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First Impressions | Asian Legal Business

news — William McLaughlin, Mark Chan, Duyen Ha Vo, Zippora Siregar, Jason Corbett, Owen Williams, Sophie Bowkett

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began shuttering offices, more people have been going online in search of legal solutions. This has drastically increased the importance of firms’ digital shopfront – the website – as it is their best shot to make an impactful first impression on potential clients. Leaders and business development specialists talk about how they are pulling out all the stops to outshine their competitors even before any legal work is involved.

WHAT ARE THE PHILOSOPHIES AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS UNDERPINNING YOUR FIRM’S WEBSITE DESIGN STRATEGY?

WILLIAM McLAUGHLIN, business development manager, ZICO Law Network

It should go without saying that the most important role of a law ﬁrm’s website is to provide useful and concise information for users with clear calls to action. If ﬁrms aren’t treating their websites as sales tools, then they are doing it wrong.

You often see websites that are focused only on the ﬁrm. There is page after page describing the ﬁrm and why they are “unique” but scarcely any demonstration of how its lawyers solve clients’ challenges. The best ﬁrm websites do this with short case studies, video intros and explanations from lawyers, and downloadable checklists and other resources.

A hint: No one is going to read that 1,000-word legal update, so cut out all the legalese, break it up into bite-sized sections and turn it into multiple blog posts that are repurposed on the ﬁrm’s social media channels.

Another aspect of the website that is overlooked is the branding. There should be consistency across all digital channels and collaterals. You can also drop all the stock imagery and hire a professional photographer to take pictures of the ofﬁce and staff. Show what it feels like to be a ﬁrm client.

In the end, a safe guiding principle would be to focus the design and content more on the client and their issues and less about how great the ﬁrm is. If you do the ﬁrst part right, the second part will be understood.

MARK CHAN, managing partner, Taylor Wessing

In the last few years, Taylor Wessing set out an ambitious growth strategy. We recognised that to enable future growth, we must be truly digital-ﬁrst in order for Taylor Wessing to keep up with ever-changing consumer behaviour in an interconnected digital environment. This included modernising our marketing and refreshing our brand with a striking new visual identity and website.

We updated the website with a mission to make it easier for users to learn more about our services, access expert legal support and keep up to date on the latest legal developments, including:

Creating a content library to house a plethora of legal insights, opinions and thought leadership content. This helped to establish our lawyers as expert advisors across our key sectors. Furthermore, the new content improved SEO performance by raising Taylor Wessing’s digital presence;
Enhancing personalisation to enable our clients to access information relevant to their region. By increasing our relevancy, we improved the overall user experience;
Improving search functionality and implementing URL breadcrumbs across the site, making it easier for users to navigate our website;
Improving the lawyer proﬁles by increasing the ways to contact lawyers and adding detail about specialism to allow users to make an informed choice on legal support based on our experts’ marketing leading experience; and
Encouraging an omnichannel approach to the website, connecting the dots between various social channels, and improving analytics to benefit from data-led insights.

DUYEN HA VO, chairperson, Vilaf

Our strategy is to focus on the interest of our clients and potential clients.

We avoid clutter and lengthy texts, and provide strong images and clear, concise messaging, keeping in mind that our clients and potential clients are very busy and dynamic executives. The structure of the website is simple, straightforward, and easy to navigate.

We target to serve our clients and potential clients with important legal updates and legal trends, and regularly touch base with clients to share our ﬁrm’s and our people’s stories, professional achievements and what we are doing.

On the landing page of our website, we wanted to show Vilaf’s linkages in the world with an interesting video clip while incorporating Vietnamese images into the rest of the website’s design to depict our culture. This best shows what Vilaf is all about: a law ﬁrm with deep roots and wide reach.

ZIPPORA SIREGAR, managing partner, William Hendrik & Siregar Djojonegoro

Within the legal sector, a ﬁrm’s website is important as it represents its culture and credibility. A good website design should portray the background, philosophy and values of the ﬁrm and highlight the legal expertise and reputation , which are important for visitors to learn and understand the ﬁrm.

The core philosophies underpinning our ﬁrm’s website design strategy are efﬁciency, cohesion and credibility, which are aimed at satisfying the demands of the modern business environment. We designed a simple yet modern design for our website that represents our ﬁrm’s strong value of professionalism. We also created a concise and cohesive website to ensure that visitors could ﬁnd the information they are looking for much faster and clearer. Additionally, the navigation bar helps the information on the website to be more organised and accessible.

Through our website design, we aim to show how much we value communication with our clients. We have created a chatbot on our website to enable visitors to reach out and communicate with us easily.

