This month’s tragic events in Japan, triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, have shocked people around the world. The sheer scale of the catastrophe and loss of life cannot fail to have moved even the most hardened of observers, and countless organisations and individuals have been busy raising funds for the relief effort. Japanese officials have estimated it will cost as much as 25 trillion yen (US$309bn) to rebuild the country after the disaster.
As fears of a nuclear fallout from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant spread in the days following the quake, residents and workers fled Tokyo in their thousands, many expatriates returning to the safety of their home countries.
But as many international lawyers were fleeing the Japanese capital, one English barrister was heading into the danger zone on a mission to reach his family and get them out. Matthew Seligman, of London based Steel & Shamash Solicitors, didn’t hesitate to make the daunting journey to Tsunami-hit Sendai – the city closest to the earthquake’s epicentre – to be with his wife, Hiromi, nine year old daughter Daisy, and ‘Shark’ and ‘Dolphin’, their two cats.
Matthew, who is also an internationally acclaimed musician, kept his Facebook friends updated with his progress, and has kindly allowed ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL to share abridged highlights of his courageous journey with the in-house community.

Unique to Vietnam, geographical indications (GI’s) provide a means by which locals and overseas applicants can protect their products. Hoai Nguyen and Stanislas Barro of Rouse Legal take us through some of the benefits and drawbacks of registration and explain why change is on the cards.

CEOs and General Counsel share a sympatico that is hard to define. The role of in-house counsel has evolved to the extent that they have crossed over from being mere legal advisors to becoming definitive confidantes. Dispensing legal advice in prescription form won’t win you the brownie points you need to succeed in such competitive environments, explains Caroline Lim of DHR International. You’ll need “courageous integrity” to go the distance with your CEO.

Pàdraig Walsh of Clyde & Co examines the developing law in relation to
shareholder access to company records and sets out some pitfalls that
in-house counsel should be cognizant of.

Remote as one may think the ramifications are on an Asian company, compliance with the US FCPA can significantly impact upon and increase a company’s value. Mauro M.Wolfe and Kathrine A.Gehring of Duane Morris LLP clue us in on the potential opportunity cost of non-compliance … which can be substantial.

Pitted against a backdrop of financial as well as natural disasters in 2011, in-house and external counsel had to fight clock, calendar and boundary to get their clients’ deals across the finish line. Notably, countries in the Asian and MENA regions, drivers of the engines of growth since the GFC and the Euro-crisis, have delivered a high level of torque. ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL celebrates an array of stellar deals in this issue that made the short-list for their size, innovation, complexity and uniqueness. From towering IPO’s to huge eco-friendly structures, our winning deals as well as our honourable mentions, span an impressive gamut.

Carrie Yang and Amanda Li of Clyde & Co contemplate how the insurance market will change in China once the government implements strict liability for food safety.

David Smyth and David Luk of Smyth & Co (in association with Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP), review Hong Kong’s new Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme and highlight some pertinent issues that may arise for prospective claimants, financial institutions and their in-house lawyers.