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.

Singapore's highest court on Monday dismissed a challenge by three gay rights activists against a law criminalising sex between men, ruling that since authorities did not enforce the law it did not breach plaintiffs' constitutional rights.

Litigators are valued for their ability to solve complex problems and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. As the second edition of the ALB Asia's Top 15 Litigators shows, these attributes have never been more valuable, particularly in the shadow of the COVID pandemic.

Virtual hearings were not unheard of pre-2020. The family courts for years experimented with allowing counsel to appear virtually for pre-trial conferences subject to certain conditions being satisfied. Likewise the State Courts, although the response was lukewarm. Teething issues with technology for the conduct of virtual hearings were never really properly ironed out; or perhaps the inertia was because the lawyers preferred the camaraderie of bantering in person.