Heart Of The Matter - A Podcast On Legal Developments From Around The World

I am joined by Nhut Nguyen of Russin & Vecchi and Thomas Choo of Clyde & Co to discuss the state of the M&A market in Vietnam. We covered what makes Vietnam an attractive place for investment and the areas investors need to pay attention to make their deals a success.

For more information on M&As in Vietnam, please visit https://www.russinvecchi.com.vn/

Nhut has experience in international business and multi jurisdictional transactions. His practice focuses principally on M&A, private equity, international finance, and inbound foreign investment in general.

Nhut has been involved in a number of large, transactions in which he has acted for multinational clients to provide solutions, to structure and to implement the transaction. He has particular experience in structuring complex M&A deals that require creative structures of share acquisition in light of existing legal restrictions and ambiguities. He has led Russin & Vecchi team in various large scale transactions, including comprehensive, non-conventional due diligence investigations, deal structuring, transaction documentation, performance of conditions precedent and rectification of due diligence issues, funding structures and funding documentation, closing coordination, and post-acquisition integration.

Nhut has practiced law in Vietnam for more than 20 years.

Thomas Choo is a partner based in Clyde &Co’s Singapore office. Described in the Legal 500 as “a leading individual”, "extremely prompt and responsive”, commanding "astounding legal knowledge" and "genuinely interested in developing long term relationships with clients”, Thomas is a corporate transactional and employment lawyer focusing on regional M&A (including VC and PE), TMT licensing and regulatory matters and employment.

Thomas advises on a full range of corporate transactions with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, trade sales and competitive bids, joint ventures, corporate restructuring and financing.

He is active on cross border corporate transactions in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region and works for a wide range of clients with a particular focus on the Technology, Financial and Private Equity/Venture Capital sectors. He regularly leads on and co-ordinates corporate transactions across a wide range of jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region, ranging from Mongolia and Mainland China all the way south to New Zealand and Fiji.

He is admitted as a solicitor in both Singapore and England & Wales.

Richard Wee, Managing Partner at Richard Wee Chambers joins us in this episode to talk about settling disputes in Sports. We discussed why CAS seems to be the most popular method of dispute resolution chosen by international sporting bodies and other options available in settling disputes in sports.

For more about sports law in Malaysia, please visit https://www.richardweechambers.com/

Richard is a well-known advocate for the expansion and improvement of sports law and esports law in Malaysia. He co-founded the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM) in 2016, organised several annual Sports Law Conferences, conducted many training & seminars all over Malaysia, and is an invited speaker at Universities and Colleges on that area of law.

In esports, Richard is regarded as one of the pioneers of esports law. He is often sought after by the esports community for numerous legal matters.

Richard has featured on more than one occasion on BFM (Business FM) Radio to speak about, amongst other things, Sports and esports matters. He has also appeared in international television giving interviews about his experience with Everton Football Club.

Despite his busy practice, Richard has found time to co-author a chapter about Malaysia’s Sports Law for the International Encyclopaedia of Sports Law by Wolters Kluwer.

Richard Wee, Managing Partner at Richard Wee Chambers joins us in this episode to talk about professional player sports contracts. We discussed the various contracts between players and other parties and how are players' external contracts typically managed.

For more about sports law in Malaysia, please visit https://www.richardweechambers.com/

Richard is a well-known advocate for the expansion and improvement of sports law and esports law in Malaysia. He co-founded the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM) in 2016, organised several annual Sports Law Conferences, conducted many training & seminars all over Malaysia, and is an invited speaker at Universities and Colleges on that area of law.

In esports, Richard is regarded as one of the pioneers of esports law. He is often sought after by the esports community for numerous legal matters.

Richard has featured on more than one occasion on BFM (Business FM) Radio to speak about, amongst other things, Sports and esports matters. He has also appeared in international television giving interviews about his experience with Everton Football Club.

Despite his busy practice, Richard has found time to co-author a chapter about Malaysia’s Sports Law for the International Encyclopaedia of Sports Law by Wolters Kluwer.

Richard Wee, Managing Partner at Richard Wee Chambers joins us in this episode to talk about doping in sports. We talked about why doping punishments in sports appear to be inconsistent, the nuances of doping laws, and how are doping cases typically settled?

For more about sports law in Malaysia, please visit https://www.richardweechambers.com/

If you would like to watch the doping documentary "Icarus" please visit https://www.netflix.com/hk-en/title/80168079

Richard is a well-known advocate for the expansion and improvement of sports law and esports law in Malaysia. He co-founded the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM) in 2016, organised several annual Sports Law Conferences, conducted many training & seminars all over Malaysia, and is an invited speaker at Universities and Colleges on that area of law.

