As the Chair of the Asia Pacific Region for Primerus, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Primerus Asia Pacific Newsletter.
We are in a difficult situation right now - globally. The novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and cost the world economy billions in financial losses. People are losing their jobs or are forced to accept pay cuts. Some companies must stop doing business because of state-mandated temporary closures to force the public to stay home. Even the legal profession is not spared as business shutdowns affect the flow of work. No one could have imagined that a virus can wreck so much of the world in the 21st century.
How will COVID-19 change the legal industry after this pandemic is over? Experts say that this will propel the practice of law into the digital age as more legal practitioners and service providers will work from home and move towards workflow automation. As of now, we are at a wait-and-see situation as we observe how the world will transform post-corona.
In this newsletter, we have articles from different parts of the Asia Pacific region covering various topics of law. There are two (2) articles relating to COVID-19 entitled “What Australian Employers Must be Aware of in the Corona Virus Pandemic” from the HHG Legal Group and “Employee’s rights to claim against the employer for Novel Coronavirus infection” from ONC Lawyers. There is an informative article from Taiwan entitled “Must-Knows for Businesses in Taiwan: Enforcement Rules of the Labor Incident Act” submitted by Formosan Brothers Attorneys-at-Law that talks about the key features of the Enforcement Rules of the newly implemented Labor Incident Act in the country. Another interesting article relates to whistleblowing in the workplace and how companies should approach it entitled “Whistling at Work” written by Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers. There is also an article entitled “China’s Fourth Amendment of the Trademark Law Come Into Force in November of 2019” that explains the fourth amendment on China's Trademark Law. Finally, we have an articled from HJM Asia Law & Co entitled “The Variable Capital Company: an answer to Singapore’s fund management Sector?” that discusses the enactment of the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018 in Singapore and the creation of the Variable Capital Company to represent Singapore’s efforts to boost its fund management industry by providing a fund-friendly legal entity.
On behalf of Primerus Asia Pacific Region, I wish to thank our Primerus Asia members for their contributions and enriching the body of legal knowledge. We hope that corporate clients and Primerus members from all over the world learn and benefit from reading the articles in this newsletter.
Finally, we would like to assure everyone that Primerus will continue to support all its members and clients worldwide during this global crisis. Please visit the Primerus website for legal resources and to learn more about its upcoming projects and events that may be helpful to you. Together as a team, we will get through this pandemic. Thank you and good luck to all!
Caroline Berube
Chair
Primerus Asia Pacific Region