Hong Kong In-House Community Congress 2025

Registration

Opening Remarks

By Rahul Prakash, Publisher of In-House Community

Legal Lessons & Loopholes: Ten Key Employment Issues

Speaker: Russell Bennett, Head of Employment Practice at Tanner De Witt

Topics to be included:

• Employment protection and employment contracts
• Removal of MPF off-setting
• Employment agreements governed by foreign laws

Beyond the Brink:  Legal strategy, commercial imperatives and key takeaways from recent Restructurings and Insolvencies

Speakers: 

• Gordon Davidson, Partner at Broadfield Asia LLP
• Fergus Saurin, Partner, at Broadfield Asia LLP

Topics to cover:

• Who are the stakeholders and what is their objective?
• Why restructure when we could liquidate? Do we have a choice?
• What does a restructuring look like: consensual and non-consensual
• Liquidation, the end game; or is it?
• Final thoughts

Morning Networking break

Managing High-Stakes Disputes and Investigations in 2025 and Beyond

Panelists:

• Vorapong Sutanont, Managing Director at BRG 
• Lydia Tang, Director at BRG 
• Jay Gomez, Associate Director at BRG 
• Jeffrey Huang, Of Counsel at A&O Shearman
• Murphy Mok, Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Moderator: Isaac Wong, Associate Director at BRG 

Discussion topics:

• Asia-Pacific overview of disputes and investigations landscape
• The future of investigations: technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and more
• Forensic accounting, data and jurisdictional complexities in cross-border disputes and investigations
• Proactive risk mitigation and readiness

Lunch Break

Corruption, Sanctions, and Corporate Governance: Update on U.S. and Hong Kong White-Collar Enforcement Priorities

Speakers:

• Emily Lam, Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton
• Gareth Hughes, Partner at Debevoise & Plimpton
• Philip Rohlik, Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton

Sub-topics:

1. U.S. DOJ’s new white collar enforcement priorities and FCPA enforcement plan
2. Update on sanctions and related measures
3. SFC and HKEx enforcement trends and priorities
4. Corporate governance best practices

The APAC GC Playbook – Legal Leadership in Shifting Global Landscape

Panelists:

• Corinne Katz, Senior Director – Group Legal Affairs at CLP
• Effie Vasilopoulos, Managing Partner at Broadfield Asia LLP
• Felix Wang, Principal Consultant at Synergy Consulting Group

Moderator: Titus Rahiri, CEO & Director of KorumLegal

In this panel discussion session, the panel will explore:

• How are GCs in Asia evolving from legal advisors to strategic leaders who shape business outcomes?
• What unique challenges do Asia GCs face in balancing local issues with global expectations?
• In what ways can legal teams demonstrate tangible commercial impact and contribute to shareholder value?
• How can GC’s build corporate resilience in the face of geopolitical, regulatory and reputational risks?
• What skills, technologies and mindsets will define the next generation of high-performing in-house legal teams in Asia?

Afternoon Networking Break

AI For In-House Teams – What we’ve seen so far

Speakers:

• Brian Tang, LITE Lab Founding Executive Director, University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law
• Paul Haswell, Technology Disputes Partner, Howse Williams

Session Outline:

• How does this affect the role of an in-house lawyer
• How does that impact the overlap with external commercial lawyers
• See AI in action and leave with tangible use cases

Data Privacy Updates in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Speakers:

• Eliza Siew, Counsel at Deacons
• Andy Yu, Senior Associate at Deacons

Closing Remarks