Fiona Loughrey

Partner, Head of China Employment Group, Simmons & Simmons, Hong Kong

Fiona Loughrey established in 1999, and heads, the award-winning China employment team of Simmons & Simmons. Fiona advises on all aspects of the employment relationship, including employment terms and contract drafting; protection of confidential information; privacy and data protection; enforcement of business protection restrictions; dispute resolution and litigation; the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions and restructurings; share option/stock purchase schemes; and audits of human resources procedures. Fiona has particular experience in dealing with the privacy, equal opportunities and discrimination laws which were introduced in Hong Kong in 1996/97. (She has worked in Hong Kong since 1987, and started working as a solicitor in 1985 in London.)

Fiona is consistently recognised as a "Leading Individual" for Employment Law by Chambers Asia (most recently in the 2010 edition) and Asia Pacific Legal 500 directories (most recently in the 2009/10 edition). She currently chairs the employment committees of both the Law Society of Hong Kong and The Inter-Pacific Bar Association.

Tada Sastarasatit

Senior Partner of Siam City Law Offices, Thailand

Tada Sastarasatit holds a degree from Thammasat University, and was called to the Thai Bar as well as the English Bar (Gray's Inn, UK). Tada is currently a senior partner at Siam City Law Offices (SCL) responsible for labour law, construction dispute, litigation & arbitration proceedings, airline dispute resolution and contractual drafting.

Prior to joining SCL, he was a judge in the Ministry of Justice and equity partner at International Legal Counsellors Thailand Ltd (ILCT). Apart from providing legal advice to clients, he is a visiting lecturer teaching employment and arbitration law for universities in Thailand, a regular contributor for a large number of law journals and guest speaker on various law topics organised by government and private institutions. 

Maria Jockel, Russell Kennedy, Australia

Maria Jockel is one of Australia's pre-eminent immigration lawyers and is leader of Russell Kennedy's
immigration law team.

In 2010, Ms Jockel is listed in The International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers and in Best
Lawyers International: Australia, and is nominated in the Peer Review (Best Lawyers). She is a prolific author
on issues relating to immigration law. Her recent books include 457 Visa Law: Addressing Australia's Skilled
Labour Shortage, Thomson Reuters 2008, and Immigration Law Client Strategies in the Asia-Pacific,
Aspatore 2009.

Ms Jockel is convenor of the Immigration Lawyers Association of Australasia (Law Council of Australia), a
member of the executive committee of the international law section (Law Council of Australia) and a member
of the migration law committee (Law Institute of Victoria). In her current and former roles, Ms Jockel has
contributed to shaping the future of immigration law in Australia, having advised on sensitive government
policy and legal matters at state and federal levels.

Maria Jockel acts for international and Australian corporations, bringing skilled personnel to Australia to meet
labour force needs. She also advises international education providers on the requirements of the National
Code and regulatory compliance dealing with student visa matters. She represents business, skilled and family
migrants advising in all aspects of temporary and permanent residency. Her expertise includes complex health
and character matters.

Russell Kennedy is a Melbourne-based law firm and part of the national Kennedy Strang Legal Group. In
addition to immigration, the firm offers a comprehensive range of commercial legal services.

Dr Joo-Cheong Tham

University of Melbourne, Australia

Dr Joo-Cheong Tham is a Senior Lecturer at the Law Faculty.

His key research areas are the regulation of non-standard work and political finance law. He has also undertaken considerable research into counter-terrorism laws. He has published over 25 book chapters and refereed articles. His research has also been published in print and online media with Joo-Cheong having written more than 30 opinion pieces. He has also given evidence to parliamentary inquiries into terrorism laws and political finance law.

He is currently working on two separate areas. The first concerns the challenges of temporary migrant work to labour regulation, a project he is undertaking with Dr Iain Campbell, Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University. In the area of political finance, Joo-Cheong's book, Money and Politics: The Democracy We Can't Afford has recently been published by UNSW Press. He is also currently editing two books in this area, both of which will be published in 2011.

Selvamalar Alagaratnam

Partner, Dispute Resolution Division, SKRINE, Malaysia

Selvamalar was admitted to practice as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaysia in November 1994. She commenced her legal practice with a local law firm dedicated to employment law. In 2000, she joined Skrine and was admitted as a partner in 2006. Since her admission to the Malaysian Bar, she has been primarily engaged in employment law work.

Selvamalar's practice encompasses the following: representing employers, trade union of employees, and employees. Her court experience includes attending hearings at the Labour Court, conducting trials, non-compliance application and collective agreement matters in the Industrial Court, judicial review applications in the High Court and conducting and assisting in appeals in the superior courts. She has also handled hearings in the Public Services Tribunal. In addition, she is actively engaged in advising corporations on all employee related matters including recruitment, performance management, human resource policies and procedures, voluntary separation scheme, restructuring and retrenchment exercises. Her practice includes advising corporations in employee related matters in mergers and acquisitions, acquisition and disposal of businesses, joint ventures and privatisations. She is invited on a regular basis to present papers and give talks at seminars and conferences organised by event organisers in both Malaysia and Singapore.

