4th Asian Regional Conference, World Law Group
On March 4-6, VILAF, the sole Vietnam firm member of the World Law Group (WLG), hosted the 4th Asian Regional Conference in Des Artes Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Widely attended by member firms from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, the three-day conference aimed to strengthen ties between the member firms and provide a platform to discuss relevant legal business topics.
The President of the WLG Swee Kee Ng, also a delegate from Shearn Delamore & Co., gave the opening remarks followed by VILAF’s Ho Chi Minh City Managing Partner, Nguyen Truc Hien, who gave a short introduction about VILAF and a rundown of the conference activities. Guest speaker, Nathan Lane, the Economic Officer from the US Ho Chi Minh Consulate, also gave a brief background on the relationship of the US and Vietnam over the past years.
At the conference, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam International Centre (VIAC) Vu Xuan Phong gave an introductory session on the history of VIAC and the development of legislation on commercial arbitration in Vietnam.
The first plenary revolved on the discussion on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – What it Means for Asian Signatories and Non-signatories and How it Fits with ASEAN and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Nathan Lane once again took to the podium to present the TPP overview and the benefits of cross-cutting. From Bay Global Strategies perspective on the TPP, its President and CEO, Virginia Foote further discussed its benefits and risks, especially on Vietnam’s economy.
The second plenary was a discussion on client expectations together with prominent general counsels from various industries. Chief Legal Counsel from Dragon Capital, Tom Vaizey served as the moderator to panelists, Lam Vu Thao (Head of Legal, Patents & Compliance, Bayer Vietnam), and La Thi Thanh Huyen (Senior Legal Counsel of Mondelez International Holdings, LLC).
In the closing plenary, Jessada Sawatdipong, Asia-Pacific Regional Director of the World Law Group and delegate from Chandler & Thong-ek, encouraged the WLG members to take active participation in the activities of the WLG and presented the programs in place such as the Global Internship Program and the International Internship Program.
Senior Partner and WLG contact member, Ngo Thanh Tung of VILAF thanked the delegates for their participation and gave the closing remarks.
The 4th Asian Regional Conference was a successful meeting of minds of WLG law firms in Asia that further strengthened the relationship of WLG members.