of GCs (48 percent) said they would ditch firms that do not keep them informed of relevant legal developments, with 61 percent of GCs preferring to work with law firms that proactively update them as the legal landscape changes. Law firms, therefore, need to make keeping GCs updated a priority.