Selvamalar is the co-author of the Law of Dismissal; Malaysia Court Forms - Employment Law Section; and Legal Guide to Employee Dispute Malaysia.   

Professor Li Jianyong

Dr Li Jianyong obtained his BA in sociology (1983) from the branch of Fudan University in Shanghai, and MA in sociology (1988) and PhD in human geography (2006) from East China Normal University also in Shanghai. He obtained his LLM (1996) from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. His English publications include two articles on Chinese labour code  (published in 2006), and relations between Chinese labour law and socialist market economy (published in 1996); his Chinese publications include four published books as follows: Introduction to Law; Sociology; Introduction to law for the community work; Sociology of law in transitional age of China.

Jianyong has published over 100 Chinese articles in the area of sociology law, Chinese labour law and labour contract, international labour standards, rule of law, Chinese constitutional law, human geography and regional economic development in China. He has also conducted research projects from National Social Science Foundation of China: Research on Social Stratification and Mobility in Urban China (1989-1992); and research on relation between the unified national market and local monopoly by provinces (2006-). 

Jianyong was a visiting scholar at Yale Law School, USA (1993-1995), Research Associate at Law School, UBC (since 1997), and visiting senior research fellow at the East Asia Institute (EAI), the National University of Singapore (Feb 2010-July2010). He currently serves as Professor and Director of the Institute of Sociology of Law at the East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai. Jianyong is also currently Shanghai Municipal Labour Arbitrator.

Kazi Abdul Mannan, Law & Lawyers, Bangladesh 

Kazi is a partner at Law & Lawyers. He has a bachelor of laws from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and a masters in commerce (marketing).

Kazi practices in the areas of labour and immigration, corporate law, taxation, and banking and finance. Kazi is currently a doctoral research fellow at Southern Cross University, Australia. His research focuses on Bangladeshi unskilled migrant labour problems in Malaysia. 

Kazi is a member of Dhaka Bar Association, Dhaka Taxes Bar Association, International Bar Association, Human Rights Lawyers Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and LAWASIA.

Trinh Nguyen, Trinh Nguyen & Partners, Vietnam

Trinh Nguyen is qualified to practice law both in Australia and Vietnam. She is one of a few of Vietnamese nationals who have gained admission in both common and civil law jurisdictions. Through her work, Trinh has earned her reputation as dual qualified lawyer with intimate knowledge of Vietnamese legal system and good comprehension of international practice of the areas of her expertise. Her advice on construction infrastructure projects and other business transaction in/relating to Vietnam as well related issues on inward/outward investment are sought by both domestic and international clients.

Trinh’s experience is honed by working at International firms such as Freehills, Phillip Fox (in Vietnam) and Hopgood Ganim (in Australia) over the past fourteen years where she as has been exposed to a myriad of issues that can arise in the corporate life of a company when it does business in Vietnam.

Additionally, Trinh’s diverse background as a journalist/columnist on investment issues for one of the most popular newspaper in Vietnam prior to her legal practice enables her to provide the clients with a more comprehensive view and unique perspective in advising on the intricacy of doing business in Vietnam.

Trinh was a partner at one of the largest local firm overseeing significant corporate and contractual negotiation on behalf of the firm. In 2007, together with her colleagues, Trinh set up a boutique practice Trinh Nguyen & Partners, specialising in construction, engineering and infrastructure areas. The firm serves its international and Vietnamese clients on both front end and back end providing legal solutions to the issues facing the clients in their course of doing business in and with Vietnam.

Trinh currently serves as Head of Research and Communication Committee of Pacific International Arbitration Centre. She was the immediate past committee member of the steering committee of International Lawyers Group in HCMC.

Nick Gall, Gall, Hong Kong

Nick's principal practice areas are commercial litigation, employment, fraud/asset tracing and insolvency.

He has acted for publicly listed companies, senior employees, the Hong Kong Government, the US Government, major international banks and corporations throughout Asia.

Nick is well respected employment lawyer and acts for senior executives and major corporations in high profile employment disputes. This has included the enforcement of restrictive covenants through preemptive means, the relocation of large groups of employees, and negotiation of exit/entry packages. Nick is also regularly instructed to act in respect of investigations and charges arising out of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and other regulatory bodies in Hong Kong.

In 2009, Nick was named as one of the Hot 100 Lawyers in Asia, by Asian Legal Business, the leading Asian journal aimed at the legal profession. The Hot 100 is an annual list of the top one hundred lawyers in Asia who have performed exceptionally in their fields.