In esports, Richard is regarded as one of the pioneers of esports law. He is often sought after by the esports community for numerous legal matters.

Richard has featured on more than one occasion on BFM (Business FM) Radio to speak about, amongst other things, Sports and esports matters. He has also appeared in international television giving interviews about his experience with Everton Football Club.

Despite his busy practice, Richard has found time to co-author a chapter about Malaysia’s Sports Law for the International Encyclopaedia of Sports Law by Wolters Kluwer.

Richard Wee, Managing Partner at Richard Wee Chambers joins us in this episode to talk about sports law in Malaysia. We chatted about Malaysia's love of sports, how the sporting infrastructure works in Malaysia and took a closer look at the laws governing sports law in Malaysia.

For more about sports law in Malaysia, please visit https://www.richardweechambers.com/

Richard is a well-known advocate for the expansion and improvement of sports law and esports law in Malaysia. He co-founded the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM) in 2016, organised several annual Sports Law Conferences, conducted many training & seminars all over Malaysia, and is an invited speaker at Universities and Colleges on that area of law.

In esports, Richard is regarded as one of the pioneers of esports law. He is often sought after by the esports community for numerous legal matters.

Richard has featured on more than one occasion on BFM (Business FM) Radio to speak about, amongst other things, Sports and esports matters. He has also appeared in international television giving interviews about his experience with Everton Football Club.

Despite his busy practice, Richard has found time to co-author a chapter about Malaysia’s Sports Law for the International Encyclopaedia of Sports Law by Wolters Kluwer.

We're joined by Zhiwei Chen of Crowell & Moring LLP to review the current status of the US-China trade war.

This episode looks forward to the outlook of this ongoing trade war. We discussed the Biden-Xi Summit and what this means for the U.S.-China trade war, and how should multinationals adapt their compliance strategies to the “new normal” in U.S.-China trade relations.

Zhiwei Chen has more than a decade of experience advising multinational clients on a wide range of complex customs, trade, data privacy, and regulatory issues. He is a member of the International Trade and Privacy & Cybersecurity groups of Crowell & Moring LLP.

Zhiwei regularly helps Fortune 500 clients create business strategies to optimize supply chain structures, develop corporate compliance programs and provide training related to Customs, export control and sanctions, conduct internal audits or investigations, and navigate self-disclosure to China Customs and other regulatory agencies. Clients regularly call up Zhiwei to represent them in customs audits and in dealing with seizures, forfeitures, and other enforcement actions. He has successfully defended clients in a number of high-profile customs audit and investigation cases, including a primary case investigated directly under the supervision of China’s General Administration of Customs. He also advises on other trade-related regulatory issues, including Section 301 tariffs, inspections and quarantine, cross-border e-commerce, foreign exchange control, IP border protection, royalties, compulsory product certification, product safety standards, labeling, and food, drug, and medical device registration issues.

Clients benefit from Zhiwei’s experience and insight in managing the risks and maximizing the opportunities associated with China’s increasing regulation of cross-border flow of goods, services and data. He brings to clients an unusual blend of regulatory, transactional, and litigation experience, which makes him a trusted adviser on various complex China regulatory issues.

We're joined by Zhiwei Chen of Crowell & Moring LLP to review the current status of the US-China trade war.

This episode looks at the China perspective. We discussed China's responses to the U.S.’ export controls and sanction measures and the compliance challenges for multinationals caused by the U.S.’ export controls and sanctions against China, and China’s countermeasures.

Zhiwei Chen has more than a decade of experience advising multinational clients on a wide range of complex customs, trade, data privacy, and regulatory issues. He is a member of the International Trade and Privacy & Cybersecurity groups of Crowell & Moring LLP.

Zhiwei regularly helps Fortune 500 clients create business strategies to optimize supply chain structures, develop corporate compliance programs and provide training related to Customs, export control and sanctions, conduct internal audits or investigations, and navigate self-disclosure to China Customs and other regulatory agencies. Clients regularly call up Zhiwei to represent them in customs audits and in dealing with seizures, forfeitures, and other enforcement actions. He has successfully defended clients in a number of high-profile customs audit and investigation cases, including a primary case investigated directly under the supervision of China’s General Administration of Customs. He also advises on other trade-related regulatory issues, including Section 301 tariffs, inspections and quarantine, cross-border e-commerce, foreign exchange control, IP border protection, royalties, compulsory product certification, product safety standards, labeling, and food, drug, and medical device registration issues.

