The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2018 Edition)
Banking and Finance - Tier 2
Corporate and M&A - Tier 2
Dispute Resolution - Tier 1
Insurance - Tier 2
Intellectual Property - Tier 2
Labour and Employment - Tier 2
Real Estate and Construction - Tier2
Shipping - Tier 2
Tax - Tier 1
TMT - Tier 1
Leading Lawyer:
Chau Huy Quang - Dispute Resolution
Next Generation Lawyer:
Logan Leung - Corporate and M&A
Banking and Finance
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers’ work includes significant lender-side matters regarding projects, plus compliance matters. Nguyen Dinh Nha and Vu Thi Que are partners of note in the practice, with senior associate Huynh Thi Thu Thuy and foreign counsel Samuel Peirce also key contacts. All of the named lawyers are based in Ho Chi Minh City.
Corporate and M&A
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers is ‘a very professional firm that gives you straight answers all the time’, and is ‘very good and responsive – always happy to help in a professional but personal manner’. The firm handles the Vietnamese elements of global deals, as well as advising on inward investment matters for trade buyers from Japan, Greater China, the US and beyond in sectors including technology, pharmaceutical and manufacturing. Vu Thi Que’s ‘practical advice, responsiveness and high-level commitment is valued highly by clients’; she advised iflix on its entry into the Vietnamese video-on-demand market by way of a local joint venture. Australian-qualified foreign counsel Logan Leung, who is ‘a good listener who understands his clients needs and provides workable solutions’, and Tran Thi Phuong Thao advised Mapletree on the purchase of a logistics park project.
Dispute Resolution
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers ‘provides a high level of service – the team is responsive in terms of turnaround and quality’. Areas of expertise include agenda-setting white-collar crime matters, construction disputes and more general commercial litigation. We shipping work is another core strength, especially matters relating to vessel arrests: Chau Huy Quang and ‘exceptionally professional and responsive’ Australian-qualified foreign counsel Logan Leung represented the owners of a ship in a dispute with the government regarding the arrest of the vessel and confiscation of 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil. As far as arbitration work is concerned, Leung acts for a Canadian national on the Vietnamese aspects of a sale-and-purchase dispute subject to a Canadian arbitration. Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy is also a key contact.
Insurance
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers handles entries into the market and regulatory matters surrounding products for retail and business buyers. Nguyen Dinh Nha, senior associate Cao Dang Duy and foreign counsel Samuel Peirce advised Fairfax Asia on its purchase of a 35% stake in BIDV Insurance. The team also acts for other leading insurers and P&I clubs. Vu Thi Que, Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy and Chau Huy Quang also advise on insurance matters.
Intellectual Property
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers handles heavyweight transactional and licensing matters, as well as administrative proceedings and court litigation concerning passing off and other firms of infringement. Chau Huy Quang is a name to note for litigation, with Vu Thi Que advising on complex licensing transactions; foreign counsel Logan Leung’s expertise straddles both areas. Clients include businesses in sectors ranging from hospitality and real estate through to education and the pharmaceutical industry.
Labour and Employment
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers handles matters such as data protection, transactions, employee benefits restructurings and market entries for well-known clients in sectors ranging from manufacturing through technology to professional services. Vu Thi Que and Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy are noted.
Real Estate and Construction
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers advises foreign investors from jurisdictions including Singapore, Hong Kong and China on significant Vietnamese investments. Foreign counsel Logan Leung and Huynh Thi Thu Thuy advised cornerstone client Mapletree Investments on its $215m purchase of Kumho Asiana Plaza Saigon, a mixed-use development in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, while Leung and senior counsel Tran Thi Phuong Thao advised the same client on a SG$21m acquisition of a logistics park. The team also acts for local investors, and Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy and Leung advised Nam Long Corporation on a joint venture with two Japanese investors to develop a project with 110 villas and 234 apartments.
Shipping
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers handles a mixture of shipping work, covering both sensitive wet shipping disputes and heavyweight transactions. Recent work concerning vessel arrests includes Chau Huy Quang and foreign counsel Logan Leung representing two different oil tanker owners, in separate cases, following the detention of the vessels and confiscation of the cargos; in both cases the vessels were detained transporting fuel that border guards considered to be illegal. Transactional work includes handling M&A in the sector, as well as providing day-to-day advice to companies in the industry; Vu Thi Que is a key name in this space. Other clients include P&I clubs.
Tax
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers represents a range of national and international business in tax disputes and investigations, including ones concerning customs, personal taxes, alleged fraud and suchlike. Chau Huy Quang has experience of such matters. Vu Thi Que and senior associate Trinh Minh Duc contribute non-contentious tax expertise.
TMT
Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers provides ‘a top-notch level of service’ and ‘clearly understands the issues at hand and designs a course of action to fit’. The team acts for leading worldwide and regional names in the social media, entertainment, online banking and education technology areas. Logan Leung, who ‘deserves recognition for his work ethic’, Vu Thi Que and senior associate Trinh Minh Duc advised iflix, a Malaysian video-on-demand service, on its entry into the Vietnamese market. Leung and Tran Thi Phuong Thao advised a telemedicine provider on launching a product that allows Vietnamese patients to directly interact with doctors based in Singapore via an app.