Legal practitioners’ ideas boost business in the Asia-Pacific region

By now masters of their legal specialisms, the legal professionals showcased right here have made a mark by having suggestions across various disciplines to deal with clients’ increasingly rapid-switching worries.

Some provide a deep knowledge of clients’ corporations and the distinctive regulatory regimes of the location. Some are shaping monetary innovation — no matter if advising fintechs, or designing frameworks that will draw in additional organization to the location.

The prominence of perform in Japan on this record reflects the progress of authorized innovation in the place. But Ken Siegel stood out amid all the practitioners showcased here for constructing a contemporary international practice in the region that has established the tempo of bargains, with a strategic and commercial solution to risk that has motivated local Japanese companies.


Ken Siegel

WINNER: Ken Siegel
Tokyo running companion, Morrison Foerster

Ken Siegel’s interest in Japan was initial kindled when, as a young spouse at US business Morrison Foerster in 1994, he spotted a likelihood to construct a unique kind of global legislation business.

Now, he presides above the biggest foreign law business business in Japan, and 1 of the major M&A tactics in the region. Invariably performing on Japan’s most prestigious specials, Siegel counts numerous top rated US and Japanese organizations as clientele. He not too long ago joined the SoftBank board as a non-unbiased non-executive director, to support it harmony legal hazard and industrial chance.

Outdoors deal execution, his initiatives in selecting community attorneys, integrating apply spots and marketing girls has set the pace for modernisation at major Japanese law companies.


Kala Anandarajah

Kala Anandarajah
Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore

Kala Anandarajah is a major skilled in competitors law in Singapore. She helped draft the metropolis-state’s 1st legislation on the issue, enforced due to the fact 2006, and has represented shoppers in opposition matters at any time considering the fact that.

Anandarajah designed and heads the firm’s competitiveness and antitrust and trade follow. She is a lead spouse in company governance.

Just lately, she led an enchantment for poultry farmer Toh Thye San which, alongside 13 others, was accused of co-ordinating price increases and collaborating in a non-contend agreement. Anandarajah confirmed her client had not participated, ensuing in a 70 for each cent reduction in penalties. It was the very first time an appellant experienced succeeded on an concern of liability in advance of the Opposition Enchantment Board.


Daisuke Fukamizu

Daisuke Fukamizu
Associate, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

As effectively as specialising in corporate governance, possibility management and company investigations as a attorney, Daisuke Fukamizu is a investigate professor at Shinshu College. The two roles make it possible for him to include views from fields this kind of as economics and psychology into his tips.

Fukamizu is a proponent of “agile governance” to aid enterprises deal with escalating volatility and complexity. The tactic entails adopting autonomous, decentralised governance methods, which adapt speedily by way of collaboration with stakeholders.

Right after Japanese messaging app Line’s breach of customer data in 2021, his information to guardian enterprise and SoftBank entity Z Holdings involved use of agile governance principles.


Nels Hansen

Nels Hansen
Spouse, White & Situation

Nels Hansen examined science and engineering in advance of regulation college. Soon after an internship in Japan, he worked as a Silicon Valley deal attorney, apart from a calendar year at Japan’s Ministry of Financial state, Trade and Business.

Hansen moved to Tokyo in 2013, just before signing up for White & Case, in which he is a partner in its corporate/M&A practice group. He is a single of the firm’s regional gurus on private fairness. Clients value his mixture of creativeness and measured solution to hazard.

He applies his technological knowhow and Silicon Valley expertise, and broad know-how of Japanese economics and governance, to encouraging on discounts totalling hundreds of billions of bucks. In 2021, this bundled advising PayPal on its acquisition of fintech Paidy for $2.7bn.


Stephanie Magnus

Stephanie Magnus
Companion, Baker McKenzie

An expert in monetary services regulation in Singapore, Stephanie Magnus has worked for many decades with its central lender, the Financial Authority of Singapore, to increase the town-state’s enchantment as a fiscal products and services hub.

At Baker McKenzie, she co-heads the Asia Pacific economic establishments team and has not long ago recommended many fintech providers on operating get now, pay out later on (BNPL) techniques. They are winning market place share from regular credit card solutions as the BNPL increase proceeds to achieve ground in Singapore.