Clients benefit from Zhiwei’s experience and insight in managing the risks and maximizing the opportunities associated with China’s increasing regulation of cross-border flow of goods, services and data. He brings to clients an unusual blend of regulatory, transactional, and litigation experience, which makes him a trusted adviser on various complex China regulatory issues.

We're joined by Zhiwei Chen of Crowell & Moring LLP to review the current status of the US-China trade war.

This espidoe looks at the US perspective and the Biden trade policy on China, examines Katherine Tai outlined “New Approach to the U.S.-China Trade Relationship.”, what are the changes signaled in Ambassador Tai’s address, and the US's use of Section 301 to impose tariffs on certain Chinese-origin goods and the litigation cases around this.
Zhiwei Chen has more than a decade of experience advising multinational clients on a wide range of complex customs, trade, data privacy, and regulatory issues. He is a member of the International Trade and Privacy & Cybersecurity groups of Crowell & Moring LLP.


Zhiwei regularly helps Fortune 500 clients create business strategies to optimize supply chain structures, develop corporate compliance programs and provide training related to Customs, export control and sanctions, conduct internal audits or investigations, and navigate self-disclosure to China Customs and other regulatory agencies. Clients regularly call up Zhiwei to represent them in customs audits and in dealing with seizures, forfeitures, and other enforcement actions. He has successfully defended clients in a number of high-profile customs audit and investigation cases, including a primary case investigated directly under the supervision of China’s General Administration of Customs. He also advises on other trade-related regulatory issues, including Section 301 tariffs, inspections and quarantine, cross-border e-commerce, foreign exchange control, IP border protection, royalties, compulsory product certification, product safety standards, labeling, and food, drug, and medical device registration issues.


Clients benefit from Zhiwei’s experience and insight in managing the risks and maximizing the opportunities associated with China’s increasing regulation of cross-border flow of goods, services and data. He brings to clients an unusual blend of regulatory, transactional, and litigation experience, which makes him a trusted adviser on various complex China regulatory issues.

Due to the current COVID restrictions in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Legal Walk will now take place on 15th October to 12th November 2022.

The Hong Kong Legal Walk, proudly supporting the Hong Kong Cancer Fund, Changing Young Lives Foundation, Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims and HELP for Domestic Workers, is being held for the first time in 2022. It is so inspiring Hong Kong’s legal industry unite behind the common cause of serving our local communities – together as one.

It is wonderful to see such widespread support from across the legal profession: https://legalwalkhk.ic.hk/sponsors-supporters/

Join Hong Kong’s legal community (virtually) as we walk through some of Hong Kong’s most spectacular harbourfront spots, whilst raising funds, support, and awareness for our chosen charities.

The Legal Walk is currently due to be held virtually between April 9th and May 7th. Please click this link to get more details and to join us as an individual or on behalf of your law firm, chambers, ALSP, recruitment firm, publishing house or in-house department today: https://legalwalkhk.ic.hk/get-involved/

We're joined by Ranjan Narula, Managing Partner at RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys, in this episode to talk about AI, Blockchain, NFTs in India.

We discussed how the ownership of a trade secret established, how is the commercial value established, what criteria are used to establish the secrecy level of a trade secret and what can companies do before and after a trade secret leak?

For more information about AI, Blockchain, NFTs, please visit, https://rnaip.com/

Ranjan founded the specialist IP law firm, RNA, in 2004, and is now its Managing Partner. He has twenty seven years’ post qualification experience working on contentious and non-contentious IP and Technology issues. Ranjan has been practicing as an advocate and patent attorney since 1991 handling a wide range of IP, IT and Technology matters including IP management issues, strategic advice on IP clearance, acquisition, and enforcement. Ranjan has worked in-house and in private practice including a stint with international IP practice heading its India operations. In 2019, Ranjan was invited to join the INTA, Board of Directors.

Ranjan has been ranked as a leading IP practitioner by various publications including WTR 1000, IP Star (Managing IP), WIPR leaders, Who’s Who legal, Asia IP experts and others. Ranjan is regularly invited to speak by Universities and chamber of commerce on IP issues. He has authored several articles and papers on key IP issues that are published by IP magazines and blogs such as IAM, World Trade Mark Review, Bloomberg, Lexology, IP Kat etc.