Industry Thoughts Archives - In-House Community

Walking for a Cause: A Conversation About the Hong Kong Legal Walk

November 19, 2025

The Hong Kong Legal Walk has grown into one of the most energising and unifying events for the city’s legal community. We sat down for a candid conversation with Chris Seddon, a core member of the Hong Kong Legal Walk Steering Committee, as well as the head of business development at MdME law firm, to discuss why this year’s Walk feels bigger than ever. And why the tradition continues to resonate. The Legal Walk seems to get more vibrant each year. What stood out to you about this year’s event, and why is it so special for Hong Kong’s legal community? Absolutely, it’s incredible to see how the Legal Walk has grown. What started as a simple idea has become a date people now bookmark in their diaries. It’s an opportunity to bring together law firms, in-house teams, and the wider legal community for a shared cause, and it really highlights the strength of Hong Kong’s legal sector. This year, thanks to the increased support, we were able to host a launch event – something the community really enjoyed – and we’re looking forward to celebrating together again at our 21 November closing and prize-giving event at Taikoo Square. This year, we’ve seen firms, in-house teams-and even pets-turn up in full spirit. What has surprised you most while organising this year’s Legal Walk? The creativity has been amazing! Teams have shown up with pets dressed in themed outfits, colleagues have turned the walk into team-building activities, and there’s been a real sense of fun. The biggest surprise has been how quickly people embraced the idea of this being more...

Getting to know… Effie Vasilopoulos

October 27, 2025

With Broadfield, Effie Vasilopoulos is betting on Hong Kong’s future—blending global expertise, local insight, and a new vision for law firm culture. Can you tell us about your career journey so far, and what inspired you to establish Broadfield in Hong Kong? Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of advising some of the world’s most sophisticated fund managers, institutions and leading private capital providers. That journey has taken me from large international law firms to the front lines of fund structuring, writing regulation and implementing business strategy. What has become crystal clear is that both the market and clients have changed dramatically over the last decade. What worked in the past no longer works in the same way today. Our firm Broadfield was born from a vision to create something that is more closely adapted to the needs of both clients and colleagues alike. Hong Kong was the natural home for that vision. It’s a gateway to Asia, a hub of financial dynamism and a place where global ambition meets exceptional talent. I also saw an opportunity to create a positive culture of engagement, as we truly believe in the future of Asia and wanted to operate within a structure that aligned with our growth story. Broadfield presents an exciting opportunity to build a unique, multidisciplinary platform that leverages exceptional legal talent to deliver unparalleled value in a conflict-free construct. That’s what inspires me every day. What makes Broadfield unique in the legal market? Broadfield was founded to redefine what a modern international law firm can offer in terms of quality in legal services, but...

Getting To Know…Paul Haswell

July 12, 2023

A lover of all things tech, Paul Haswell is a highly-regarded TMT focused lawyer, most recently as a Partner with Seyfarth Shaw in Hong Kong. He is also a ‘tech and law’ podcaster, but residents of the city are as likely (or perhaps more so) to know him for his other main passion, music. Haswell has a long running stint spinning the discs on RTHK’s ‘Sunday Escape’ radio programme, and as a club and podcast DJ with Clockenflap, both of which he fulfils with his ‘Crimes Against Pop’ partner, Carolyn Wright. Tim Gilkison recently spoke to Haswell about his journey in law, the importance of mentorship, AI, new music…oh, and time travel! K&L Gates Welcomes Hong Kong Technology Partner Which came first, your love of technology or an interest in the law? Technology, by quite a long way. When I was very young I had three main interests: computers, science fiction, and music. Bear in mind that this was during the very early 1980s, so my interest was being stoked by Star Wars, Star Trek and Doctor Who, the Atari 2600 and then Commodore 64, and whatever I could hear on the radio at the time or find to play on my rather battered hand-me-down record player. I got my first computer (the aforementioned Commodore 64) in about 1984 and spent most of my childhood using it for rudimentary programming, games, and for some reason I even thought that doing my homework using it was exciting. That began my love of computers and technology in general, and ever since then I have been obsessed with new gadgets, the use...

