Ada Chung, Registrar of Companies of the Companies Registry of Hong Kong 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 setting the standard in female-friendly working practices, and women leading the field in practice areas across Asia.
Attending guests also heard speeches on behalf of the lifetime achievement winner Zia Mody and from the outstanding practitioner winner, Michelle Taylor of Jones Day.
In the firm categories, Hogan Lovells was named to have the best gender diversity initiative by international firm, and also received the prize for best international firm China practice. In other international categories, Bryan Cave collected the award for best firm for diversity. Deacons was the winner in the national firm for talent management, with Gilbert + Tobin taking home best national firm for women in business law.
A full list of winners is detailed below.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Best in banking and finance
Anne-Marie Godfrey, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Best in capital markets
Kaya Proudian, White & Case
Best in competition and antitrust
Kala Anandarajah, Rajah & Tann
Best in corporate governance
Kristi Lynn Swartz, Bryan Cave
Best in dispute resolution
Jelita Pandjaitan, Linklaters
Best in energy and natural resources
Carolyn Dong, DLA Piper
Best in insolvency and restructuring
Helena Huang, King & Wood Mallesons
Best in IP litigation
Christine Yiu, Bird & Bird
Best in labour and employment
Laure de Panafieu, Linklaters
Best in M&A and private equity
Jeanette Chan, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Best in offshore
Ann Ng, Maples & Calder
Best in patent and trade mark prosecution
Peggy Cheung, Jones Day
Best in real estate
Dorothy Marie Ng, WongPartnership
Best in shipping
Vivian Ang, Allen & Gledhill
Best in structured finance
Kate Allchurch, Ashurst
Best in tax
Yvonne Beh, Wong & Partners
Best in TMT
Gabriela Kennedy, Mayer Brown JSM
Best in transfer pricing
Tae-Yeon Nam, Kim & Chang
RISING STAR WINNERS
Rising star: Corporate
Charlotte Evans, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Rising star: Finance
Karen Lam, Linklaters
Rising star: IP
Clarice Yue, Bird & Bird
Rising star: Litigation
Natalie Yap, Watson Farley & Williams
Rising star: Tax
Tae Hee Kim, Lee & Ko
COUNTRY AWARDS
Australia
Bird & Bird
Brunei
Abrahams Davidson & Co
China – PRC firm
Dacheng Law Offices
China – international firm
Simmons & Simmons
Hong Kong – independent firm
Deacons
Hong Kong – international firm
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
India
Anand and Anand
Indonesia
Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners
Japan
Mori Hamada & Matsumoto
Malaysia
Azmi & Partners
New Zealand
Cavell Leitch
Pakistan
Akhund Forbes
Philippines
Quisumbing Torres
Singapore
WongPartnership
South Korea
Lee & Ko
Sri Lanka
FJ & G de Saram
Taiwan
LCS & Partners
Thailand
Siam City Law Offices
Vietnam
Vision & Associates
FIRM AWARDS
Best gender diversity initiative by national firm
Bell Gully
Best gender diversity initiative by international firm
Hogan Lovells
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
Hogan Lovells
Best national firm mentoring programme
TSMP Law Corporation
Best international firm mentoring programme
Ashurst
Best national firm for work-life balance
Siam City Law Offices
Best international firm for work-life balance
Lipman Karas
Best firm for pro bono work
King & Wood Mallesons
Best national firm for talent management
Deacons
Best international firm for talent management
White & Case
Best national firm for women in business law
Gilbert + Tobin
Best international firm for women in business law
Baker & McKenzie
IN-HOUSE CATEGORIES
Outstanding practitioner award
Michelle Taylor, Jones Day
Lifetime achievement
Zia Mody, AZB & Partners
In-house team of the year (under 50 lawyers)
Sime Darby
In-house team of the year (over 50 lawyers)
MTR
Asialaw in-house award
Gladys Chun, Lazada
International Financial Law Review in-house award
Christine Wong, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
Managing IP in-house award
Lauren Tan, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery
International Tax Review in-house award
Samantha Lim, British American Tobacco Australia
