AIJA 60th International Young Lawyers’ Congress, Singapore

Academic PROGRAMME

THE FUTURE OF THE M&A DEAL PROCESS AND NEGOTIATIONS IN 2050

Organised by the Corporate and M&A Commission

Session #1

Date & Time

Location

Tuesday, 23 August

11:45 – 13:00

Melati Main Ballroom 4001AB-2 + 4101AB-2 – Level 4/Sands Convention Centre

Description

Fasten your seatbelt. We will take you on a time-travel to 2050 and show you the future of M&A deal processes focusing on the lawyer’s perspective.

The deal process itself will be totally different: SPAs will be automatically generated based on a catalogue of varying templates and clauses. Blockchain technology will play a key-role in facilitating signing and closing of transactions, including payment streams. Full regulatory compliance will be required at the outset of every transaction removing country and continent barriers. ESG practices will become the standard requirement for any private and public transaction and green will surely be the new black. And what about the rise of the machines – will tech beat human or will the human touch and skill of experienced M&A lawyers still make the difference in making or breaking the deal?

M&A lawyers will have to adapt drastically and rapidly to these evolutions. If not, there will simply be no future for us. As a result of these evolutions you, your deal team and your law firm in 2050 will also look quite differently.

But don’t panic. Your future starts today and you better get prepared for it. We will show you real life best practices of today and tomorrow on how to prepare for this (r)evolution in M&A deals.

Speakers & Moderators

Pieter Van den Broeck

Monard Law, Belgium

Bio

Pieter Van den Broeck obtained a Master of Laws from Ghent University in 2001 and an Advanced Master’s Degree in Company Law from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven and Brussels campuses) in 2003.

After having worked at a leading Belgian law firm for more than 10 years as (senior) associate, he joined Monard Law in Antwerp in May 2013 as associate partner. He was promoted to equity partner in 2018.

Pieter specialises in company law in general and focuses on transactions (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, PE/VC, transfer of family businesses, restructurings, shareholder conflicts, etc.) and advisory work. In addition, Pieter has extensive experience in corporate real estate transactions.

Pieter has been praised as a “highly recommended” lawyer for many years nationally and internationally in Legal 500 and IFLR 1000 and by Leaders League for his work in Corporate M&A and Private Equity/Venture Capital.

Pieter advises Belgian and foreign companies that want to invest in or divest Belgian businesses. A significant part of his work entails cross-border aspects with a special focus on the Netherlands and China.

Pieter has a particularly close connection with family businesses. He completed the executive training “Advisor for family businesses” in 2015-2016 at the EHSAL Management School (Brussels).

He is moreover active at the Flemish network of enterprises (VOKA – Vlaams Netwerk van Ondernemingen), the BCFA (Belgian Corporate Finance Association), the BVA (Belgian Venture Capital Association), AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers), where he has been a member of its Executive Committee since 2011, and the IBA (International Bar Association).

Pieter is a regular speaker on company law and M&A-related topics at seminars and conferences in Belgium and abroad.

Cheng Chen

Kellerhals Carrard, China

Bio

Cheng Chen graduated from the University of Fribourg (BLaw & MLaw) in Switzerland and has a lawyer license issued by the Chinese State. After more than 10 years living and working in Switzerland, he has a good knowledge of Europe, especially when it comes to Western culture, values and ways of thinking. Proficient in Chinese, German and English, he has practicing experience of nearly 20 years, during which he provided legal services in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and arbitration for numerous European companies. Meanwhile, as the only lawyer recommended by the Embassy of China in Switzerland and also suggested by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, he has assisted many Chinese state-owned and private companies in their investments and acquisitions in Europe. As he regularly advises on both inbound and outbound investment, he can provide value to his clients when it comes to strategic decision-making, contractual negotiation and structural planning.

Cheng Chen has extensive experience in Joint-Ventures (“JV”) in China. He regularly represents Western and Chinese clients in major JV and JV-Exit projects in connection with investment in or divestment from China including JV litigations up to the Supreme Court of China as well as JV Arbitrations held domestically and abroad.

Based on his experience and expertise in both consulting and dispute resolution on international sales agreement, distribution agreement as well as investment and JV agreement, he has been appointed as Arbitrator at Dalian International Arbitration Center in China.

Nadine Leitner

Cerha Hempel Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Austria

Bio

Nadine Leitner is an Austrian Attorney-at-Law. She graduated from Johannes Kepler University Linz (Mag. iur. 2013). Her areas of practice are Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital.

She knows German, English and Spanish.

Wong Yi

Yeo’s, Singapore

Bio

Wong Yi received his LL.B. (Hons) from the University of Nottingham, U.K. in 2007, and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2011. He has experience in private practice areas such as capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, banking and finance and general corporate work in both local (in WongPartnership LLP) and international law firms (Eversheds LLP).

Currently, he is the Group General Counsel at Yeos, an SGX Mainboard listed F&B conglomerate. He has prior stints as Head of Legal in BreadTalk, Head of Legal and Data Protection Officer at Hmlet, a series B co-living start up backed by Sequoia Capital, Burda Principal Investments and Mitsubishi Real Estate.

Previously, he was Corporate Counsel – South East Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle, and also has experience as a Regional Legal Counsel in an US-German IT MNC, as in-house Legal Counsel in Singapore Airlines, as a seconded lawyer in Tiger Airways, as Senior Manager of Strategic Development and Legal in Singapore Post and as Senior Legal Counsel in the Robert Walters Group.

Wong Yi is also an Adjunct Associate at the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Adjunct Lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Business, lecturing on law modules.

Wong Yi is currently Vice President in the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association. He was the Chairperson of the Young Lawyers Committee of the Law Society of Singapore from 2014 to 2018 and was also a Committee Member of the Young Members Chapter of the Singapore Academy of Law.

Sandra Wong

Browne Jacobson LLP, United Kingdom

Bio

Sandra specialises in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations including management buy-outs and buy-ins, private equity deals and business advice to corporate clients.

She sits on the board of the firm’s international group and is experienced in advising on cross-border transactions, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions.

Sandra has been shortlisted as ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year’ in Insider’s East Midlands Dealmakers’ awards for 3 consecutive years in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and as ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year’ in Insider’s Midlands Dealmakers’ awards 2021 and was a finalist in the ‘Rising Star’ category in the Nottingham Post’s Women in Business Awards 2018.

Academic PROGRAMME

THE FUTURE OF THE M&A DEAL PROCESS AND NEGOTIATIONS IN 2050

Date & Time

Location

Description

Speakers & Moderators

Pieter Van den Broeck

Monard Law, Belgium

Cheng Chen

Kellerhals Carrard, China

Nadine Leitner

Cerha Hempel Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Austria

Wong Yi

Yeo’s, Singapore

Sandra Wong

Browne Jacobson LLP, United Kingdom

Session Coordinators

Pieter Van den Broeck

Monard Law, Belgium

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