About

‘I have been fascinated by China since secondary school,’ says US-educated former journalist William Hay on his two-decade career in the continent. ‘A class act’ in the words of a former colleague, Hay’s legal career in the region has spanned GE Capital, MGM MIRAGE, real estate fund Colony Capital and Internet Capital Group. ‘In every respect, Will is the dean of the corporate counsel bar in Asia,’ says Andrew Ostrognai of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. ‘I can’t think of anyone else who has the depth of experience, judgment, and just plain smarts over such a wide variety of work and for such a long time’. At GE Capital, Hay helped to set off 20 different product lines, including the largest distressed debt in Asia during the 90s financial crisis. At Baring, he leads a four-lawyer, multi-jurisdictional team and has been active in strengthening the legal team and increasing its involvement in the business. ‘Asia is adopting a more US role,’ he says. ‘In the US if you get something wrong it can be very damaging to the business so lawyers tend to be consulted more. Elsewhere in the world consequences weren’t as bad but now things are getting tightened, with developments like FATCA and new anti-money laundering rules – global checks are coming into play, so the same pressures are there’.