Association of Corporate Counsel Asia Pacific

At the ACC Singapore, we love any opportunity to build our in-house community, and these sporadic lunch catch-ups are a great way for our members to connect and build meaningful relationships with their peers. Today, our members descended on OSO Ristorante for a superb lunch with great energy in the room. We welcomed two new members Nicolas De Clercq and Celine Fiquet-Gillion, and they were joined by David Sullivan, Jasmine Karimi, Terry D. Thornley, Sim Ting, Diana The Hui Ling, Rita Kriz, Faz H., Yusuf Dockrat, Catherine Yong, John Gao, Ryan Reddy and Matthew Kasdin.

ACC India Quarterly Call: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Latest Developments & its impacts in India and Asia on July 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM-5:00 PM IST. We are excited to invite you to join us for an insightful webinar tailored for in-house counsel in India, focusing on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This session will delve into the essentials of FCPA compliance, including key provisions, enforcement trends, and best practices for mitigating risks, with expert speaker Adria Perez, Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP guiding the conversation. Luv Tanwani Himani Gupta Registration link https://lnkd.in/g78BqwF8

Congratulations to ACC Singapore board member Abigail Tan on being recognised as one of the 2024 ACC Top 30-Somethings! The awards recognise in-house counsel between the ages of 30 and 39 for their innovation, approach to challenges, well-rounded perspectives, contributions to the in-house community, and pro bono and volunteer work. https://lnkd.in/gxspyA7F

Wonderful to see so many members and sponsors catching up while enjoying a superb evening at Empress for ACC Singapore's annual summer party.  Under the theme “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” attendees enjoyed an evening of informal networking with great food and drinks. A huge thank you to our 2024 sponsors for their support: Drew & Napier LLC, FTI Consulting Asia & Caribbean, Harry Elias Partnership LLP, Khaitan & Co, Bird & Bird, Cooley LLP, Kim & Chang, Littler, LSEG Risk Intelligence, Morrison Foerster, Stephenson Harwood LLP and Horizon Recruitment . Thank you to the planning committee members Nathalia Lossovska, Nicola Fell, Julien Willème, Jasmine Karimi and Victoria Child #ACCSingapore 

  🌟 ACC Singapore Member Profiling 🌟   Lily Tsen is on the ACC Singapore Board of Directors, and General Counsel Asia Pacific, Amcor plc   ⭕How long have you been a member of ACC and how did you get involved?  I've been an ACC member since 2016, originally in Australia. I transferred to ACC Singapore in 2020 after meeting Maree Myerscough at a Legal 500 event. Maree introduced me to some friendly and fun-loving ACC members and I was drawn to the close-knit community of in-house counsel, the access to global resources and networks, and the opportunity to actively participate and drive community and pro bono initiatives.   ⭕How long have you been on the ACC Singapore board of directors and why did you join?  I joined the ACC Singapore Board in November 2023. I'd already been active with the Singapore Chapter, particularly in relation to its Pro Bono, Wellness and Community arms, and saw joining the Board as an opportunity to contribute towards the chapter's growth, continued evolution and success.    ⭕Please tell us a little about your company and your role there. What does a typical day look like? I am the regional General Counsel for Amcor Asia Pacific. Amcor is the world’s largest packaging company and has its APAC headquarters in Singapore. We have approximately 9,000 co-workers across 40 plants plus offices in 13 countries. Typical day? There is no such thing. I tell the team to expect anything and everything, and to continuously learn.   ⭕What has been your career path?   Professionally, I started out as a Biomedical Scientist specialising in immunology, microbiology and protein biochemistry - different, indeed! I did as a child want to become a brain surgeon. Problematically, I didn't do well with blood or cadavers, so medicine was out! While working on bacterial protein identification to develop vaccines for zoonotic diseases my lab supervisors suggested I might want to think about becoming a patent attorney, or someone who helps to defend and protect intellectual property. So, I applied to a few Australian law schools and thereafter commenced my journey to the law.   ⭕What advice would you give someone just starting out their in-house career?  Nothing beats having a solid private practice foundation. It is there that you develop true grit and master the tools that will serve you well as in-house counsel in a relatively "safe space". For in-house lawyers without prior private practice experience, it is never too late (and there is certainly no shame) to put your hand up for some private practice exposure to sharpen your tools.   ⭕Anything else? “If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.” (Confucius).  Take the time to read the room, to read and to hear your stakeholders, to develop your views, to thoughtfully synthesise what you have heard and seen, and only then formulate and communicate your views and perspectives. Also, always have the courage to admit or acknowledge when things are wrong. 

