Head of legal - Vietnam and Asia Area frontier markets / director of legal affairs and organisational capacity development | AstraZeneca
Chief legal officer | Hoi An South Development
General counsel and head of legal, compliance, and corporate affairs | Pharmacity
Head of legal, compliance and government affairs | Asia Clean Capital Vietnam
Director of legal and compliance division | MB Shinsei Finance (Mcredit)
Head of legal and contract manager | Ricons Construction Investment
Senior vice president - head of legal | Emergent Property Services Vietnam
We are beyond thrilled to announce the second edition of the GC Powerlist: Vietnam, building on the success of last year’s inaugural publication. This edition highlights a whole new plethora of accomplished in-house lawyers in one of the world’s foremost high-growth and high-potential economies. As well as celebrating their exceptional achievements and innovative approaches as they navigate the complexities of the legal landscape, we delve into what creative strategies they have used to navigate the unique challenges they face in the Vietnamese business context.
The in-house legal community in Vietnam expands its knowledge base every day, with local lawyers increasingly taking on prominent roles internationally. The GC Powerlist Team is proud to foster connections within this vibrant and positive in-house legal community.
Inside this edition, you will find in-depth profiles and exclusive interviews with influential general counsel from a variety of industries. These professionals have consistently demonstrated their capacity to shape legal strategies, mitigate risks, and provide invaluable guidance to their organisations. Their accomplishments inspire the legal community, showcasing the significant impact that in-house lawyers can have on business strategies and overall success.
As in-house counsel play a more active role in decision-making, they are well-positioned to advise on building strong partnerships. Tong Thi Thu Thao, head of legal and contract manager at Ricons Construction Investment, shares insights on collaboration: “The key to successful partnerships is being proactive, maintaining effective communication, and engaging early to align legal and business objectives. This means considering commercial factors, rather than focusing solely on legal issues. In-house legal counsel should actively understand their company’s operations and strategic goals, regularly update on relevant regulations, and provide timely support, even without specific requests from management. By adopting a proactive approach and ensuring transparency in all communications, the legal team builds trust and fosters a shared goal of mutual growth. Legal leaders should position their function as facilitators, helping the business achieve its objectives within the legal framework.”
This publication addresses various topics and challenges unique to the in-house legal sector. We invite you to explore the GC Powerlist: Vietnam 2024 and discover the remarkable stories of these exceptional professionals. Through their experiences and insights, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of Vietnam’s in-house legal landscape, highlighting the invaluable contributions of the nation’s top corporate lawyers.
On behalf of The Legal 500, I extend my deepest gratitude to all the featured in-house lawyers for their valuable contributions and for sharing their journeys with us. It is my pleasure to present this distinguished collection, showcasing Vietnam’s most exceptional and dedicated in-house legal talent.
Joe Boswell
Global editor – GC Powerlist
The Legal 500
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’