Partner Perspectives - An Interview with the Legal 500

On the occasion of Venture North Law’s wining the award “Rising Law Firm of the Year”, Nguyen Quang Vu, the firm’s Managing Partner, has answered several interview questions from The Legal 500. The recorded interview is available at Legal 500’s website. Below is a summary of the interview:

Question 1: Being recognised in a regional category really highlights the strength in depth of the firm's services. How important is it to have the right team around you?

Having the right team means everything to me. In fact, I set up Venture North Law with the primary goal of having the freedom to build my team the way I want.

I usually joke that it is more difficult for us to get a good lawyer than to get a good client. Because for good clients, we can always work harder and charge less but for good lawyers we cannot do so.

When we started VNLaw, we focused on developing a system to hire and retain good lawyers. For example, as a new and small law firm, we cannot compete with big law firms in terms of salaries. So we treat the difference between the income a lawyer can get from other law firms and the income we can pay them as an investment by the lawyers in our firm. And we will share our profit with the lawyers based on the amount of investment he/she make. With this mechanism, we can build a team of lawyers who believe in our future.  And we believe that will benefit our clients too since our lawyers will always try to do their best to make their investment in our firm work.

Question 2: Please tell us a little bit about your practice and firm.

We started our practice in 2016 with one partner and two associates. Now, after five years, we have two partners and 13 other lawyers.

We are first and foremost a Vietnam corporate law firm. We can work on a broad range of corporate matters and transactions in Vietnam.

In addition, as a Vietnamese law firm, we can act as local counsel on almost any type of cross-border transactions from large cross-border financing or M&A transaction, project development, to international arbitration.

Question 3: What do you see as the main points that differentiate your firm from your competitors?

We think that we have two main key differences comparing with other law firm.

The first difference is that we have a single compensation system for both partners and associates. We pay our partner and associates based on the investment they made in us. The investment is measured in time (not just billable time) and in monies (including income that they could have earned if they worked for other firms). So in our firm, the interests of all partners and lawyers are aligned. This will ensure that our clients will always get the best services from any of our lawyers not just the partner.

The second difference is that we focus most of our marketing effort in producing free and good quality newsletter and legal research. By doing so we could both create value for our clients and train our lawyers.  We have a dedicated website to publish our newsletter and legal researches. Our website has an average 8000 visit per month which is an impressive number for a small law firm like us.

Question 4: The firm have been ranked and recognised for their M&A work in the region over the last year, working with a number of high profile clients on cross-border transactions. How do you see the Vietnamese market shaping up in 2022?

Vietnamese market has suffered severe disruption due to the lock down measures from April until October to deal with covid-19 wave in Vietnam. After a slow start, Vietnam is now vaccinating 1.3 million dose each day and more than half of the population has got at least one shot. Therefore, we hope that 2022 will be a better year for Vietnamese market. That said, we think investors should look at Vietnam in the long term. And the long term outlook for Vietnam should still be favourable given the pro-business commitment of the Vietnamese Government and ruling party.

Question 5: In a year full of business disruption across the region, what's the main change that you have made in the firm that will benefit clients?

During the period of uncertainty like this, we think that the best way we can help is to remain a reliable business partner of our clients.  

Question 6: Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Yes, legal practice today is far different from legal practice 20 years ago. Technology plays a very important role in law firm operation. A law firm should have

 1-     Productivity software like: email, and word processing,

2-     Practice management software for conflict check, time keeping, matter management and billing

3-     Document management software

For productivity software, today with cloud computing services like Office 365, Google Workplace, a small law firm could have access to the same productivity software as big law firm. So the only difference lies in practice management and document management systems.

When we started VNLaw, we have invested heavily in developing our own practice management system. Now, despite our relative small size, we have our own practice management system which can accommodate our growth in the future. We hope we will be able to have a document management solution soon.

Question 7:  Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms?

Yes, clients always look for solutions from their law firms in addition to legal advice.

However, unlike other developed countries, it is not always easy to provide correct legal advice in Vietnam. This is because the quality of the law written in Vietnam is fairly low and the law in Vietnam can be changed very quickly. For example, in the last 20 years, we have 4 different versions of company laws and investment laws. Therefore, we think that clients should also look for the law firms and the lawyers who have a solid understanding of Vietnamese law.

Question 8: This award shows the firm is very much growing in stature. Where do you see Venture North Law developing in the future?

Our firm now has various systems in place including compensation system, practice management system. We have been able to retain some promising young lawyers in our team. The award confirms that we are on the right track. So I hope in the future, our firm will continue to grow and will be able to gain more award from you.  

Question 9: This recognition signifies years of hard work. What is the most valuable lesson you can share with young, aspiring lawyers in Vietnam? 

A young lawyer should start building his/her personal brand early in their career. Your colleagues, friends, or bosses today could become your clients or refer clients to you in the future. Many of VNLaw important clients are referred to by my colleagues or bosses 20 years ago.

 So always try your best when working with your colleagues, your friends and your bosses. If you think that you cannot do your best then do not afraid to move to another firm where you can continue to perform your best.