Interview with: Kuok Yew Chen, Managing Partner

What do you see as the main points that differentiate [law firm name] from your competitors?

Our culture. We are dedicated to integrity and results, and to nurturing these principles in our lawyers. The Firm is fortunate to have clients that have journeyed with us over the last decade, and to have grown from strength to strength not just organically but with several exceptional lateral hires over the years. This January, we welcome yet another exceptional team of 15 lawyers who are leading lights in the field of M&A, Capital Markets, and Banking, making us one of the largest law firms in Malaysia. This significant integration reflects CLO’s commitment to providing our clients with the highest levels of legal services, and to staying ahead of the curve by seizing opportunities to meet market demands.

Geographical Reach

Being part of the Rajah & Tann Asia (“RTA”) Network, one of the largest full-service ASEAN legal networks, gives us access to a network of law firms across South East Asia with over 1,000 practitioners with on-the-ground knowledge and insights to assist clients in their cross-border investments and business ventures across sectors and industries.

Access to Industry Experienced and Specialist Practitioners

We have experienced specialist practitioners as well as industry experienced practitioners. We deploy teams with lawyers in different and complementary practice areas, ensuring clients have access to the right team to enable them to secure the best possible outcome. This means clients not only get a dedicated team of lawyers who will act as their business partner, but also receive in-depth and consistent legal services across the region.

We also host a plethora of local and regional events and bespoke training sessions which give our clients the opportunity to obtain legal and practical insights on the latest developments in the law, as well as matters of concern to our clients.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

With the new team joining, we expect to see a significant increase in large, public M&A transactions for the Firm, and a continued upswing in our Capital Markets engagements. Aside from these areas, like the rest of the region, the following areas are likely to be of interest to our clients:

TMT & Data Protection

Many areas in technology are seeing accelerated growth around the world and Malaysia is no exception. Large as well as medium sized organisations are now adopting major digitization and digitalization of their business operations, optimising their IT infrastructure and adopting innovative ways to embrace new technologies to stay relevant and competitive in an uncertain business landscape.

With businesses increasingly adopting cloud-based services and data analytics tools, concerns are being raised about data security and privacy, necessitating advice and assistance in areas involving new licensing requirements on the provision of cybersecurity and cloud services in Malaysia. The rise of AI and machine learning technologies also require careful consideration of ethical and legal implications which our experienced team in the TMT Practice continues to advise on. Additionally, the Cybersecurity Bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in the Parliamentary session early in 2024. This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in enquiries on cyber security laws.

Our strong Data Privacy & Protection Practice is also expecting to see significant growth in the coming 12 months, as the Government aims to review and amend the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”), with a view to align the PDPA with international standards, in particular the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Malaysia has also seen the launch of satellite broadband services, as well as the proposed rollout of a second 5G network. Social media continues to grow, not just from a technological perspective but also its breadth and reach into e-commerce and content. These developments should also continue to keep our Telecommunications and Media practices, respectively, busy.

All of the foregoing factors should continue to drive the growth in our leading TMT and Data Privacy & Protection practice group.

Sustainability / ESG

As Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices increasingly gain traction, with many Government linked companies (GLC) adopting ESG policies and net zero targets, a greater number of organisations are likely to also adopt the green agenda in their business practice not just to ensure continued business ties with GLCs, but also given societal demands for greater governance and accountability.

Since inception, ESG principles have been at the heart of the way we practice. Our Firm has a strong Sustainability practice, led by local and legal practitioners experienced in various areas of law, enabling us to provide holistic advice to our clients seeking to comply with the evolving Malaysian and regional sustainability regulations. CLO also houses a long-standing Renewable Energy practice as well as a Banking and Finance practice which are able to assist investors in the renewables space as well as financial institutions who are focused on providing green financing.

The increasing awareness that economic crimes have far reaching costly effects, and with governments globally promoting a compliance culture, transparency, and accountability, we foresee clients requiring assistance in navigating their compliance obligations, carrying out internal investigations, and requiring risk mitigation and prevention strategies, such as developing and improving internal protocols and compliance programmes. We therefore also foresee increased demand for our Corporate and Regulatory practices, in particular for ABAC and AML compliance, and ESG reporting obligations.

