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...

Getting to know Ban Jiun Ean of Maxwell Chambers, Singapore

October 3, 2022
In-House Community Magazine sits down with Ban Jiun Ean, and talks to him about coming back to Maxwell Chambers as its Chief Executive, ADR, and the future of the dispute resolution centre in Singapore. You have recently taken up the mantle of Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers, but this isn’t your first turn at the helm – you previously served as CE from 2010 to 2015. What have you been busy with while away? I’ve been on a fairly eclectic journey, spending time developing and running a theatre and arts centre, launching a World War 2-themed board game and several educational card games (one of which is still being used in schools till this day), and writing three young adult fiction novels. I also ran the Singapore Mediation Centre for three years prior to returning to Maxwell, working to build the mediation scene in Singapore. Leaving Maxwell Chambers in 2015, after having steered the organisation from inception to a good measure of success, what were your biggest takeaways and lesson learned? One of my biggest lessons learnt was that there is a huge gap between a good idea on paper and a good idea properly executed. There are literally thousands of brilliant ideas sloshing around all over the world, but few of them have been translated into actual products or services that can benefit customers. So I’ve learnt to manage the idea generation phase better and to lean heavily into building teams that are good at execution. Returning in 2022, what is your vision for the future direction of Maxwell Chambers under your present leadership? The priority at the...

A Conversation with Hong Kong Legal Walk Vice Chair Angel Wong

September 21, 2022
The Hong Kong Legal Walk (HKLW) for charity is inspired and endorsed by the phenomenally impactful London Legal Walk, which has raised over HKD 100M for charity since it was founded in 2003.  The HKLW is organised by an independent group of volunteers from across the industry in Hong Kong, the Steering Committee.  Directly benefiting four charities: the Hong Kong Cancer Fund; the Changing Young Lives Foundation; the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims and HELP for Domestic Workers. The goal of the initiative is to unite the Hong Kong legal profession in the causes of charity and service for our local communities.  Over 35 teams have registered to date with over HKD 190,000 having been raised for charity to date, working towards a fundraising goal of HKD 1M, from 7 major benefactors: Allen & Overy, Maples, Hill Dickinson, M.B. KEMP, CMS, Resolution Chambers, Lewis Silkin and Clyde & Co, along with lead sponsors, Lexology and Ashford Benjamin.  The complete list of sponsors, Major Benefactors and firms participating (which includes the 4 main Magic Circle firms in HK) can be found on the HKLW’s website (legalwalkhk.org). The Closing Ceremony will be held on 19th November at the Hong Kong club. Stay tuned via the Hong Kong Legal Walk LinkedIn Feed for the latest updates. Since publicly announcing the event in October 2021, various marquis organisations in Hong Kong, such as the HK Association of Corporate Counsel, Hong Kong Bar Association and HKIAC are all supporting the initiative, the latter of which have allocated a half day of Hong Kong Arbitration Week to host an exhibition walk, and...