Hong Kong Time

Generative AI holds significant transformative potential for the legal profession and is already being adopted for use by some of the world’s major law firms and by many legal tech vendors.

ChatGPT hit the world by storm in late 2022 and is the best known, general, open source generative AI large language model (LLM). “Harvey”, Counsel AI’s proprietary generative AI platform built on GPT-4 and developed specifically for lawyers is the best example of a LLM relevant to the legal profession. There are no Harvey demos available on the internet, and PwC is the only one of the Big 4 licensed to use Harvey, so come along to this exclusive ACC HK session if you’re interested in seeing Harvey in action.

But generative AI technologies like Harvey and ChatGPT are not the only game in town that can modernise and transform the way you practice law in-house. Leading GC’s in Hong Kong have already implemented different legal tech solutions ranging from intake & triage systems to legal operations, contract lifecycle management, document management, matter management and knowledge management solutions to name a few. Hear first-hand from three forward-thinking GCs about their views on legal tech, and the efficiency and cost-saving benefits that such investment delivers both their in-house legal team and their internal business clients.

This is a not-to-be-missed event. Register now as places are limited.

Sharyn Ch’ang, NewLaw Leader

Sharyn Ch’ang is PwC Hong Kong’s NewLaw Leader and a founding Director of PwC’s Asia Pacific NewLaw team.

With an extensive global career including as a law firm partner and general counsel, Sharyn understands the reality of legal practice, and works with Chief Legal Officers, General Counsels and their teams as a transformation adviser, assisting them to deliver higher value legal work, whilst leveraging legal tech, generative AI and innovation to improve internal operational efficiencies and cost-effectiveness.

When Sharyn was in-house, she served on the ACC Hong Kong Board for a decade including as President.

Vincent Ng, Head of Public Affairs

Vincent Ng is the General Counsel and Head of Public Affairs at Klook, an Asia-based travel platform. As the first lawyer at Klook, he established the legal and compliance function with eight professionals in a year. During the Covid pandemic, Vincent led the legal team to support various company initiatives, pivoting into new businesses that sustained the growth of the company.

Prior to joining Klook, Vincent has years of experience in hotel management transactions in Asia with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. He is trained as a capital markets and M&A lawyer, having worked at Deutsche Bank’s in-house legal team and also Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Bernard Tan, Chief Counsel, Integrated Regulatory Office

Bernard Tan is Chief Counsel, Integrated Regulatory Office (IRO) at SAP, a market leader in enterprise cloud services and application software with customers across more than 180 countries. He co-leads a global cross-department program designed to make regulatory compliance of SAP Cloud products scalable and sustainable. Prior to IRO, Bernard was Chief Counsel, Cybersecurity at SAP and co-led SAP’s Cybersecurity Legal function. Bernard is a director of ACC Hong Kong and has served as an IAPP KnowledgeNet Hong Kong Chapter Co-Chair. Bernard graduated from Stanford Law School with an LLM degree in Law Science & Technology and has an MSc degree and an LLB degree from the National University of Singapore. He also holds IAPP CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPP/A and CIPM certifications.

Laurence Rudge, General Counsel

Laurence Rudge is the General Counsel at Li & Fung, a multinational supply chain solutions company. Laurence has been based in Hong Kong for over 20 years, working as a partner at Slaughter and May until 2015 before moving in-house to join L&F.

Laurence leads a team that advises the business on commercial contracts, corporate and financing transactions, regulatory issues and disputes.

The legal team has recently led a project to introduce a new AI-driven contract management platform. The go-live date was 17 August and Laurence looks forward to sharing his early experiences as a proud father of a newborn platform.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Time:

12.25 pm to 12.30 pm - Registration 

12:30 pm to 1:00 pm - Light Lunch

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm - Presentation 

Location:

PwC Hong Kong, 21st Floor Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark Building, 15 Queen’s Road, Central

CPD Point(s):

Hong Kong qualified lawyers are eligible to receive 1 CPD point for this seminar, subject to approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong.

The session will be an introduction to Islamic Finance in Banking Transactions and will look at the key basic principles behind Islamic Finance, primary Shari’ah prohibitions which shape Islamic Finance, key issues for counsel to understand in negotiating Islamic Finance transactions and Sukuks and Islamic Finance in the Debt Capital Markets.

Neil Cuthbert, Senior Legal Advisor

Neil is a Senior Legal Advisor specialising in project and infrastructure financings in Dentons' Dubai office. He has been based in Dubai since 2001. He has over 40 years' experience advising banks, governments, borrowers, sponsors and others in project financing transactions covering a wide of range industries, including oil and gas, electricity, water, mining, leisure, transportation and telecommunications. He also has a general banking practice that includes advising banks, borrowers and others on a wide range of banking products, including, lending, structured finance, derivatives, trade finance, development finance and restructurings.

He has lectured extensively on a wide range of banking subjects including at the Euromoney Winter and Summer Schools of Project Finance. He is the author of the firm's Standard Introduction to Project Finance and is a past leader of its International Projects Group.