Getting to know… Peter Godwin of Herbert Smith Freehills, Malaysia

May 24, 2023

Q&A with Peter Godwin: On leading an auspicious career, being open to opportunities and embracing diversity You Have Led An Illustrious Career, Spanning Many Decades And Countries Across Asia. Can You Tell Us A Little About This Journey In The Legal Industry And Where You Are Now? My career in law started as a consequence of a teacher at school, knowing that maths was my real strength, suggesting that if I was thinking of a career in Accountancy (I was), I should do something else at University. His suggestion was law. That is what I did and, partly because I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of law and partly no doubt because my friends on the course were doing so, I found myself applying for a training contract and so stepped onto the legal conveyor belt. After 6 years practising in London, I decided it was time for a change so I headed to Hong Kong (where I had spent six months as a trainee). The plan was to do 2-3 years there and then head home. However, best laid plans…. My stint in Hong Kong happened to coincide with a period of Asia expansion for the firm, with us opening offices in Jakarta and Bangkok. Then, just as I was thinking of returning home, the firm opened in Tokyo and I was asked to transfer as a then Senior Associate to establish our disputes practice. At the time I had never been to Japan, even for a holiday, so I went to see the place and made the mistake of taking my then 3 year old son to Disney...

Q&A with Ira Eddymurthy of SSEK as They Celebrate 30 Years of Operation

March 9, 2023

From participation in groundbreaking commercial law reform and beyond, this Indonesian law firm is just getting started Can you please provide us with a short highlights reel of SSEK’s first three decades of operation? Ira Eddymurthy: SSEK was established in 1992 with only five people and over the last 30 years we have grown to a family of more than 130 people. From our earliest days, SSEK has been involved in vital projects and initiatives in Indonesia, as the firm has put its experience and expertise at the service of helping the country grow into an economic powerhouse. SSEK’s senior lawyers played vital roles in the Economic Law and Improved Procurement Systems (ELIPS) Project, Indonesia’s commercial law reform project from 1992-1998, at the time the largest single-country effort of its kind in the world. They helped to draft, finalise, and socialise several laws, including Indonesia’s Company Law and Fiducia Law. During the 1997 Asian economic crisis, we participated in Indonesia’s Initiative Group and contributed ideas on ways to deal with unsettled debt, an effort that resulted in, among other achievements, Indonesia’s new Bankruptcy Law. SSEK, acting as Indonesian counsel to state electricity company PLN, advised on a groundbreaking power project in Central Java designed by the International Finance Corporation and intended as a model for future projects in Indonesia. More recently, we advised the Indonesian Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises and PT Pertamina on the formation of Indonesia’s largest state-owned holding company, the Oil and Gas Holding SOE. SSEK has been named Indonesia Law Firm of the Year numerous times by legal directories, we have won multiple Deal of the Year...

Is Business Travel Dead?

December 20, 2022

It is a pleasant, sunny morning. My coffee is frothing nicely, the delectable aroma wafting gently about my bedroom. I have just donned my favourite pair of beach Bermudas, in striking blue emblazoned with little yellow pina coladas. I draw the curtains wide to let in the bright sunshine and grab a bag of potato chips on my way across the room. Unfortunately, I am not heading off for a nice swim or frisbee in the park. Instead, it is a Monday, and I settle at my desk to log on for a meeting with my international counterparts. This is 2022, and the world has been upended by more than two years of a global pandemic. Many of our offices have gone from comprising system furniture parked in long rows in a nondescript high-rise commercial building, to comfortable gaming chairs and ergonomic tables nestled in our bedrooms or study rooms. Our colleagues no longer lean over the cubicle partitions with coffee cups in hand, sharing their latest run-in with the HR department, but now stare at us emotionlessly out of little digital pigeonholes on our monitor screen, their silhouettes morphing oddly with every twitch or shake of the head. “Let’s meet at the lobby for lunch” has vanished from our vernacular, replaced by “I think your mic is muted”. Against the backdrop of all this, a genuine question arises – when the pandemic is fully behind us, will people return to in-person meetings and dispute resolution hearings? Or will the comfort of our homes and the inertia of not needing to wear proper trousers prove decisive in shaping the...

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