Hong Kong Time

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

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

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

This seminar will cover how to design an overall patent strategy for China; whether to patent or not; Freedom to Operate (identifying patents that your company may infringe; developing work arounds, invalidating or being prepared to invalidate); Administrative remedies (including customs protection); and litigation and arbitration both inside and outside China.

SPEAKERS:

Douglas Clark and Li Mi

Doug Clark is the Global Head of Dispute Resolution at Rouse. He has been practicing IP law in China and Hong Kong for over 25 years. For 11 years he was based in Shanghai where he established and ran the IP group of a major international law firm. Doug handles as counsel patent litigation and arbitration cases in China and other countries and has sat as an arbitrator on a number of high tech patent cases in China. He practiced as a barrister for 9 years before joining Rouse in 2020. He is author of Patent Litigation in China (2015, OUP) and co-author of Intellectual Property in China (2021, Max Planck) in which he contributed the chapter on enforcement of IP rights. Doug speaks Mandarin and Japanese.

Li Mi is the head Principal and Head of China Patent Group at Lusheng Law Firm, a member of the Rouse Network. With an IP practice spanning over 20 years, Li Mi has extensive experience in advising businesses to capture and securing valuable IP assets, conducting competitive landscape searches, managing IP portfolio, mitigating potential IP risks, and supporting IP transactions. Her technical expertise includes machinery, electro-mechanics, engineering technology, and semiconductor technology.

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration

Date:  Wednesday, 24 March 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:

As the future becomes increasingly unpredictable, it's becoming harder for businesses to make short-term and long-term strategic decisions. There is one thing that could help - data and metrics! Data is known to be the new oil of the digital era and is becoming a priority for many legal teams.

COVID has pushed many of us to look at much-needed changes in our organisations and legal teams, and enabling a more data-driven culture through the use of metrics is high on the priority list. In this session, we will discuss with our esteemed panel of legal leaders their insights on data as well as their journey on driving a culture where data is at the centre of decision-making.

Key themes will include:

• How do you start enabling a data-driven culture in legal teams?
• How do you build and drive a data strategy?
• What are some of the key kind of data metrics to look at?
• What are some useful tools and technologies for measuring data?
• What impact has this had on the operating model of your legal team?  

This will be an important session for those legal leaders who want to take their legal teams into the new digital era. Be sure to join this important conversation!

SPEAKERS:

Titus Rahiri - CEO & Founder, KorumLegal

Titus Rahiri is a founder, legal innovator and experienced general counsel with nearly 20 years’ experience in private practice, in-house in listed companies (NASDAQ, FTSE and NZX) as well as start-up companies. Titus previously held a senior legal leadership role at Expedia Inc. and has led legal teams globally. He has a keen interest in the business of law and technology-enabled legal solutions. Having worked in his native New Zealand, London, and Hong Kong and across many countries, Titus became increasingly frustrated by the lack of innovation in the legal sector and recognised the need for innovation and transformation in the legal services space. He decided to be the change he wanted to see with the launch of KorumLegal in March 2016 – a legal solutions company providing a platform for bespoke People, Process and Technology and Managed Legal Services solutions across Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Jacqueline Schrader - Jacqueline Schrader is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Executive General Manager, General Counsel Group Services Legal. In this role, she leads the Group’s Regulatory, Litigation, Employment, Financial Advice, Superannuation and Institutional Banking & Markets legal teams. Prior to this, Jacqui led the Commonwealth Bank’s response to the Financial Services Royal Commission in Australia.

From 2015 Jacqui was based in Hong Kong as Executive Legal Counsel, International Financial Services, and was responsible for leading the Legal and Governance function for the Commonwealth Bank’s retail and commercial banking, digital banking and life insurance businesses in China, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam.

Since joining the Commonwealth Bank in 2009 Jacqui has held roles in Legal, as head of the Corporate Advisory and M&A legal team and in Group Strategy as a General Manager.

Prior to joining the Commonwealth Bank, Jacqueline worked at Macquarie Group and started her career at Ashurst (then Blake Dawson Waldron) in the corporate and financial services practice groups.

Benjamin Quinlan - Benjamin Quinlan is the CEO and Managing Partner of Quinlan & Associates. He is also the Chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong, an Adjunct Professor at the AIT School of Management, and a Senior Advisor for a number of leading startups.