Neil was head of the Dubai office from 2001 to 2010. He was Managing Partner of the firm's Middle East offices from 2005 to 2011 and was the Senior Partner of the firm's Middle East offices. He was also a member of the Policy and Planning Board of Dentons UKMEA LLP and sat on the General Advisory Committee of Dentons. He was a member of the Global Board of Dentons from 2011 to 2015.

James Osun- Sanmi, Senior Associate

James Osun-Sanmi is a Senior Associate in the Debt Capital Markets and Islamic Finance practices in Dentons’ Dubai office. He has 9 years' experience working on a wide range of conventional and Islamic international debt capital markets transactions including advising governments, financial institutions and general corporate clients.

He has extensive experience acting for issuers, dealers and managers on issuances inside and outside the GCC under both Regulation S and Rule 144A formats. He has worked on a wide range of different issuance formats, including standalone issuances, program updates and issuances, regulatory capital issuances, corporate hybrid issuances, ESG issuances, and tender offers and consent solicitations.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:

Thursday, 21 September 2023

Time:

12:30 pm to 12:45 pm - Registration 

12:45 pm to 12:50 pm - Opening Speech by Keith Brandt

12:50 pm to 2:00 pm - Presentation and Lunch

Location:

The China Club, Central, Hong Kong

CPD Point(s):

Hong Kong qualified lawyers are eligible to receive 1 CPD point for this seminar, subject to approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong.

You are cordially invited to register now for our upcoming seminar and networking event subjected:

 The Latest Regulatory Developments arising from the Anti-Money Laundering Amendment Ordinance which came into force on June 1, 2023

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

The latest amendments enacted by the government in relation to implementing its stringent Anti-Money Laundering policy dictated by Financial Action Task Force embodied several changes involving DNFBPs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions). New requirements include the obligation to conduct a periodic self-assessment of risk and stricter monitoring by the regulatory profession.

As a result of changes to the Ordinance, the Law Society now has power of inspection of its members and firms in relation to their implementation of the requirements of Practice Direction P regarding Client Due Diligence requirements.

This seminar will focus on those changes and requirements as far as they pertain to law firms and to in-house lawyers.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Michael Lintern-Smith, Consultant of Robertsons

Michael Lintern-Smith is a former president of the Law Society who has practised in Hong Kong since 1981 as a solicitor and is a notary public.

He has occupied many government-appointed positions and he is the current Chairman of the Law Society’s Committee on Anti-Money Laundering. He has chaired that Committee since 2004.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:

Wednesday, 13 September 2023

Time:

6:15 pm to 6:30 pm – Registration

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm – Seminar

7:30 pm to 8:30 pm – Networking with Refreshments

Location:

Robertsons, 57th Floor, The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

CPD Point(s):

Hong Kong qualified lawyers are eligible to receive 1 CPD point for this seminar, subject to approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Fee:

Free of charge

CO-ORGANISER:

Event Description:

As part of its citywide educational campaign, the Hong Kong Competition Commission is organising a webinar on “Resale Price Maintenance” (RPM) on 20 September to enhance legal professionals’ awareness and understanding of RPM and its potential harm as well as to encourage compliance. 

Content Highlights:

• Key elements of Competition Ordinance
• What is resale price maintenance (RPM)? 
• What are the consequences of engaging in RPM?
• Are there any exclusions?
• Can suppliers set recommended resale prices?
• Practical tips for suppliers and distributors
• Examples / case studies
• Q&A

Speaker Details

Mr. Zairan Ishak - Principal Manager (Operations), Competition Commission

Mr. Duy Pham - Of Counsel, Competition Commission

Event details

Event Description:

Ensuring proper disclosures by listed issuers remain one of the cornerstone enforcement priorities for the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (“HKEX”). In particular, there is a growing emphasis placed by the SFC and the HKEX for listed issuers to make their disclosures on a timely basis and to ensure the contents are factually accurate, complete and not misleading. The central premise is that disclosure of information is a key requirement to enable investors to have sufficient information to make informed decisions on their investments in listed issuers. Enforcement cases in recent years have underscored the importance for listed issuers to scrutinise their public announcements more closely to ensure the information is not just accurate, but also materially complete.

In this webinar, two speakers from Sidley Austin’s contentious regulatory team of China Corporate & Finance Group, will provide a practical overview of the SFC and the HKEX’s enforcement approach to disclosure failures and will cover topical issues including:

1. A general overview of the relevant statutory and listing rule requirements on disclosures;

2. The SFC and the HKEX’s recent enforcement priorities and trends;

3. Key enforcement actions by the SFC and the HKEX on disclosure failures; and

Stephanie Chan, Partner

Ms. Stephanie Chan is a Partner of Sidley Austin. Stephanie specialises in commercial litigation, contentious regulatory matters and international arbitration. Stephanie has extensive experience in advising multinational and Chinese companies in a broad range of commercial disputes across multiple jurisdictions, with a particular focus on cross-border contractual disputes, joint venture and shareholder disputes, fraud, enforcement of securities and debt recovery. She also has assisted numerous clients from across different industry sectors including financial services, mining, real estate, entertainment, energy, medical as well as manufacturing. Stephanie also has particular expertise in advising multinational companies, PRC state-owned enterprises, international investment banks, Chinese banks, private equity funds and asset managers in regulatory investigations conducted by regulatory and enforcement authorities including the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Commercial Crime Bureau.

