Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that its associated law firm LVN & Associates (“LVN”) in Vietnam, which will be known as Watson Farley & Williams LVN as of today, has joined the firm’s international network and platform. Vietnam is the twelfth jurisdiction in which WFW will have a presence and the fifth in Asia, alongside China, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
The two firms began their association in June 2015, when LVN founding Partner Linh Doan joined WFW in Hong Kong. Linh now becomes a WFW Partner and will continue to divide her time between Hong Kong and WFW LVN in Hanoi. Comprising four other fee earners in addition to Linh, LVN’s clients include agencies of the Vietnamese government, international development banks, global private equity firms and corporate investors, whom they advise across a broad spectrum of service lines.
Linh is widely recognised as a leading legal adviser in the Asian energy and infrastructure markets, with Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 highlighting her as a “recognised expert for cross-border project financing and development between China and Vietnam” in particular. Since 2015, she has successfully leveraged and helped expand WFW’s existing and highly regarded platform to secure more energy and infrastructure work across Asia, having advised on numerous major strategic projects such as acting for Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the US$2.3bn Nghi Son 2 Coal-fired Power Project, which was recently named “Project Finance Deal of the Year” at the ALB South East Asia Law Awards 2019.
WFW Managing Partner Chris Lowe comments: “Energy is one of WFW’s core areas of expertise and closer integration with LVN will help expand our footprint in that sector in the booming Vietnamese and South East Asian markets, both in terms of conventional and renewable power. I’m also delighted to welcome an outstanding lawyer such as Linh, who has made an incredible contribution to the firm over the past four years, to our partnership and the rest of the LVN team to WFW”.
Linh adds: “WFW and LVN have worked seamlessly and successfully together on large scale cross-border projects since joining forces in 2015 and a closer relationship will only improve the breadth and depth of the expertise we can offer our clients in Vietnam and South East Asia. I’m also honoured to be joining a partnership so many of whose members I have had the pleasure and privilege of working alongside over the past four years”.