🌟 ACC Singapore Member Profiling 🌟 Jasmine Karimi is Secretary for ACC Singapore and APAC General Counsel for FMC Corporation. ⭕How long have you been a member of ACC and how did you originally get involved ?  I joined ACC Hong Kong (previously HKCCA) in in 2007 and helmed it as President for nearly 6 years. I started attending some of the wonderful events of the Singapore chapter shortly after I moved to Singapore from HK nearly 9 years ago. ⭕How long have you been on the ACC Singapore board of directors and why did you join?  I joined the Board in late 2019. The desire to give back, contribute to the in-house legal community and engage in the camaraderie were strong pulls. I felt I could contribute given my prior experience in HK and leverage my networks for the Singapore chapter. ⭕ Please tell us a little about your company and your role there. What does a typical day look like? I lead the Legal and Compliance teams across APAC for FMC Corporation, one of the leading companies in the agricultural sciences world. In addition to assessing and mitigating legal risks across the region, I sit as part of the APAC Leadership Team where the breadth of the work often expands outside the legal sphere. There is no typical day – it could be firefighting a compliance issue, addressing an employment law situation, partnering with the regulatory team on advocacy to negotiating deals. The best part is nurturing the team and learning and growing together. ⭕ What has been your career path?   My career path has been non-linear. I’ve worked in multiple countries (including writing 4 bar exams along the way!), across different industry sectors (not by design!). The experience has been enriching and allows me to bring a multi-dimensional and global perspective to the legal advice I render. It has also taught me to work outside my comfort zone as the only constant in my life, is change. ⭕ What advice would you give someone just starting out their in-house career? If you could do anything differently in your career, what would it be? Take the pains to really understand the business you work in, roll up your sleeves and learn. Speak and write in plain English – ditch the legalese from your emails. Learn from those around you, the young and not so young – every experience is a learning opportunity. ⭕ Anything else? Stay humble and be kind. And pay it forward.  To quote Maya Angelou — 'At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.' #ACCSingapore #inhousecounsel

🌟 ACC Singapore Member Profiling 🌟   David Sullivan is President of ACC Singapore and Legal Director, APAC for WPP   ⭕ How long have you been a member of ACC and how did you originally get involved? I joined ACC Australia in 2010 after attending an in-house counsel day. I joined ACC Singapore in 2019.   ⭕ How long have you been on the ACC Singapore board of directors and why did you join? I joined the Board in late 2021. I was impressed by the community, and felt I could contribute with my experience, particularly with sponsorship and events. ⭕ Tell us a little about your company and your role there. What does a typical day look like? I work for WPP, a global advertising group. I manage the Group's legal affairs in APAC. I work on media deals with vendors, such as Google, Meta and Amazon, and support our agencies service our great clients. ⭕ What has been your career path? I started at Baker McKenzie in Melbourne as a TMT lawyer in 2007. I moved in-house in 2010 to work in sport/events with the Victoria Racing Club. Since then, I've worked with various sports and media businesses. ⭕ What advice would you give someone just starting out their in-house career? If you could do anything differently in your career, what would it be? Understand the business you work in and focus on solutions. Prioritise health and building a good network of in-house lawyers and mentors. ⭕ Anything else? Mark McCormack stated, "Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up." This quote resonates deeply with me as it emphasises resilience and perseverance despite setbacks.

ACC Singapore members had a wonderful evening of mingling and learning thanks to FTI Consulting Asia & Caribbean who hosted an insightful discussion “The Perfect Storm: Managing a Crisis in The Time of Data” at Mandala Club.   Expertly moderated by Shu Min Ho from Sidley Austin, panellists Anna Bleazard and Gino Bello from FTI Consulting, Alex Parker from GSK and Jasmine Karimi from FMC Corporation covered different crisis scenarios, real life examples, enforcement action, and practical learnings from around the globe.    Rapidly evolving technology such as AI, digital assets and the virtual world have introduced new methods of committing corporate crime which have added additional layer of complexity in mitigating emerging areas of risk effectively. The panel discussed some of the latest measures taken by regulators across the globe to combat white collar crime and shared examples of how companies can improve compliance programs. The panel also explored how we can be ready for rapidly advancing technologies from a data privacy and protection angle, the challenges these bring in investigations, shared some of the learnings on the latest techniques used by criminals in Asia and how companies can protect their assets more effectively - it was a robust discussion!   Huge thanks to Sarah Davis-Goff, Xin Hui Lim and the team at FTI for another fabulous event! #ACCSingapore #inhousecounsel #compliance #datagovernance

ACCHK was proud to collaborate with the BakerWomen Committee of Baker McKenzie on continuing this year's #IWD campaign theme of #inspireinclusion, with an insightful panel looking at ways to increase #diversity and #inclusion in the boardroom. From an analysis of the current #layoftheland, a review of the #systemicissues that continue to prevent women from advancing to the #boardroom, and suggestions on what can be done to improve the #statusquo, the speakers did not shy away from addressing this important topic head-on. Many thanks to Jeremy Ong for opening the evening, Christine Cuthbert for moderating the discussion and to our panellists Ajay MK (Manissery Konchery), Sophia P.K. Yap and Gill Meller for sharing their views. Our thanks to Baker McKenzie for their generous sponsorship of this event.

ACC Hong Kong is pleased to announce its support of Chambers and Partners Greater China Region High Quality Development Forum, to be held on May 29 2024 at the W Hotel. The event will feature a full day of engaging legal discussions on: ✅ Cross-border mainland China insolvency and restructuring – key issues and developments; ✅ Navigating geopolitics and increasing risks in international trade compliance; ✅ Legal developments in Fintech - transactions, tokenization and litigation; and ✅ Shifting global supply chains - international arbitration in a new era. This event is free to attend and open to ACCHK Members. To register, please click on the link below: https://lnkd.in/gdicBrq3 We look forward to seeing many of you there! #inhousecounsel #lawyersoflinkedin #hongkonglawyers #networking #professionaldevelopment