Bringing the In-House Counsel Community together in Hong Kong, again.

A look into the Hong Kong In-House Community Congress, 2022

On 15 November 2022, we were once again able to meet in person for the 24th annual Hong Kong In-House Community Congress at the J.W. Marriott, Hong Kong. The day presented a refreshing reminder of the value of face-to-face interaction as we delved into various topics of interest to our in-house community. The congress was also available to join via Zoom. 

The event brought together a mix of top in-house lawyers, CEOs, compliance professionals and company directors operating in both the public and private sectors in Hong Kong. 

Together with the In-House Community team, co-hosts Debevoise & Plimpton, the Maples Group, Simmons & Simmons Adaptive and Robert Walters facilitated a day of learning and teasing out of difficult topics common to those in the profession.

The day kicked off with opening remarks from In-House Community publisher, Rahul Prakash, who also moderated a panel discussion on Budget Management for the In-House Legal Department. Panelists Shih-Jern Liang (General Counsel, Ralph Lauren), Kevin So (General Counsel, Arcadis) and Stanley Lui (Legal Director, TI Fluid Systems) (with additional pre-panel input from Amy Ang, General Counsel, CBRE) offered their learned insights on scoping for internal budgets and managing predictable costs whilst preparing for those unforeseen. 

We further extend our thanks to various partners that offered workshops for our attendees, all presenting valuable takeaways to shape future practice:

• Debevoise and Plimpton (with Counsel Philip Rohlik and International Counsel Samuel Fung) workshopped on SFC and US SEC Enforcement Priorities
• Simmons & Simmons Adaptive (with Partner and Head of Adaptive Sarah James) presented on the Rise of Legal Consultants and How Law Firms are Using Flexible Resourcing Solutions
• Simmons & Simmons also offered the final workshop of the day on Data Protection Laws: How they affect Hong Kong employees (with Partner Sarah Berkeley and Consultant Michelle Ta)

We furthermore heard from the Maples Group, with speakers Karen Zhang Pallaras (Partner) and Eastern Fong (Regional Head of Fund Services).

IT WAS GREAT TO ATTEND THE IHC CONGRESS IN-PERSON AGAIN. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2023 CONGRESS! 

 – GENERAL COUNSEL AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A HONG KONG CONGLOMERATE

Closing out a long, fruitful day of shared learning, Johnny Hui (Senior Consultant, Robert Walters) shared some key findings from the legal recruitment firm’s upcoming salary survey. Alix Povey (Hong Kong Legal Walk Steering Committee) spoke about how the initiative has almost reached its goal of raising HK$ 1 million to help select charities in Hong Kong (which it in few days’ time). 

We trust the day offered all those in attendance some new points for reflection to inform professional practice going forward. We look forward to again meeting with our partners and attendees in Hong Kong next year. The Hong Kong In-House Community Congress will return in October 2023. 

We would like to thank our sponsors, Debevoise & Plimpton, Simmons & Simmons Adaptive, Maples Group and Robert Walters. 

For more information about being part of the 2023 Congress, please email us at congress@inhousecommunity.com

Click on the image below to read more articles from Dec 2022 issue of IHC Magazine including Legal Innovation and Technology