The best female lawyers from across the region, gathered at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong on November 9 to celebrate the advancement of women in the legal profession in the seventh annual Euromoney Legal Media Group Asia Women in Business Law Awards.
Archana Kotecha of Liberty Asia began the evening with a keynote speech to an audience of in-house and private practitioners. The attendees had gathered to celebrate the achievements of law firms and in-house individuals and teams setting the standard in female-friendly working practices, and women leading the field in practice areas across Asia.
In the firm categories, King & Wood Mallesons received the prize for best international firm China practice, and the prizes for best in-house teams were awarded to Hong Kong Jockey Club and Tencent. WongPartnership and Baker & McKenzie received the best national and international firm for women in business law awards respectively.
A full list of winners is detailed below.
INDIVIDUAL WINNERS
Best in banking and finance
Indri Guritno, Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners
Best in capital markets
Christine Chen, King & Wood Mallesons
Best in competition and antitrust
Jung Won Hyun, Kim & Chang
Best in compliance and regulatory
Kristi Swartz, Bryan Cave
Best in dispute resolution
Rebecca Chew, Rajah & Tann
Best in energy and natural resources
Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi, Latham & Watkins
Best in insolvency and restructuring
Kelly Naphtali, Kirkland & Ellis
Best in IP litigation
Kherk Ying Chew, Wong & Partners
Best in labour and employment
Samantha Cornelius and Emma Pugh, Linklaters
Best in M&A and private equity
Z. Julie Gao, Skadden
Best in offshore
Kate Hodson, Ogier
Best in patent and trade mark prosecution
Catherine Eunkyeong Lee, Bae Kim & Lee
Privacy and data protection
Gabriela Kennedy, Mayer Brown JSM
Best in real estate
Tan Shijie, Rajah & Tann
Best in shipping
Madeline Leong, Watson Farley & Williams
Best in structured finance
Anne-Marie Neagle, King & Wood Mallesons
Best in tax
Yvonne Beh, Wong & Partners
Best in TMT
Jeanette Chan, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Best in transfer pricing
Il Young Cho, Bae Kim & Lee
RISING STAR WINNERS
Rising star: Corporate
Helena Kim, Latham & Watkins
Rising star: Finance
Jacqueline Zheng, Ropes & Gray
Rising star: IP
Nina Fitzgerald, Deacons
Rising star: Litigation
Venna Cheng, Mayer Brown JSM
Rising star: Tax
Leah Ranie, King & Wood Mallesons
COUNTRY AWARDS
Australia
Ashurst
Brunei
Abrahams Davidson & Co
China – PRC firm
Jingtian & Gongcheng
China – international firm
Hogan Lovells
Hong Kong – independent firm
Deacons
Hong Kong – international firm
White & Case
India
Cyril Armachand Mangaldas
Indonesia
SSEK Legal Consultants
Japan
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Malaysia
Wong & Partners
New Zealand
MinterEllisonRuddWatts
Pakistan
Kabraji & Talibuddin
Philippines
Quisumbing Torres
Singapore
WongPartnership
South Korea
Bae Kim & Lee
Sri Lanka
FJ & G de Saram
Taiwan
LCS & Partners
Thailand
Baker McKenzie
Vietnam
Tilleke & Gibbins
FIRM AWARDS
Best gender diversity initiative by national firm
Russell McVeagh
Best gender diversity initiative by international firm
Lipman Karas
Best firm for diversity by national firm
Gilbert + Tobin
Best firm for diversity by international firm
Bryan Cave
Most innovative firm
Linklaters
Best international firm China practice
King & Wood Mallesons
Best national firm mentoring programme
Lee & Ko
Best international firm mentoring programme
Latham & Watkins
Best national firm for work-life balance
Charltons
Best international firm for work-life balance
Lipman Karas
Best firm for pro bono work
WongPartnership
Best national firm for talent management
Tilleke & Gibbins
Best international firm for talent management
White & Case
Best national firm for women in business law
WongPartnership
Best international firm for women in business law
Baker McKenzie
IN-HOUSE/INDIVDUAL CATEGORIES
Outstanding practitioner award
Xu Ping, King & Wood Mallesons
Lifetime achievement award
Suet-Fern Lee, Morgan Lewis Stamford
In-house team of the year (under 50 lawyers)
Hong Kong Jockey Club
In-house team of the year (over 50 lawyers)
Tencent
Asialaw In-house award
Jaclyn Jhin, CLSA
International Financial Law Review in-house award
Stephanie Sheng, Goldman Sachs
International Tax Review in-house award
Ceecee Zhang, Tesla China
Managing IP in-house award
Min Gao, Adidas