The Equatorial Plaza’s glamorous Sky51 Bar, one of the most impressive and cutting-edge event venues in Kuala Lumpur, was a truly fitting space to host the launch reception for The Legal 500’s first-ever GC Powerlist: Malaysia. Ben Lovell and Joe Boswell were The Legal 500’s representatives at the event, along with the lions’ share of event associates Wong & Partners’ Kuala Lumpur-based senior lawyers, there to celebrate both the GC Powerlist and their own firm’s 25th anniversary. Most importantly, the event saw over 100 of Malaysia’s top in-house counsel arrive to share in their achievement and meet and network with their fellow GC Powerlist alumni. 

The Legal 500’s global editor for the GC Powerlist Joe Boswell was first to the podium, explaining the research process and selection methodology to those in attendance to provide some context and background to the achievements of the guests of honour in making it into the publication.  

The GC keynote speaker for this event was the truly excellent Navrita Kaur of Microlink who, after congratulating all the GC Powerlist alumni, addressed the room with a wide-ranging speech that touched on topics related to the multi-faceted role of a modern GC: how to learn from others in your network, how to grow your influence in your organisation, the art of building a reputation as a business-friendly corporate counsel and – conversely – when it is best to trust your judgment and advise against a course of action. 

Munir Abdul Aziz, managing partner of Wong & Partners, provided the second keynote speech, congratulating the successful GCs who made it on the Powerlist and speaking about some of the key developments that have taken place in the Malaysian legal world in recent times as well as how legal counsel will be ever-more instrumental in navigating these going forward.  

The award ceremony followed, with the inaugural Malaysia GC Powerlist inductees called to the stage to receive their award certificate from Munir. 

When the final certificate was handed out, another hearty congratulations and shared round of applause was followed by drinks, food and many stunning photos with the rooftop venue’s outstanding views of the Petronas Towers as the backdrop. As is often the case at a GC Powerlist launch, drinks and celebrations continued late into the night. 

Many thanks to our event partners Wong & Partners and Robert Walters for making this milestone event possible.  

The Legal 500 will be back in Malaysia on Thursday 9th Nov 2023 for our GC Summit, a full day conference that will look to provide value to all senior counsel operating in Malaysia. Find out more and register here: GC Summit Malaysia 2023