Legal Industry News & Trends: Aug Week 2

1. Market Pulse

Hong Kong Urged to Accelerate Privacy Law Reforms as Data Breaches Rise

Hong Kong faces increasing calls to expedite privacy law reforms due to a surge in data breaches, including a recent incident involving Oxfam Hong Kong that potentially compromised the personal data of over 470,000 people. The proposed amendments to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance aim to introduce administrative fines, mandatory reporting of data breaches, and stricter data retention policies, similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Takeaway: The legal reforms are expected to push companies to invest more in cybersecurity and better regulate how organisations handle and protect personal information.

Read the full paid article about Hong Kong’s privacy law reforms.

2. People Moves

i. SEA: Herbert Smith, AIAC and FKNK

Herbert Smith: Herbert Smith Freehills added Ee Lynn Tan as an energy partner in Singapore. Tan has experience advising on complex energy projects and investments across Asia and the Middle East. Tan comes from White & Case and has previously served at MinterEllison. This addition follows the recruitment of Anthony Patten last year.

AIAC: Kuala Lumpur-based Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) appointed Mary Lim Thiam Suan, a recently retired judge of Malaysia’s Federal Court, as its new director. Her appointment follows the departure of the previous director, Sundra Rajoo, and comes amidst AIAC’s restructuring. This restructuring includes forming a new board of directors comprising legal practitioners and retired judges across Asia and creating an independent arbitration court. Lim will also lead the Protem Committee responsible for developing the operational protocols for this new court, which is expected to be launched after amendments to Malaysia’s Arbitration Act.

FKNK: FKNK Law Firm in Jakarta added Ferry Rajagukguk as a partner to lead its capital markets practice. Rajagukguk, who led the corporate practice at Rakhmat Suroso Adinugraha Advocates, has nearly 20 years of experience in initial public offerings (IPOs), mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and corporate finance. He focuses on advising multinational corporations and financial institutions on significant financial transactions like IPOs and mergers. Rajagukguk has also served at Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo, HHP Law Firm and Baker & McKenzie’s member firm in Indonesia. Concurrently, the firm is also opening a new branch office in Surabaya. The Surabaya branch, managed by Meilisa Husein, seeks to enhance the firm’s presence in East Java’s growing market.

Read the full article about Herbert Smith’s energy partner.

Read the full article about AIAC’s appointment of Mary Lim.

Read the full article about FKNK’s capital markets partner.

ii. East Asia: O’Melveny, Howse Williams, Silkroad, DOCVIT and DLA

O’Melveny: Edwin Kwok, a corporate partner at O’Melveny & Myers, has left the US law firm to establish his own Hong Kong practice, Edwin Kwok & Co. Kwok specialises in IPOs, follow-on offerings of equity and debt securities, privatisations, and M&As. During his time at O’Melveny, Kwok focused on advising mid-sized companies on their listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Howse Williams: Hong Kong law firm Howse Williams added Damian Whitehead as a partner for its restructuring and insolvency practice. Whitehead has over 20 years of experience and has spent a significant time in Asia, and specialises in corporate restructurings, insolvencies, turnarounds and special situations advisory. He has managed cases for clients across industries like real estate, financial services, aviation, energy, and maritime. Whitehead previously worked with CarVal Investors and held partner roles at Ashurst and White & Case in Hong Kong. His hiring mirrors the trend among Hong Kong law firms following an expected rise in demand for restructuring services due to the region’s economic uncertainties. With Whitehead’s addition, Howse Williams now counts 32 partners.

Silkroad: Silkroad, Anchorite & Sage added Dacheng Law Offices’ Yang Zhipeng as a partner to its Shanghai office. Yang specialises in dispute resolution, compliance, litigation, administrative penalties, and corporate criminal liability, particularly in environmental and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) matters.

DOCVIT: DOCVIT Law Firm added Landing Law Offices’ Zhou Jianglin as a senior partner to its Shanghai office. Zhou focuses on dispute resolution, intellectual property, corporate practice, and criminal compliance across the media, manufacturing, internet and information technology, construction, and real estate sectors.

DLA Piper: DLA Piper appointed its Hong Kong partner Ed Sheremeta as co-head of its Tokyo real estate team. Sheremeta has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate law and specialises in acquisitions, dispositions, private equity, institutional investments and joint ventures. The move is part of DLA Piper’s broader effort to bolster its presence in Asia following the recent appointment of Partner Ciarán Londra in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Read the full article about Edwin Kwok’s Hong Kong practice.

Read the full article about Howse Williams’s restructuring partner.

Read the full article about Silkroad’s litigation partner from Dacheng.

Read the full article about DOCVIT’s disputes partner from Landing.

Read the full article about Ed Sheremeta’s promotion.

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Image Sources:

• Law.asia
• PR Newswire Asia