Legal Week's third Corporate Counsel Forum Hong Kong has kicked off today with an opening speech by Solicitor General Frank Poon.

The event, held at the Renaissance Harbour View hotel in Wan Chai, has brought together more than 100 in-house lawyers from around Asia Pacific to debate a mix of issues including Hong Kong's developing regulatory environment, emerging dispute resolution trends and incoming competition legislation around the region.

Chaired by Sophia PK Yap, global deputy chief ethics and compliance officer at CBRE, it follows the success of two previous Corporate Counsel Forums in the city, with this year's panelists including Dorothy Chan, the regional general counsel for Asia at ING Bank; HuanDong Gao, head of legal at Yihaodian; and Dr Wang Wenying, the secretary general for CIETAC in Hong Kong.

In his opening speech, Solicitor General Frank Poon from Hong Kong's Department of Justice praised Hong Kong for its rule of law in giving it a competitive advantage over other jurisdictions, and referred specifically to the benefits provided by overseas law firms.

He also mentioned steps taken by the city to help boost the business and legal environment, including an agreement signed with Macau last year for mutual enforcement of arbitral awards, and a push by the authorities to allow limited liability partnerships under new rules being drawn up by the Law Society.

Legal Week's Corporate Counsel Forums have been running in Hong Kong since 2012, hosting in-house lawyers and senior representatives from a mix of banks, telecoms companies, retailers and insurance companies among others.

This year's key sponsors include US law firm Winston & Strawn, Heidrick & Struggles and Thomson Reuters' Practical Law.

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