In 2019, she encouraged private equity firm CapBridge System on its productive application to the MAS in relation to its operation of 1trade, the initial controlled non-public securities trade in Singapore.


Mark McCowan

Mark McCowan
Associate, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

As head of the competitors observe at the business, Mark McCowan qualified prospects a chopping-edge multidisciplinary staff throughout lots of jurisdictions. His own reputation and motivation to producing his team’s complex and business comprehension of the tech sector have assisted to make Corrs a business of selection for advanced Big Tech antitrust situations in Australia. Customers price his deep knowledge of tech corporations — from the tech itself to issues this sort of as rising laws.

McCowan is at this time performing for the US tech teams Google and Meta (Facebook’s parent) in defending two independent industry electric power promises. In 2021, he secured Meta’s initially merger clearance in Australia in regard of its proposed acquisition of Kustomer, a consumer romantic relationship platform.


Peter Reeves

Peter Reeves
Husband or wife, Gilbert + Tobin

Peter Reeves is a partner in the firm’s corporate advisory group and leads the payments, fintech and blockchain observe. His management has served change the firm’s fintech advisory support into a 10-solid staff, with ordinary once-a-year revenue expansion in excess of the previous four decades of among 10 and 20 for each cent.

Reeves has gained a popularity as a daring thought leader on fintech. He is acknowledged for his ability at advising upcoming-generation tech organizations when the procedures are still being penned.

In 2021, Reeves suggested the founders of software program organization Blockchain New music on the complexities of placing up a DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation), a blockchain-based mostly local community designed to enable musicians to deliver audio devoid of massive output businesses.


Mikiko Soga

Mikiko Soga
Husband or wife, Nishimura & Asahi

Immediately after a site visitors accident remaining job finance associate Mikiko Soga completely utilizing a wheelchair and crutches, she decided to enhance the firm’s professional-bono and range and inclusion initiatives.

She was a founding member of its initially professional-bono committee in 2018. The pro-bono exercise team now includes about 80 lawyers and 10 supplemental staff members.

In 2020, Soga aided established up the firm’s D&I marketing council, which backs and implements distinct actions. Her perform has been central to enhancing inclusion at the firm, specifically for those people with disabilities.

Individually, she released a sustainability exercise at the business in 2021. An adviser on renewable strength initiatives in Japan due to the fact the 2000s, her get the job done continues to guide the advancement of sustainable electricity in Japan.


Effie Vasilopoulos

Effie Vasilopoulos
Companion, Sidley Austin

Effie Vasilopoulos has been an architect of a lot of crucial developments for the personal fund sector in Hong Kong over two a long time.

She worked, mainly on a professional-bono foundation, for the Hong Kong government on the 2020 Constrained Partnership Fund Ordinance, which establishes a domestic regulation framework for the personal fund industry. She also worked with the government on a subsequent modification that arrived into force in 2021 and permits the redomiciliation of offshore resources.

In drafting the new law, she sought to generate a regime that both of those resembled and improved on existing regulations in other jurisdictions. Far more than 350 private resources have registered considering the fact that the regulation arrived into force.


Matthias Voss

Matthias Voss
Husband or wife, Allen & Overy

Tokyo and Seoul running husband or wife Matthias Voss noticed an chance in 2020 to use the firm’s skills to support consumers functioning in the hydrogen strength marketplace. A few intrigued men and women at the firm swiftly shaped a world-wide process pressure.

Inside of nine months, the ensuing Hydrogen Curiosity Group was certainly intercontinental, comprising practically 200 attorneys throughout far more than 30 places of work.

The organization is associated in quite a few huge tasks having place throughout the output, storage, supply and transportation of hydrogen.

These contain advising the European Financial investment Bank, the EU’s lending arm, on financing the world’s to start with baseload renewable vitality ability plant utilizing hydrogen engineering, in French Guiana.

Profiles compiled by RSGI researchers and FT editors ‘Winner’ indicates the person received an FT Modern Attorneys 2022 award

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