Poh Lee Tan, Baker & McKenzie’s regional chair for the Asia Pacific, will succeed David Fleming as managing partner for Baker & McKenzie’s Hong Kong, China and Vietnam offices.
According to Tan, the areas of practice she will aggressively strengthen as new managing partner are the growth areas of natural resources; corporate and securities; regulatory and compliance; dispute resolution; and intellectual property, amongst others.
“Businesses need to understand regulatory impact increasingly across multiple jurisdictions. We are advising our clients on how to overcome the challenges as well as how we can assist in seizing opportunities,” Tan told ALB in an interview. “For example, we have actively assisted a number of the Chinese state-owned enterprises on their outbound activities.”
Such recent transactions include the Chinalco memorandum of understanding with Rio Tinto for the joint development of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, and the CNOOC Bridas joint venture in Latin America.
According to Tan, increased deal flow and activity have been witnessed across the Asia-Pacific in energy, mining & resources; financial services; pharmeceuticals & healthcare; automotive; manufacturing; and real estate.
In speaking about the differing business and legal need of clients from Vietnam , Hong Kong and China, Tan said: “ Each jurisdiction has its own unique culture of doing business and nuances. Lessons from successful companies in these jurisdictions strongly point towards the importance of taking the long view of the market. Companies need to thoroughly research the market; build strong local connections and invest in localising both their products and the people who deliver them.”
Tan has held various firm management roles, including service as chairman of the firm’s Asia-Pacific regional council from October 2008 to 2010. She joined the firm’s Hong Kong office in 1985 and became an equity partner in 1992. Her practice focuses on M&A and private equity transactions in the Asia-pacific region – with particular emphasis on the information technology and communications sector. She was managing partner of the year at the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards for 2009 and 2010.
Additionally, the Firm has also announced that Philip Suse (Chicago) and Winston Zee (Hong Kong) have been elected to serve on its Executive Committee.ALB
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