Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Quarterly Update Quarter 3: 2020

Celeste Ang is a principal in Baker McKenzie's Singapore office. Celeste Ang’s practice encompasses corporate litigation and arbitration, both domestic and cross-border. She also has significant experience advising clients on compliance and regulatory issues in the context of investigations, and on a wide range of employment and employment-related issues. Celeste is ranked by Chambers Asia Pacific in the areas of litigation and employment and by Chambers Global in the area of litigation. She is described as "very smart, very innovative - a good example of someone who thinks outside the box" and "very technically competent, very thorough and very responsive" by clients.

Brian Chia heads the Corporate, Commercial & Securities Practice Group of Wong & Partners and the M&A Practice Group of Baker McKenzie member firms in the Asia Pacific region. Brian has been ranked as a Band 1 practitioner in the area of Corporate and M&A in Chambers Asia Pacific since 2011 and in Chambers Global since 2013. He has been recognised as a Leading Individual in Corporate and M&A by Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2011 and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2021. Brian has been among IFLR1000's Highly Regarded individuals for Corporate and M&A since 2011 and is named as an Elite Practitioner by Asialaw Profiles. Brian played a pivotal role in building and leading the corporate, commercial and securities practice, which was recognised as the Malaysia Deal Firm of the Year by Asian Legal Business in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Kenneth Chua is a partner and the head of Quisumbing Torres' Employment Practice Group and Services Industry Group. He is also a member of the Financial Institutions and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Groups in Manila. He participates in initiatives of Baker & McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. He is a member of Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Steering Committee. He has 18 years of experience advising clients on various labor and employment issues, including compensation and benefits, employment contract and employee handbook. Kenneth serves as the legal counsel representing Quisumbing Torres for the Global In-House Center Council Philippines (GICC). He sits in the Tripartite Executive Committee and the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council of the Department of Labor and Employment as representative of the employer sector. He participates in the Technical Working Group on Labor and Social Policy Issues of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines. He is consistently recognized as a Leading Lawyer in Employment by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Chambers Asia Pacific. He is also among Asia Business Law Journal’s inaugural “A-List” of the Top 100 lawyers in the Philippines.

Jonathan Isaacs heads Baker McKenzie's China Employment Practice. Mr. Isaacs is listed as a leading lawyer for China employment law in various legal publications and has shared insights on labor and employment issues with many publications and media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, Reuters, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Voice of America, RTHK, LA Times and Fortune Magazine. He has also co-authored the leading treatise on Chinese employment law in English, Employment Law & Practice in China. He is admitted as a lawyer in the state of New York, USA.

Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu is a partner of the Labour and Employment practice group in Bangkok. Over 10 years of experience, his extensive legal expertise, combined with insights on industrial knowledge and practices have contributed to him being named a “Next Generation Lawyer for Labour and Employment” in Thailand by Asia Pacific Legal 500 in 2019. Mr. Lekfuangfu was lead lawyer for a wide range of employment matters involving high profile clients. He assists clients on employment and immigration work, ranging from day-to-day advice to complex matters, such as advising on employment trends impacting employers globally, including global mobility, the use of a modern workforce, and addressing the gender pay gap.

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Rowan McKenzie is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office and the head of the Firm's Employment Practice Group in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. He has extensive experience in all aspects of employment law. Rowan is regularly invited to chair and present at seminars and events and has authored numerous articles on Hong Kong employment law. He is an Editorial Board Member for LexisNexis Practical Guidance.

Tomohisa Muranushi is a member of the Firm's Corporate/M&A Practice Group in Tokyo and has eighteen years of legal experience working in Japan. He co-authored M&A Handbook on Conducting Business Practically and the Japan chapter on Cross-border Labour and Employee Benefits Handbook. Tomohisa has also worked at the San Francisco and Bangkok offices of Baker McKenzie.

Thuy Hang Nguyen is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Ho Chi Minh office and the head of the Employment and Labor practice in Vietnam. She joined the Firm in 2006 and has been involved in a wide range of practice areas in various investment projects. She has extensive experience in employment and labor law, and has advised on corporate and regulatory compliance issues in Vietnam, including mergers and acquisitions, foreign investment licensing, corporate and commercial matters. Ms. Nguyen is a leading authority and frequent speaker on employment and labor law in Vietnam and the Asia Pacific region.

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Howard Shiu is a partner and member of the Employment Practice Group in Baker McKenzie, Taipei. He focuses on trust law and dispute resolution. He was recognized as a Notable Practitioner by Chambers Asia Pacific 2016.