Hong Kong Time

Cybersecurity is now top of the corporate counsel’s agenda. As organisations become increasingly data-driven, cyber is a key vector by which major organisational crisis occur. Counsels are at the centre of both planning the response to a cyber breach –whether that be loss of IP, extortion, or interruption of business -  and managing the regulatory, legal and reputational impacts.

In this interactive session with Control Risks, Ben Wootliff and Jim Fitzsimons will guide you through the key dos and don’ts of managing a cyber crisis. The session will cover:

• The central function of the GC and legal department in identifying and safeguarding the company’s key digital assets, reputation and other core interests
• How to build effective cyber crisis management, business continuity and resilience programmes that take into account local contexts and HQ expectations
• An overview of key regulations and certification requirements of key Asia Pacific jurisdictions
• Exercising real-life scenarios to test your analytical and crisis handling skills

SPEAKERS:

1. Ben Wootliff
   Partner
    
2. Jim Fitzsimons
   Principal

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Location: Webinar links will be sent upon registration

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link. 

Take your in-house Career to the next level with the ACC in-house Certification program

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is delighted to announce the return of the ACC In-house Certification Program to the Asia-Pacific region.  

With two upcoming programs, commencing Monday, July 12^th and Monday August 23^rd respectively, the program will be delivered in a unique virtual format across eight in-person sessions over a two-week period.  The ACC In-house Certification program draws on the collective knowledge and experience of ACC’s global membership and the program curriculum targets three competency areas: Stakeholder Relations, Department Management, and Legal Services.

The 2021 program includes individual reflection, self-paced learning, live instruction, hands-on project and team work experience; and concludes with a final assessment to earn the unique In-House Counsel Certification. Upon completing the program, participants earn the In-house Counsel Certified (ICC) designation. This global elite credential indicates that its holder possesses the competence, skills, and acumen to complement a high-performing organisation.

Click here to download the program brochure and register today to secure your place for your preferred program dates. . Early-bird rates apply up to June 30.

The past year has seen a transformation in the attitude of many employers in the region to home and hybrid working. Many businesses have moved during the pandemic to embrace the prospect of any return to the "old normal" fades, speakers from Simmons & Simmons' market leading Employment practice will discuss the regulatory and legal considerations that employers are facing, and will also touch on the ever-present question: innovative technology solutions to help facilitate expanded home and remote working, or are currently looking into such issues. However this shift, of course, presents a new set of challenges including data privacy, hybrid working models, cybersecurity and surveillance issues.

As employers focus on the long term impact of COVID, and the prospect of any return to the "old normal" fades, our speakers will discuss the regulatory and legal considerations that employers are facing, and will also touch on the ever-present question: is an employer entitled to make employee vaccination mandatory?

SPEAKERS:

Fiona Loughrey
Partner, Head of Asia Employment Group

May Lu
Partner, Shanghai, 

Wendy Wong
Managing Associate, Hong Kong, 

Clarence Ding
Of Counsel, Singapore

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, 3 June 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Location: Webinar links will be sent upon registration

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link. 

The ACC Hong Kong Board of Directors invites you to the following webinar, suitable for In-House counsel and General Counsels who wish to  navigate their own or their team members’ in-house careers through:   

Cyberattacks and security risk is becoming increasingly important for firms. In this webinar we will cover:

• Top Cyberattacks of March 2021

• Script Kiddies no more

• The Vectors of Attack

• Web Security

• Email security

• Phishing Tactics

• Unpatched Computers -- What if you can’t patch?

• Easy to get passwords

• Wireless Issues

• ID Theft

• Special Topic: Cybersecurity measures for arbitration

SPEAKER:

Scott Peterman
Partner, K&L Gates

Scott focuses on representing private fund sponsors and investors in the formation of alternative investment vehicles, including pan-Asian private equity funds, venture capital funds, infrastructure and real estate funds, private REITs, hedge funds, hybrid funds, emerging manager platform funds, Hong Kong authorized funds, and emerging market ETFs. In addition, he has advised on more than 150 account arrangements, representing sovereign wealth funds, universities, seeding and first-loss capital programs, family offices and individual investors.

Scott has extensive experience representing both Chinese state-owned enterprises and private companies in a broad range of M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, venture capital financings, as well as relevant regulatory and compliance matters. He also counsels FinTech start-ups, develops compensation and profit-sharing schemes, and assists entrepreneurs in managing their wealth.

Scott has been consistently recognized by various prestigious legal publications such as Chambers Asia, Asia-Pacific Legal 500, IFLR1000 and Who’s Who Legal. He gains high praise from clients for his “commercial acumen” and “awareness of what the client wants.” He is known as “a very experienced practitioner” with “unparalleled” expertise in “complex economic structures”.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:  Thursday, 27 May 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Location: Webinar links will be sent upon registration

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link. 

