16 LAWYER MONTHLY MAY 2023 background before becoming a lawyer so I understand that ultimately the lawyers are here to serve the needs of the business owner, while making sure that the business decisions are legally compliant. We try not to create more legal issues for our clients, but rather provide them with a practical solution to solve their day-to-day problems. Second, we consider ourselves experts in dealing with companies based in Asia. Most of our staff, including myself, are multi-lingual and actually spent a significant amount of our lives in Asia. At the same time, we are well-versed in bridging the differences the Eastern and Western values. This is particularly important when we work with the regulators. Most of my clients are based in Asia and some of them may have never been to the US. Because of that, we are often not only serving as their lawyers, but also serving as their only voice when their profile is being presented in front of the regulators and investor community. Our strength is to bridge any gap or difference in views the best we can because we truly understand where both sides come from. Lastly, we take pride in our ability in anticipating any potential issue before they become an issue. Like everything else, success is all about the preparation you put in. While we are good at tackling the issues in front of us, we try to plan many steps in advance before making one move. Because of our experience in dealing with many issuers from the past, we have built in certain standard protocol to streamline the process. In addition, we are constantly thinking the unpredictable to make sure that there is no surprise in the process. As doctors always say, the best medical care is preventive care. We have the same mindset. What are your primary concerns when advising on an offering? The entire IPO process can be a rather lengthy journey, one filled with uncertainties. As an issuer’s counsel, we try to prepare for as many potential issues as possible, but it is almost impossible to cover all of them. In today’s world, market conditions could change overnight. As a result, regulatory response in reaction to that could suddenly change as well. In our eyes, this is the inherent risk that we will need to deal with when taking a company public because these changes could potentially prolong the process or sometimes even jeopardise the outcome. I always advise my clients that if we have a chance to close a deal, just do it as soon as practicable. The longer one waits, the bigger the risk of failure there is. Besides the market risk, we also need to be mindful of the local regulations as we deal with many overseas clients. Even though we are US lawyers, I always try to first educate myself on the applicable regulations in the jurisdiction that our client is located in. I then either pass on the information to our staff or ask them to further research the local laws in details. Sometimes the biggest concern is what you do not know and you do not want to step onto that regulatory As I always say, nothing is ever easy. Nothing can be taken for granted these days, especially in today’s world, where everything must be accomplished in a collaborative manner.
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