Law firm Skadden’s Hong Kong branch recently celebrated 25 years in the jurisdiction. Head of Asia Practice Michael Gisser, who was one of the first attourneys in their Hong Kong office, recently spoke to ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL about his time and experiences at the Hong Kong branch, as well as giving a prediction of the firm’s footprint going forward.
1) Skadden were one of the first Wall Street firms to set up a Hong Kong corporate law practice. In brief, how has the market, and in turn the firm’s practice here changed over the past 25 years, and in particular in your time here?
Hong Kong is a unique place in the world, and very special to all of us here at Skadden. Hong Kong’s unique role for us is as the hub of activity in our seven offices in the Asia Pacific region. Over the years, we’ve increased in size by a factor of ten, and increased the number of lines of business from two—corporate and project finance, to almost ten. We’re very grateful to many people in the region—particularly our valued clients—for making this impressive growth possible.
2) Having experienced more than 25 years at Skadden, you must have seen many changes. What changes and challenges do you see ahead for the office in the coming 5-10 years?
We are truly fortunate to have a superb market position in a number of our practice areas, in large measure thanks to the global reputation the firm has built over its 56 years, and particularly in the last 30 since we opened our first overseas offices. We look forward to continuing the current trends, always making sure we focus on clients and the kind of top-drawer work we’re known for.
3) Thanks to developments in technology, the way legal services are provided is changing. How do you see these changes affecting how the lawyers of the future, including Skadden’s, approach work and client relationships?
Online resources are critical to us, both as a means of doing our jobs better and affording us a number of different channels for communicating with our clients. We don’t have a crystal ball, but through client mailings, webinars and practice offerings over the Internet, we enjoy being able to communicate in a more targeted manner on a very current basis.
4) Outside of your work, what do you like most about living in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is a special place to me: thanks to the warmth of the people we met, my children had a great experience growing up here. It retains a vibrant business environment in a stunning physical location. We’re optimistic about the future, and committed to doing our best to maintain and increase our already strong capabilities to help and support the people who make it possible, our clients.
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