With recent changes to discrimination laws and the establishment of an anti-sexual harassment specialist unit at the Equal Opportunities Commission, it is increasingly important for employers in Hong Kong to ensure that discrimination initiatives and legislative changes are on their radar and are being appropriately addressed through policies, practices and trainings.  In this session we will provide an update on the key legislative changes and what these mean in practice for employers.  We will also cover common pitfalls that employers make and best practice suggestions for mitigating risks, responding to claims and conducting investigations.

SPEAKER:

Helen Colquhoun,
Partner & Head of Employment Law practice, DLA Piper Hong Kong

Helen Colquhoun is triple qualified in New York, England and Wales, and Hong Kong. She advises employers across a range of industries on both contentious and non-contentious employment issues such as investigations, restrictive covenants, risk management, acquisitions, restructuring, managing employee hiring and terminations, design of incentive schemes, and drafting contracts and handbooks. Helen frequently advises overseas employers on their operations in Hong Kong, including in relation to sensitive and/or C-suite terminations, secondments, dual contracts, enforcement of restrictive covenants, investigations and general HR matters. Helen also routinely oversees regional APAC projects that require advice on local law nuances, trends and approaches on a range of issues, including restructurings, policy roll outs and outsourcing arrangements.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:  Tuesday, 8 June 2021

Time:  1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Location:  webinar links will be forwarded upon registration

How do you know if the choices you are making are right for your legal department, especially now when preparing to move beyond the pandemic? Wouldn’t it be great to test-drive ideas and map out solutions to bring your team, and your company, the greatest benefit? 

The ACC Asia-Pacific Xchange will deliver a unique learning experience designed to make new knowledge stick by offering you a day of learning and a day of doing. The event will offer legal executives, practice leads, and operations professionals the chance to discover best practices and hone the innovation mindset. 

This conference offers an array of programming to help you: 

• Hone leadership skills for innovative thinking and improved decision-making; 
• Build and implement frameworks for improving department practices and processes; 
• Acquire the necessary information to champion cutting-edge ideas that secure C-suite approval; 
• Track metrics to justify investment and show value in new tools and resources; 
• Benchmark where your department stands in relation to peers; and much more! 

For more information visit: www.acc.com/XchangeAPAC  

*Register today using discount code X21APAC to experience what X21 has to offer.

*Must use code to receive US$119 rate

We hope you all have been keeping well and staying safe! The ACC HK Financial Services group’s next lunch circle will be held as a virtual Zoom “lunch” meeting on Tuesday, 4 May 2021 from 12:30 - 2:00 pm.

As with past lunches, the agenda will consist of crowd-sourced discussion topics submitted by attendees so that we can share ideas and input with each other.

There are several topics that the Financial Services Subcommittee Co-Chairs propose for this lunch, including: Hong Kong SFC Consultation on Management and Disclosure of Climate-related Risks; APAC employer programs / efforts to encourage / incentivize employees to get Covid-19 vaccines; and conducting internal investigations during COVID/remote working, but we are also looking for each attendee to propose a topic to discuss.

The details of everything we discuss at the lunch is strictly confidential and subject to Chatham House rules, which will allow our discussion to be fulsome and candid (and as a result, helpful and productive) – our goal is to maximize the input from a broad cross section of firms across various financial services industries in a discreet and confidential setting in order to make the lunch informative and valuable.

We encourage those who have not attended an ACC HK Financial Services group event (or those who have been away for a while) to join us and participate. The event headcount will typically be capped to give everyone time to discuss their topics. We look forward to welcoming you to the lunch!

Venue:  Zoom details will be forwarded upon registration

Date:  Tuesday, 4 May 2021

Time:  12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

RSVP: Monday, 3 May 2021

The ACC Hong Kong Board of Directors invites you to the following presentation, hosted by:

Artificial intelligence is being developed and deployed around the world, across a wide range of industries and markets. Governments, companies and individuals are all reviewing and grappling with its impact – so what does artificial intelligence mean for you and your organisation?

Ashurst and Blu Ltd are excited to present to ACCHK and its members on the fundamentals of and regulatory challenges facing Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AGENDA

1:00 – 1:30 pm: (Kevin Pereira, Managing Director at Blu Ltd – Artificial Intelligence) will break down the fundamentals of AI and what you need to know about it.

1:30 – 1:50 pm: Hoi Tak Leung, (Counsel at Ashurst) will give an overview of the regulatory challenges facing AI in Asia and internationally.

1:50 – 2:00 pm: Q&A

This discussion ties in with our comprehensive "Navigating the AI transformation journey. From investment to implementation" guide, which summarised the legal issues facing organisations who are considering implementing or investing in AI in the context of digital transformation. You can access the guide via this link.

This is a massive topic that we could spend many hours discussing – we look forward to sharing our knowledge on this area with you.

SPEAKERS:

Hoi Tak Leung

Hoi is Counsel in the Ashurst Hong Kong Digital Economy practice. He has a wealth of experience on technology and IP-related matters across Asia. He has advised a broad spectrum of clients from international corporations to startups, spanning from TMT to other sectors such as financial services, insurance, entertainment, education and retail.