Competition & Antitrust

With the review of the Competition Act 2010, including the proposed introduction of merger control provisions in 2024, we foresee potential growth in our Competition practice given the relatively healthy M&A

activity in Malaysia, although there is likely to be a sunrise period after the law is amended; meaning we could only see tangible increased demand in 2025, unless the Government expedites the rollout of merger control next year.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

As mentioned above, the new team joining CLO in January are market leaders, recognised as leading lawyers and rising stars in Malaysia by clients, peers, and legal publications. They bring a wealth of experience and industry insights, further strengthening our Firm’s capabilities to meet growing client needs in the areas of law impacted by the rise of M&As, increase in foreign investments in Malaysia, as well as the continued demand for IPOs and capital market exercises.

Aside from this, the Firm has taken some efforts to make its Disputes team, which is one of the largest in Malaysia, more visible to clients so as to enable clients to consult across practices on legal strategy even before a potential dispute arises or is litigated. Beyond being a full-service law firm, we are also positioned to allow clients the comfort of working with their preferred relationship partner throughout a dispute, together with the relevant Disputes partner on the suit.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Yes, very much so.

Our clients are provided with access to Rajah & Tann Technologies, which offers multidisciplinary tech-enabled legal solutions including data breach readiness and response, cybersecurity, electronic discovery and digital forensics, virtual law academy, contract management, as well as other LegalTech services, all of which are modeled around meeting our clients’ demands in the digital economy.

Additionally, our clients are also able to access our RTA Competition & Trade mobile application, which provides regular relevant updates and resources on the latest legal and regulatory developments in the areas of competition & antitrust, trade, and consumer protection from across the region, on the go. The RTA Competition & Trade mobile app includes access to our lawyers, comparative overviews of key topics ranging from merger controls to export controls, and also insights into issues trending in Asia.

Our clients also have access to our one-stop arbitration website which spotlights on Asia, covering the latest legislative and regulatory developments, case alerts, market updates and events or happenings across Rajah & Tann Asia’s geographical footprint.

With the view of bringing a human touch to the digital world, we continued to work with our regional counterparts to host bespoke hybrid conferences which saw us interacting with clients through physical webinars (with limited seating) combined with virtual webinars across multiple jurisdictions. We have also connected our clients with experts from various jurisdictions during our annual legal conference, The Legal 360, which saw speakers and panellists from countries such as Singapore, Portugal and Japan.

We also continue to remain active on professional social media (i.e., LinkedIn) to ensure our clients and prospects are kept up-to-date on legal developments across various jurisdictions.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

Ensuring our clients get timely, practical, and commercially sound solutions to day-to-day issues that arise in our clients’ businesses, our dedicated team of lawyers are matched based on our clients’ needs.

Notably, we advised Digi.com Berhad (“Digi”) in respect of its USD$ 3.8 billion merger with Celcom Axiata Berhad (“Celcom”), by way of acquisition of 100% of the shares in Celcom from Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) and the issuance of shares in Digi to Axiata. Our work on this deal included advising on the structure of the transaction (opposite counsels from Norway, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK and Malaysia); seeking regulatory approval from Bursa Malaysia (the stock exchange) and Securities Commission of Malaysia; assisting and advising Digi to obtain its shareholders’ approval via an extraordinary general meeting; seeking merger control approval from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the telecommunications regulator of Malaysia, and seeking regulatory approval under the licenses granted by MCMC, among others.

This large, multi-faceted transaction saw many of our practice groups engaged, ranging from Corporate and M&A, to Competition, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Data Protection, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets, to our Disputes team in strategizing and attending to an injunction brought by a minority shareholder. We were able to pull these teams together to deliver practical legal advice that took into account commercial needs, under tight timelines and across the demands of multiple stakeholders and jurisdictional requirements.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Definitely – Rapport and credibility stems from stability and strong governance, as well as a reliable strategic direction. Clients are more inclined to work with law firms that are stable and have a strong objective and direction, which in essence gives them the peace of mind of a safe and secure pair of hands to tackle their legal problems and handle their transactions and business ventures.

As part of Rajah & Tann Asia (RTA), which turns 10 in 2024, our size, breadth of expertise, and track record, present clients with the stability they need to operate throughout ASEAN. Locally, having grown to one of the largest firms in Malaysia over the last decade, our direction and growth is aligned with that of RTA, and we remain focused in becoming our clients preferred firm locally and regionally.

In 3 years’ time, we hope to see our Firm’s reputation and rankings across all practice areas achieve Tier 1 status, as we continue to deepen our practice depth, and grow with our clients and their needs.