Benjamin has an extensive track record advising many of the world’s leading multinational companies, financial services organisations, SMEs and start-ups on a variety of high-profile strategic engagements. He is quoted extensively in the global financial press and is frequently interviewed by leading media outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, and Channel New Asia. He is also a regular keynote speaker at leading financial services industry conferences across the world.

Prior to founding Quinlan & Associates, Benjamin was the Head of Strategy for Deutsche Bank’s Equities business in Asia Pacific and its Investment Bank in Greater China. Before Deutsche, he worked at Oliver Wyman, UBS, and PwC in Hong Kong and Sydney.

Grace Chan - Grace is an experienced regional legal counsel with a proven track record in advising businesses on cross-border commercial contracts and a range of legal issues in the Asia-Pacific region, with a keen interest in data privacy laws and regulations. She is CIPP/E certified and served as a director on the board of ACC Hong Kong from May 2016 to June 2020.

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration.

Date: Wednesday, 10 March 2021

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

CPD Points:  Will not apply.

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

In collaboration with EY, this session will focus on the typical fund structures and recent tax developments impacting the funds industry in Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong and Singapore are well known as regional fund management hubs, and they have continued to evolve their regimes and initiatives (in terms of fund structures and tax exemption regimes) to meet the commercial needs of the industry and attract further investment.

The session will address Hong Kong vs Singapore as a fund platform location, including the recent introduction of a new Hong Kong Limited Partnership regime and the reform of the Hong Kong Open-Ended Fund Company regime; as well as the Singapore Variable Capital Company structure; and how they can be used within the fund structure. Further, the session will provide a quick overview of the recently gazetted Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions for Carried Interest) Bill 2021 in Hong Kong.

SPEAKERS:

Vanessa Chan
Partner, Ernst & Young Tax Services Limited, Hong Kong

Vanessa is a Hong Kong based partner in the International Tax Services team within the Asia-Pacific Financial Services Group, focusing on International tax and Hong Kong tax. She has 20 years of tax experience and has extensive in-house tax experience and expertise in regional tax management. She also has deep knowledge and understanding of fund formation and fund structuring from the Hong Kong tax perspective and extensive experience in advising funds and investors on fund formation and fund structuring of investments.

Christy Ngai
Manager, Ernst & Young Tax Services Limited, Hong Kong

Christy is a Hong Kong based manager in the International Tax Services team within the Asia-Pacific Financial Services Group, specializing in providing Hong Kong and international tax advisory services to Private Equity and Real Estate funds.

She has solid experience in advising private equity and real estate funds as regards to the fund and deal structure, tax disclosures in fund documentation and ongoing compliance requirements.

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

Employment Law Trends in Hong Kong and Mainland China - The Impact of COVID-19 and Topical Issues Facing Employers

Join Registered Foreign Lawyer Matthew Durham from boutique dispute resolution law firm Gall to learn more about the many Hong Kong and PRC employment law issues and challenges which have arisen as a result of the global pandemic. From working from home (WFH), to working from abroad, to annual leave log-jams, to redundancies and restructurings, as well as occupational health and safety, this is an opportunity for you to learn more about the key employment law themes that have shaped 2020 and remain relevant for the year ahead.

Matthew will share a presentation on these topics before addressing questions from the audience.

SPEAKER:

Matthew Durham joined Gall’s Employment practice as an England and Wales qualified Registered Foreign Lawyer in January 2021 and is an experienced employment lawyer specialising in employment matters with over 20 years’ experience in Asia. He is known in the market for advising multi-national companies on the full range of employment issues relating to hiring and separating, employment contracts, handbooks and policies, international secondments, transactions and restructurings, labour unions, stock options and incentive schemes, social insurance and welfare schemes, employee fraud, and restrictive covenants.

Matthew also advises employees and individuals on a wide variety of employer-facing issues, including contracts and terms, conduct issues, whistleblowing and separations. He also handles contentious matters such as labour disputes, investigations, director and executive liability, and sexual harassment issues.

Venue: Webinar details will be forwarded upon registration

Date:  Thursday, 25 February 2021

Time: 4:00 pm to 5:00 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