Stephanie has been recognized several times as a Next Generation Lawyer and Partner in Regulatory by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. Stephanie is most recently ranked as an Up and Coming lawyer in Dispute Resolution: Litigation by Chambers Greater China Region 2023, and is also recognized by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2023 in Litigation, Arbitration and Restructuring and Insolvency. In Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023, she is described by clients as “a robust and diligent litigator with substantial experience and expertise in handling commercial disputes and contentious regulatory matters”. Clients also recognize her “great commercial sense”, “strong language ability” and “excellent client management”, and appreciate her “solid legal knowledge” and “strategic advice” in settling “big-money and highly complex dispute,” and that “she often goes above and beyond to ensure a positive outcome is achieved,” as quoted in Chambers Greater China Region 2023.

Adrian Tang, Senior Associate

Mr. Adrian Tang is a Senior Associate of Sidley Austin. Adrian’s practice focuses on contentious regulatory matters, commercial litigation, and international arbitration. Adrian has extensive experience in and frequently advises Hong Kong listed companies, PRC state-owned enterprises, and international investment banks in regulatory investigations conducted by regulatory and enforcement authorities, including the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Securities and Futures Commission, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Adrian has also worked closely with and acted for a number of multinational and Chinese companies, international banks, and high net worth individuals in a broad range of commercial disputes, including cross-border contractual disputes, and joint venture and shareholder disputes, before the Hong Kong courts, arbitral tribunals and mediators. While working for the Dispute Resolution team at a Silver Circle firm, Adrian was seconded to a major international investment bank to work as an in-house counsel and gained valuable experience in handling a range of internal investigations, regulatory enquiries and litigation matters.

Adrian was recently recognized as a key lawyer in Restructuring and Insolvency by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023 and was described by his clients as “a resourceful and diligent lawyer with a promising future in the profession”.

Event details

We're thrilled to announce that Lexology Live: Hong Kong is back for its 3rd edition on 14 September 2023, taking place at the Regal Hotel, Hong Kong.

The event, supported by ACC Hong Kong, will tackle key issues that in-house and compliance professionals face, providing local and regional solutions to build legal and compliance risk resilience.

It is the perfect opportunity for you to network with over 100 senior in-house counsel and government representatives from multinational law practices, global consulting firms, supply chain management and technology companies.

ACC Member In-house counsel and government representatives are welcome on a complimentary basis. Secure your free ticket today here.

We look forward to seeing you at this event. Should you have any questions, please contact us at eventshk@accglobal.com.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:

Thursday, 14 September 2023

Time:

09:00 AM to 5:00 PM 

Location:

Regal Hotel, Hong Kong

CPD Point(s):

Hong Kong qualified lawyers are eligible to receive 5 CPD point for this seminar, subject to approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong.

This seminar is designed to help in-house lawyers at all levels get comfortable with common concepts and principles of accounting that often arise in legal work.  The seminar is intended to be pragmatic and non-technical and focus on the story that financial statements tell about a company overall.

In this seminar, we’ll cover:

• The key tenets of US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
• How in-house lawyers can leverage commercial insights from financial statements;
• How in-house lawyers can identify patterns in financial statements that might suggest potential legal and regulatory concerns;
• The auditor process and the different scope of auditor opinions; and the relationship between financial statements and a company’s internal control function.

Anil Motwani, CFA

Anil Motwani is a counsel in the Asia Investment Funds practice. He is based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Motwani’s practice focuses on advising Asia-based sponsors on the formation and operation of private funds, including private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, as well as hedge funds. He is experienced in structuring funds that invest across China, India and other Asian markets, as well as globally. Mr. Motwani routinely provides regulatory and compliance advice to investment funds and their managers.

He has represented institutional investors in their global alternative investments, including sovereign wealth funds, family offices and the alternative investment arms of major banks.

In addition, Mr. Motwani provides legal advice to non-US corporations and underwriters under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940 in connection with equity and debt offerings and other financing transactions.

Mr. Motwani is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:

Tuesday, 08 August 2023

Time:

12:30 pm to 1:00 pm - Registration and Lunch

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm - Presentation 

Location:

Shearman & Sterling 21st Floor, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark 15 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong

CPD Point(s):

Hong Kong qualified lawyers are eligible to receive 1 CPD point for this seminar, subject to approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong.

CLE Credit(s):

This course has been approved for NY, CA, and TX Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit for newly-admitted and experienced lawyers. Attendees will receive approximately 1 New York Professional Practice credits (pending); 1 California General credits (pending); and 1 Texas credit hours (pending). This course’s non-traditional format is appropriate for newly-admitted lawyers.