India Forges Ahead with Double FDI Inflows & Make in India Week
The first two months of 2016 have seen some significant developments for India’s foreign investment scenario. It received a boost from a global report declaring huge jump in foreign investment inflows. Going with the positive flow, the Government organized the ‘Make in India Week’ to boost […]
California Western School of Law holds symposium on current trends in Asia-Pacific legal markets
The California Western School of Law in San Diego, California held a symposium on current trends in the Asia-Pacific Legal Markets on February 17th & 18th, 2016. The Symposium began the evening of the 17th with a lecture by Fernando Dias Simões of the Faculty of Law […]
Singapore-based legal startup LawCanvas expands into Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong
Recent months have seen a flurry of activity among legal startups in the Asia-Pacific region. In late 2015, Hong Kong-based legal startup Dragon Law expanded into Singapore, while Australian Cloud-based legal services start-up LawPath closed a $1.3m bridge funding round. Anna Zhang, writing in The Asian Lawyer, […]
American companies poured $32.3 billion into Southeast Asia from 2012 to 2014
This week in California US and ASEAN political leaders gathered for the US-ASEAN Leaders Summit 2016. Among the topics discussed was the expanding trade and investment relationship between the US and ASEAN region economies. Reporting on the event, Joe Cochrane detailed in the New York Times that […]
Dragon Law to launch Legal Startup Academy in Singapore
Asia-Pacific Region Legal Startup Dragon Law will launch Legal Startup Academy in Singapore, beginning February 26th, 2016. This is the first of six modules that Dragon Law will run once monthly from now until July, 2016. Each module will target legal essentials at different stages of […]
Australian legal startup Crowd & Co is creating an online market for corporate legal services
Australia-based legal startup Crowd & Co, launched on 30 November 2015, is aiming to help corporations and lawyers alike efficiently source help on transactions via a proprietary online matchmaking platform. Inspired by the engineering sector Similar to American middle-market focused deal sourcing platform Axial, Crowd & […]
Asia-Pacific Region legal startups: An interview with Cherilyn Tan, CEO of AsiaLawNetwork.com
The Asia-Pacific Region holds an ideal mix of opportunity and innovation for legal services providers. In 2016, the Asia-Pacific legal market is now home to a growing number of legal startups and the entrepreneurs leading them, including Dragon Law, LawPath, LegalVision, Conventus Law and AsiaLawNetwork.com. The region is also […]
Switchover to India’s Overhauled External Borrowing Regulations
The new year began with a big bang for start-ups in India. The Government of India announced a new strategy to support start-ups. A detailed action plan in this regard has been prepared by it. The Government has taken various measures to improve the ease of […]
Beijing set to power Asian infrastructure deals
“The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the first multilateral financial institution launched by China…open[ed] for business on Jan. 16, as the Asia Times reported. The AIIB’s mandate will be to fund [infrastructure] development both inside and outside of Asia. “From 2010 to 2020, Asian countries will […]
Who were the top 20 law firms in Asian M&A in 2015?
MergerMarket have just released their Q4 2015 Global Legal Advisor Trend Report, which details how “Asia-Pacific (excl. Japan) M&A activity reached a peak [in 2015]. The reported details 3,797 deals worth US$ 927.8bn, the third consecutive annual increase by value, overtaking all yearly values on record. Too, […]
Demand for legal services continues to globalize
The demand for legal services is continuing to globalize, according to a recent report published by Managing Partner Forum and coauthored by Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt Consulting. “The more global nature of legal work has particularly aided Am Law 50 firms”, the report concludes, “even […]
30 people to watch in the business of law in Asia in 2016
In 2015, the Asia-Pacific legal markets saw a deepening of competition among a larger number and form of legal services provider. From global law firms utilizing mergers to international law firms seeking to emulate market gains by NewLaw firms – to the increasing ascendance of legal […]
Arbitration Becomes Regulated in India…Finally!
The Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act) was enacted to overhaul the then archaic Arbitration Act, 1940. It was a well enacted law in those days of early arbitration when court proceedings had not only become lengthy and tiresome, but also expensive for the clients. However, […]
Investment from China a focus of the 2015 Milken Institute California Summit
China’s investment into California was a focus of the 2015 Milken Institute California Summit, held today in Marina Del Rey, California. Curtis S. Chin, Asia Fellow at the Milken Institute and Former U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, moderated a panel discussion on Strategies to Attract […]
Sweeping Changes to India’s FDI Policy
Liberalisation of India’s economy has always been on the cards in Modi Government’s agenda from the start. However, it chose the time of heavy electoral losses in state of Bihar to announce the goodies for foreign investors. The sweeping changes to the FDI policy were announced […]
What opportunity do law firm mergers in Asia create for foreign law firms?
Local law firms in China remain the most attractive merger partners in Asia for foreign law firms, according to Hong Kong-based Ben Cooper, Managing Director, GRMExecutive. Cooper outlines the reasons why these mergers remain so attractive in this interview: What opportunity do law firm mergers in Asia create […]
How social media is helping Malaysia legal career website Office Parrots achieve success
From traditional law firms to NewLaw firms, legal startups to legal recruiters, a wide variety of legal services sector organizations are utilizing social media as a means to increase visibility and attract new clients. In legal recruitment in the Asia-Pacific region in particular, Major Lindsey & […]
How can law help facilitate more efficient flow of Asia-Pacific trade? An interview with Prakash Pillai
The Singapore Academy of Law is organizing an international conference on January 21 and 22, 2016 in Singapore with a focus on the increasing homogenization of cross-border trade practices and regulatory mechanisms amid rising economic integration in Asia. As the event website outlines: “Among the business […]
TheMalaysianLawyer.com is launched: An interview with co-founder Marcus van Geyzel
As Office Parrots blog outlined last month, two “seasoned Malaysian legal professionals with more than ten years’ experience [recently came] together to launch TheMalaysianLawyer.com. Founded by Lee Shih, Partner with Skrine, and Marcus van Geyzel, Partner with Peter Ling & van Geyzel, who’s also founder of the widely-read Malaysian law blog LoyarBurok.com , […]
Nominations open for who to follow in the business of law in Asia in 2016
In January of 2015 Asia Law Portal published: 30 people to watch in the business of law in Asia in 2015. As 2016 approaches, Asia Law Portal is welcoming nominations for people to follow in the business of law in Asia in 2016. Asia Law Portal will publish […]
India Tops Global FDI Chart, Attracts Largest Investment & Boosts ‘Make In India’
India’s capability as a top foreign investment destination hit a new high as it emerged the leader in FDI for Greenfield investment. Two high-profile deals were also signed to stamp India’s prominence in this space. India Top Global FDI Destination For Greenfield Investments – India is […]
From Lawyers to Malaysia startup entrepreneurs: An interview with the founders of Kaodim.com
Jeff Cheong and Fui Choong both left careers as lawyers to launch Kaodim in November of 2014. Malaysia-based Kaodim is a web/mobile application allowing people to hire and compare professionals providing home services and repairs.The platform grows many small and medium businesses along the way. Kaodim is backed by […]