Hoi’s practice includes advising on:

• Launch/expansion of B2B and B2C technology services.
• Transaction structuring, contract drafting and negotiations – including outsourcing, procurement, supply and distribution arrangements; technology and content licensing, use and development; cloud computing, data centre and telecommunications/network infrastructure projects; and BAU commercial agreements.
• Technology, IP and data-focused M&As, JVs and other corporate transactions.
• TMT-related issues – including fintech, open data, virtual banking and cryptocurrencies; cybersecurity; data privacy and big data arrangements; and emerging technologies and businesses (e.g. blockchain, smart contracts, facial recognition, AI and e-sports).

Hoi works closely with the Ashurst Advance team – with a particular interest in bringing to clients legal service innovation in technology (including automation of legal tasks and smart contracts-related developments), processes and resources. He writes frequently, and is regularly quoted by the media, on technology law-related topics.

Hoi has been named by Legal 500 as a Rising Star lawyer, and by Chambers Asia Pacific as a Recognised Practitioner in technology law.

Kevin Pereira

Kevin Pereira is currently a Managing Director at Blu Artificial Intelligence, a consulting firm that specializes in Artificial Intelligence. After growing up in Hong Kong, he started his career in Private Banking with Citi in New York. He then moved back to Hong Kong and joined Bank of New York Mellon’s Asset Management business, where he helped to start a new group that specialized in products tailored to High Net Worth Individuals. After obtaining his MBA, Kevin worked at a technology startup in Myanmar that was building internet infrastructure which included fiber optic, cell towers and data centers. Kevin is also a Part-time lecturer at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), where he teaches an MBA course titled, “Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders”. At the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), he teaches “Big Data in Finance”. 

Kevin graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Finance, Management and Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has an MBA from INSEAD.

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration

Date: Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link

The ACC Hong Kong Board of Directors invites you to the following presentation, hosted by:

The purpose of this webinar is to discuss the recent introduction of Hong Kong Government’s SCC 59 which deletes the time honoured dispute resolution process set out in GCC 86 and replaces it with what is described as the Dispute Resolution Advisor (DRAd) System (“DRAd System”).

In fact, the changes go way beyond the role of the DRAd and have far reaching implications for dispute resolution in general under Government Contracts by using final and binding short form arbitration as opposed to adjudication. The adoption of the System is not in itself said to be mandatory, but it is to be broadly adopted across the Works Departments under the Development Bureau, namely ArchSD, CEDD, DSD, EMSD, WSD, and other departments such as HyD, SWD and EPD are encouraged to follow suit. SCC 59 is now commonly starting to appear in new ArchSD tenders.

We recommend you pre-read the following two articles ahead of this webinar 

Sweeping Changes to Government Contracts: Part 1 The Background | Cocking & Co

Sweeping Changes to Government Contracts: Part 2 The New DRAd System | Cocking & Co

SPEAKERS:

Ian Cocking, Cocking & Co

Ian is a founding partner of Cocking & Co, an independent law firm specialized in construction. Ian is recognised as one of the leading legal advisers to the construction, engineering and project development industries in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. Ian is an accredited mediator and an accredited adjudicator.

Dennis Wong, Cocking & Co

Dennis has been working with Ian Cocking since 2005. Dennis has handled many international and domestic arbitrations involving construction projects. He is experienced in advising various stakeholders in the construction industry including governments, employers, contractors, engineers, and a variety of other clients.   

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration

Date:  Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link

The ACC Hong Kong Board of Directors invites you to the following presentation, hosted by:

The Labour Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to determine most employment-related claims. Therefore, when employment disputes arise, employers will often find themselves in situations requiring the assistance from and attendance at the Labour Tribunal. Understanding the rules and procedures adopted by the Labour Tribunal is therefore vital to in-house counsel, who are often required to provide legal advice and look after various aspects of a labour claim by employees against the employer, and even attend Labour Tribunal proceedings.

This webinar will give you the essentials of Labour Tribunal proceedings. We will discuss practical legal and procedural issues commonly faced by employers and employees in Labour Tribunal proceedings:

• What is the Labour Tribunal? What does it do?
• What kind of claims can you bring before the Tribunal?
• How do you file a claim? What happens after you file a claim?
• Who are the Tribunal Officers? What are their roles?
• What do you need to do when a claim has been filed against you?
• Can you settle the claim? How do you do it?
• Can you instruct lawyers to represent you?
• What happens at the call-over hearing?
• What happens at the trial?
• What happens after the trial?
• Can you claim costs?

SPEAKERS:

Michael Szeto, ONC Lawyers

Michael Szeto is a litigation partner of ONC Lawyers and heads the firm’s Employment practice. He has many years of experience in handling complex commercial dispute resolution, shareholders’ and joint venture disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency matters, debt recovery and mortgagee actions. He also routinely deals with regulatory actions and compliance matters under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Hong Kong listing rules and anti-money laundering laws and guidelines.

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration

Date:  Tuesday, 13 April 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

CPD Points: CPD points have been applied for.  Please note you need to be logged in for the full duration of the webinar to qualify for CPD points. Unfortunately, points cannot be applied for members who join the webinar via telephone link