Asia Pacific Regional Employment Update: COVID-19

Michael has more than 15 years' experience as an employment law and industrial relations lawyer, acting for clients in a range of industries, including banking and finance, insurance, health and pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, real estate, media and entertainment, information technology and professional services. He has developed and published compliance programs and best practice policies locally and within Asia Pacific. He is the author and a developer of CCH’s Employment Contracts Manager, a software package that builds and tailors smart employment contracts. He has also authored a large number of chapters in every edition of CCH’s Australian Master Human Resources Guide. Articles written by Michael on employment law topics have appeared in the Melbourne University Law Review, CFO Magazine, Human Capital, Lawyers Weekly, Human Resources, and CCH’s Employment Law Bulletin. He has also spoken at events arranged by the College of Law, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and various professional associations. He wrote and produced “Dismissal Impossible,” a training video on unfair dismissal and sexual harassment, for the Australian Stock Exchange. Michael regularly conducts employment-related litigation before State and Federal courts and industrial tribunals at an original and appellate level.

Jonathan Isaacs heads Baker McKenzie's China Employment Practice. Mr. Isaacs is listed as a leading lawyer for China employment law in various legal publications and has shared insights on labor and employment issues with many publications and media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, Reuters, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Voice of America, RTHK, LA Times and Fortune Magazine. He has also co-authored the leading treatise on Chinese employment law in English, Employment Law & Practice in China. He is admitted as a lawyer in the state of New York, USA.

Timur Sukirno, a senior partner, is the chairman of HHP Law Firm and head of the Commercial Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Mr. Sukirno is the founder and first chairman of the Indonesian Receivers and Administrators Association, and has represented lenders and companies in Suspension of Payment (PKPU) processes as well as out-of-court settlements and bankruptcy proceedings. He is a member of the Higher Education of Law Committee at the Department of Education and of the Subcommittee on the Development of Law in the Framework of Economic Recovery.

Tomohisa Muranushi is a member of the Firm's Corporate/M&A Practice Group in Tokyo and has eighteen years of legal experience working in Japan. He co-authored M&A Handbook on Conducting Business Practically and the Japan chapter on Cross-border Labour and Employee Benefits Handbook. Tomohisa has also worked at the San Francisco and Bangkok offices of Baker McKenzie.

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Brian Chia heads the Corporate, Commercial & Securities Practice Group of Wong & Partners and the M&A Practice Group of Baker McKenzie member firms in the Asia Pacific region. Brian has been ranked as a Band 1 practitioner in the area of Corporate and M&A in Chambers Asia Pacific since 2011 and in Chambers Global since 2013. He has been recognised as a Leading Individual in Corporate and M&A by Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2011 and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2021. Brian has been among IFLR1000's Highly Regarded individuals for Corporate and M&A since 2011 and is named as an Elite Practitioner by Asialaw Profiles. Brian played a pivotal role in building and leading the corporate, commercial and securities practice, which was recognised as the Malaysia Deal Firm of the Year by Asian Legal Business in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Kenneth Chua is a partner and the head of Quisumbing Torres' Employment Practice Group. He is also a member of the Financial Institutions and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Groups. He participates in initiatives of Baker & McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. He is a member of Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Steering Committee. He has 23 years of experience advising clients on various labor and employment issues, including compensation and benefits, employment contract and employee handbook. Kenneth serves as the legal counsel (representing Quisumbing Torres) for the Global In-House Center Council Philippines (GICC). He sits in the Tripartite Executive Committee and the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council of the Department of Labor and Employment as representative of the employer sector. He is consistently recognized as a Leading Lawyer in Employment by the Chambers Asia Pacific, Benchmark Litigation and asialaw profiles. He is ranked Hall of Fame in Employment by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific. He is also among Asia Business Law Journal’s inaugural “A-List” of the Top 100 lawyers in the Philippines.

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Celeste Ang is a principal in Baker McKenzie's Singapore office. Celeste Ang’s practice encompasses corporate litigation and arbitration, both domestic and cross-border. She also has significant experience advising clients on compliance and regulatory issues in the context of investigations, and on a wide range of employment and employment-related issues. Celeste is ranked by Chambers Asia Pacific in the areas of litigation and employment and by Chambers Global in the area of litigation. She is described as "very smart, very innovative - a good example of someone who thinks outside the box" and "very technically competent, very thorough and very responsive" by clients.

Seraphim Ma is Managing Partner of the Baker McKenzie Taipei office since 01 July, 2021. Working in our premier global law firm since 1990 and consistently ranked Band 1/Tier 1 attorney by Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 respectively, Seraphim’s widely recognized expertise includes intellectual property law, dispute resolution (criminal, civil and administrative litigation), joint venture projects with government, and employment law. Awarded with the prestigious Euromoney Legal Media Group Asia Women in Business Law Award in 2014 and 2016, she was distinguished twice as the only winner from Taiwan. She also plays an active role as a prominent civic leader who provides practical recommendations to the Taiwan government on forming key legislation through the senior executive positions she has held, both past and present, including Board Governor/Supervisor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (2017~present) and former Co-chair of both the AmCham and European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan HR Committees.

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Suriyong Tungsuwan joined Baker McKenzie in 1982 and became a partner in 1993. He is active in the areas of corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and property development, labour, employment, executive transfers, and trade regulations and customs.

Thuy Hang Nguyen is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Ho Chi Minh office and the head of the Employment and Labor practice in Vietnam. She joined the Firm in 2006 and has been involved in a wide range of practice areas in various investment projects. She has extensive experience in employment and labor law, and has advised on corporate and regulatory compliance issues in Vietnam, including mergers and acquisitions, foreign investment licensing, corporate and commercial matters. Ms. Nguyen is a leading authority and frequent speaker on employment and labor law in Vietnam and the Asia Pacific region.

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