After a prolonged period of draconian anti-pandemic curbs and regulatory crackdowns whipsawed China’s capital markets, the world’s second-largest economy is pulling out all the stops to calm market jitters and restore investor confidence.

Herbert Smith Freehills recently announced its departure from the South Korean legal market, continuing a steady stream of international law firm exits in the past few years. At the same time, Watson Farley & Williams established a Seoul office, while Ashurst recently became a part of the country’s first-ever joint law venture. Lawyers say that with hurdles like language barriers, growing competition and tight regulations, the key to longevity might involve closely hewing growth strategies to Korea’s market potential.

A number of major Japanese firms recently announced overseas expansion plans. While some were bolstering their existing presence in the ASEAN region, others were looking further afield - in Europe and the United States, for example – with the aim of becoming global players. ALB speaks to some of the firms about the strategic considerations underpinning their decisions, and their game plans going forward. 

​​​​​​​The HKIAC’s arbitration caseload reached its highest level for more than a decade last year, underlining Hong Kong’s continuing international appeal as well as its unique strengths as a seat for China-related. Lawyers say that additional measures like third-party funding and success-based fee arrangements are set to cement the city’s reputation further.

As digitisation and cyber threats rise, countries in Southeast Asia have enacted laws to protect personal data and prevent cyber-attacks. But with varying requirements across jurisdictions, the compliance burden for companies has only increased, and in-house counsel play a critical role in ensuring compliance with these laws by providing guidance on legal requirements and best practices. 

The March 10 collapse of California-headquartered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the preferred bank of a significant number of U.S. venture-backed tech startups, has created upheaval in the banking sector beyond American soil.

The Bar Council of India dropped a bombshell in March, announcing that the behemoth Indian legal market is throwing its arms open to foreign law firms and practitioners – albeit with some strings attached.

As companies across Asia navigate global macroeconomic complexities fuelled by high inflation and slowing growth, they are growing more prudent over budgets control while still aiming to hit business goals. As such, corporate legal departments are tasked with maximising value to companies with fewer resources at their disposal. General counsel share with ALB how they harness the power of innovation to achieve this Herculean task.

With the COVID pandemic rewriting the workplace rulebook, retaining and recruiting talent remains one of the biggest challenges for law firms. Compensation alone is no longer the crown jewel as younger professionals are increasingly valuing work-life balance, autonomy, and a visible career development trajectory. ALB spotlights law firms that are regarded by their employees as not only places where they work but also where they find engagement and fulfilment.

The time has come when diversity and inclusion (D&I) are required for law firms. Now, it is increasingly common for client companies to want their advising team to be diverse. In addition to this, in terms of talent acquisition, recently firms that have not attained enough D&I tend to be avoided. Each office must continue to focus efforts on being a “chosen law firm” out of necessity.