Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report for Asia-Pacific 2024
The FT Innovative Lawyers report for Asia-Pacific was published on 17 May 2024.
It is remarkable to see the pace of change since generative AI had its first public release less than two years ago. Law firms and legal teams alike have been experimenting and looking at where to make investments so that they can enjoy the benefits of this new tech and stay ahead of the curve. Law firms have also made investments in people, looking to bring in a wider array of skills and encourage healthy competition in innovation. At the same time there is increasing awareness of the risks of burnout and the long-term impact that covid and workplace pressure is having on lawyers’ mental health. See the full report here.
Gilbert + Tobin and Ashurst took home the big awards in Hong Kong on 16 May.
On the in-house side DBS Bank took home the overall award for innovation.
The report looks at the ways law firms are helping clients deal with geopolitical uncertainty. It takes a deep dive into the rapidly changing Japanese legal market. And the different factors driving adoption of ESG policies across a hugely diverse region.
Generative AI is the topic of the day, and our research looks in depth at how law firms and in-house teams are responding.
INNOVATIVE PRACTITIONER Darren Fittler, Gilbert + Tobin
INTRAPRENEUR Genevieve Collins, Lander & Rogers
INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM HEADQUARTERED OUTSIDE ASIA-PACIFIC Ashurst
INNOVATIVE LAW FIRM HEADQUARTERED IN ASIA-PACIFIC Gilbert + Tobin
INNOVATION IN RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS Trilegal
DEALMAKING Morgan Lewis
DISPUTE RESOLUTION MinterEllison
FINTECH & DIGITAL ASSETS DLA Piper
RESTRUCTURING Sidley Austin
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Trilegal
UNLOCKING CAPITAL Linklaters
DIGITAL STRATEGY A&O Shearman
DIGITAL TOOLS Clifford Chance
KNOWLEDGE & DATA MinterEllison
NEW SOLUTIONS Inkling Legal Design
PEOPLE & SKILLS Gilbert + Tobin In-house legal teams
Read more about the Practice of Law and Business of law submissions
MOST INNOVATIVE IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAM IN ASIA-PACIFIC DBS Bank
SUSTAINABILITY & IMPACT Asian Development Bank
COMMERCIAL & STRATEGIC ADVICE SoftBank Group
NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES Joint winners: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and HSBC
GENERATIVE AI DBS Bank
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS Tencent
OPERATIONAL TRANSFORMATION Telstra
PEOPLE & SKILLS Boston Consulting Group
Read more about the case studies here