Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report for Asia Pacific 2023

Mary Ormerod rsgi
Mary Ormerod
6 May 2023

The FT Innovative Lawyers report for Asia Pacific was published on 5 May 2023.

RSGI’s research team was struck by the creativity and energy with which the industry continues to respond to challenges in the region. Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty have compounded the already challenging environment in which lawyers operate in Asia Pacific, spanning huge diversity of cultures, markets and legal ecosystems. Legal industry leaders are embracing the challenges posed by sustainability, digital transformation and new market trends as opportunities to expand and try their hands at new things. See the full report here.

FTIL Asia-Pacific 2023 report front cover
© Efi Chalikopoulou, FT

Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Clifford Chance took home the big awards in Singapore on 4 May.

On the in-house side Telstra took home the big award, a vote of confidence for the team’s radical embrace of agile working.

The report takes a deep dive into the implications of liberalisation in India’s legal market and the rise of Chinese law firms, now some of the largest by headcount in the world. Cyber security and sustainability are also top of the agenda for lawyers and their clients.

"In some Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, particularly Australia, law firms and in-house legal teams can often be ahead of the global legal market in their approach to innovation."
Reena SenGupta, writing for the Financial Times
Law firm awards

INNOVATIVE PRACTITIONER Marcia Ellis, Morrison Foerster

INNOVATIVE LEADER Warren Hua, JunHe

NEW LEGAL PROFESSIONAL Paul Fontanot, Clayton Utz

INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM HEADQUARTERED OUTSIDE ASIA-PACIFIC Clifford Chance

INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM HEADQUARTERED IN ASIA-PACIFIC Corrs Chambers Westgarth

INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABILITY Pinsent Masons

INNOVATION IN FACILITATING GLOBAL BUSINESS Kim & Chang

INNOVATION IN CYBER SECURITY AND DATA GOVERNANCE Rajah & Tann Singapore

INNOVATION IN DEAL MAKING King & Wood Mallesons

INNOVATION IN CREATING A NEW STANDARD Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

INNOVATION IN RESTRUCTURING Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

INNOVATION IN DIGITAL ASSETS Allen & Overy

INNOVATION IN TRANSFORMING INDUSTRIES Clifford Chance

INNOVATION IN RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS Ashurst

INNOVATION IN PEOPLE AND STRATEGY Gilbert + Tobin

INNOVATION IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WongPartnership

INNOVATION IN ADJACENT SERVICES Atsumi & Sakai DLA Piper

INNOVATION IN SMART DELIVERY Corrs Chambers Westgarth

INNOVATION IN DIGITAL LEGAL PRACTICE Herbert Smith Freehills

 

Read more about the Practice of Law and Business of law submissions

In-house legal team awards

INNOVATIVE IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM IN ASIA-PACIFIC Telstra

INNOVATION IN ENERGY TRANSITION BHP

AGILE LEGAL TEAM Telstra

INNOVATION IN COMMERCIAL & STRATEGIC ADVICE Recruit

INNOVATION IN NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES UBS

INNOVATION IN RISK MANAGEMENT Johnson & Johnson

INNOVATIVE DIGITAL LEGAL DEPARTMENT DBS Bank

 

Read more about the case studies here

"The speed of change has pushed legal teams to look at new ways to learn, share expertise and allocate resources."
Yasmin Lambert, writing for the Financial Times

Read the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Pacific report online here. If you have any feedback or would like to know more about participating in the FT Innovative Lawyers programme, you can contact the research team at information@rsgi.co

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