 Poon Man-hon, Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Hong Kong

Poon Man-hon is the policy researcher of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). From 2004-2007 he was the organising secretary of construction workers union, catering workers union and minimum wage campaign. 

HKCTU has 89 affiliates with a membership of more than 173,000. HKCTU and its affiliates fight for democracy and labour rights, including the rights of migrant workers. 

 Mrs Sondang Tarida Tampubolon, SH, Indonesia 

She practices as Attorney at Law and Founders of Law Office Sondang Tampubolon & Partners, having expertise and experience in the area of practice: Corporate and commercial law, Taxation, Mining, Oil and Gas, Fishery, Plantation, Environmental law, Man Power, Private Law, and Immigration, etc.

Clients include multinational company, local company and representative offices of foreign based company in Indonesia, assisting clients in handling various legal matters including securing investments, litigation, compliances and professional indemnity issues.

Sondang has 15 years of experience of representing and assisting many of multinational clients having business in mining, fishing, plantation, trading, oil and gas services, and property management, formal and non formal education, general trading, Information Technology, Communication, Construction, Transportation and other business line.

The Law Office founded by Sondang is also supported with strong support from its management team, excellent paralegal selected by Sondang herself to maintain the excellence quality of services, also from Public Notary, Tax Consultant and Public Accountant. With the expertise, solid teamwork, and the facility provided by the Law Office Sondang Tampubolon & Partners, has helped the office to grow simultaneously.

Sondang is a registered advocate within Indonesian Advocate BAR Association and also AsiaLaw advocate organisation.

Pattie Walsh, DLA Piper, Hong Kong

Pattie Walsh is a Partner and Head of DLA Piper's Asia Employment, Pensions and Benefits Practice. Pattie has been a dedicated employment law expert since 1992, having practised as both a barrister and a solicitor in England and Hong Kong. She has a particular focus on multi-jurisdictional work as well as staffing issues arising from mergers and acquisitions, other re-organisations and out-sourcing situations across Asia.

Pattie writes extensively for legal and HR publications including a monthly column for CCH's bi-lingual publication 'China Staff'. The third edition of the popular book 'Hong Kong Employment Law - a Practical Guide' was published in autumn 2009. Pattie has appeared on local Hong Kong TV on a number of occasions and also on the BBC and CNN.

Pattie is recognised as a "Leading" employment lawyer in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Chambers Asia 2010, and she is also listed as an expert in the Guide to the World's Leading Labour and Employment Lawyers. Pattie was named in the 'Asian Legal Business' Hot 100: The hottest lawyers of 2009 and quoted as being "widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, employment law practitioners in the region".

Pattie currently chairs AmCham's HR Committee in Hong Kong.

Dr Paul Harpur is based in a fellow in Australia with the Griffith University, the Socio-Legal Research Centre, the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing and Griffith Institute for Social and Behavioural Research. Dr Harpur’s PhD focused upon the regulation of supply chains sourcing manufactured products from Australia and China. He has published widely on employment and human rights in Australian, British and United States law journals.

Bernard Banks, Kiely Thompson Caisley, New Zealand

Bernard Banks is a partner based in Wellington. His main areas of practice are employment law & industrial relations, immigration law, education law, public and administrative law. 

Until he joined Kiely Thompson Caisley in February 1999, Bernard was Crown Counsel and the Employment & Education Team Leader at the Crown Law Office in Wellington. He has appeared in numerous significant cases in the employment law & administrative law areas, including appearances in the Court of Appeal, Employment Court, High Court and other employment institutions. 

Bernard is a co-author Mazengarb’s Employment Law and is a member of the editorial board of Lexis Nexis Butterworths Employment Law Bulletin. 

For several years Bernard was a member of the New Zealand Law Society International Committee and convener of the New Zealand Law Society Human Rights Committee. Bernard has for several years been the chiar of LAWASIA’s labour law standing committee. He is a member of LAWASIA’s Human Rights Committee.

Hye C. Yu, Kim & Chang, Korea

Hye C. Yu concentrates her practice on cross-border transactions, principally representing corporate clients in mergers and acquisitions, especially with regard to employee benefits strategies and other human resources law issues for multinational employers.

She analyzes labor and employment issues related to corporate transactions, including due diligence, “acquired rights” issues, post-merger HR integration planning as well as advising on reductions-in-force and restructuring issues.

She negotiates, drafts, and reviews incentive compensation and executive compensation plans and documents including employment agreements, severance plans, non-compete/solicit, confidentiality and separation agreements.

She advises clients on managing multiple-jurisdiction employment law compliance initiatives including global handbooks, codes of conduct, hotlines, HR policies, employee equity plans, expatriate and secondment arrangements, and data privacy laws affecting global human resource systems.