About

With a PhD in international law at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Asia and a lecturer in Paris and Thailand between 1993 and 1998, Anne-Laure Nguyen-Fitzgerald left her academic life behind to join the Paris law firm Kimbrough et Associés in 2003. She was counsel to foreign clients, particularly from the US and held responsibility over national and EU antitrust issues including multinational antitrust reviews in relation to M&A. Joining Baker & McKenzie in Vietnam in 2005, she acted as counsel to foreign investors and administrator of WTO practises. Her time at the prestigious law firm is notable for her counselling of the Vietnamese government on a range of issues from accession to a US aid project to drafting and implementing new domestic laws in compliance with WTO agreements. Following the financial crisis’ effect in freezing client projects, Nguyen-Fitzgerald moved in-house in 2009. Joining SNA Europe, the European manufacturer of advanced hand tools, her first tasks were to align SNA Europe’s operations with its American parent company and rationalise its legal costs. Additionally, Nguyen-Fitzgerald assisted SNA on reviewing and rationalising its operations in emerging countries, aligning those with American compliance requirements and leading a large environmental industrial arbitration that she successfully managed to settle out of court; all achieved as the solitary in-house counsel. Acting as an intermediary between law firms and the business, Nguyen-Fitzgerald has built strong relationships to quickly facilitate deals. As a testament to her work, she is now involved at the early stages of project development helping align projects and save on costs. She also works with project managers at ground level cultivating better contracts whilst juggling a position as a member of the executive committee. She says ‘the best lawyers are passionate about their business. Working on the ground level gaining the respect and trust of colleagues as well as building your own skills in delivering advice tailored to the business’.