JASON CORBETT, managing partner, Silk Legal

Silk Legal has always upheld the philosophy of “thinking outside the box” and pushing past the status quo when it comes to creativity and developing tools to further expand our business.

Our firm recently launched a separate, but closely affiliated, website to compete in the saturated field of company formation and corporate support services in Thailand. MyThaiCompany.com offers personalised incorporation, accounting, and company secretarial services for foreign entrepreneurs and investors in Thailand. This new website aims to add value to businesses by helping clients navigate the complex requirements of setting up and maintaining a local company, while maintaining Silk Legal’s USP of having lawyers advise on these comprehensive services.

MyThaiCompany.com was designed not as a separate business from Silk Legal, but rather as a complimentary platform that utilises the resources and expertise of the firm. With this in mind, we decided to pursue a design language and copywriting style that made information about the various processes and services as digestible and easy to understand as possible. We also incorporated best practices in structuring and calls-to-action to ensure that any interaction with the website is as smooth as possible.

We also added a corporate formation survey that serves as a tool for both prospective clients and us. By inputting information about their business into the survey, a user can get a better idea of what they need to set up their business. At the same time, the information provided by the user can give us a clearer understanding of their business needs and makes it much easier for us to provide bespoke solutions.

Entrepreneurship is one of Silk Legal’s core tenets, and MyThaiCompany specifically targets pain points that affect entrepreneurs and investors. Its core aim is to provide exceptional service to clients wishing to expand or start their businesses in Thailand.

OWEN WILLIAMS, partner and marketing & business development director, Simmons & Simmons

When we embarked on developing our website, we were clear that the site had to support our vision to deliver smarter solutions to our clients’ most complex challenges. Our culture, personality and brand had to shine through.

Content needed to be timely, readily surfaced, and easy to share with clients. We needed to promote our key sectors and areas of expertise by bringing them into focus. The experience must be valuable offering opinions, not just options, with practical support, tools and products to reach a solution. The list of requirements was long, but one of the fundamental objectives for us was that it had to be built on cutting-edge technology.

The digital landscape is ever-changing and evolving, so we wanted to build a site that could keep pace with today and tomorrow. We now focus on improving our customer journey through enhanced interactivity, accessibility and site search. To become a next-generation law firm, we must place innovation and technology at the core of our client offering.

SOPHIE BOWKETT, chief marketing officer, Bird & Bird

Over the last decade, our clients’ world has changed, and we have changed, but our website and brand didn’t always reflect that. We needed to better showcase our unique “one firm” culture, our technical understanding of clients’ issues, and needed a more emotive brand that showed our clients that we are with them and alongside them.

Our new brand strategy and visual identity marked an exciting and bold shift from a “traditional law firm” to a bright, fresh look and feel. As an international law firm with almost 3000 people in 31 offices, this represented a significant and once-in-a-generation undertaking. We brought the brand to life through a new website that focused on providing an improved user experience, clearer navigation, and a more dynamic design. The changes resulted in a 30{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} increase in website visitors post-launch and a click-through rate four times higher than average on our social media channels.

More Asian countries are getting in on the trend

A quantum computer system in a vibration-totally free developing. Quantum computing will in the end speed up the computational electric power that drives numerous industries and could influence almost everything from drug discovery to how info is secured.

Oliver Berg | Picture Alliance | Getty Illustrations or photos

Quantum computing was now collecting rate in Japan and in other places in Asia when the College of Tokyo and IBM launched their new quantum computer system previous yr.

The computer system was the next these types of procedure constructed outside the house the United States by IBM — the most current in a string of vital moves in quantum study.

The university and IBM have led the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium together with heavyweights of Japanese sector like Toyota and Sony — all with a perspective to nailing the quantum problem.

Quantum computing refers to the use of quantum mechanics to operate calculations. Quantum computing can operate numerous processes at when by employing quantum bits, in contrast to binary bits which electrical power classic computing.

Tough U.S. ‘hegemony’

The new technological innovation will in the long run pace up the computational energy that drives quite a few industries and could have an affect on anything from drug discovery to how information is secured. Many nations are racing to get quantum pcs entirely operational.

Christopher Savoie, CEO of quantum computing business Zapata, who put in significantly of his vocation in Japan, stated technological enhancement has been incredibly U.S.-centric. But now, Asian nations you should not want to be left at the rear of on quantum computing, he included.

“Country states like India, Japan and China are very considerably intrigued in not being the only folks without a capacity there. They will not want to see the sort of hegemony which is arisen in which the substantial cloud aggregators by and huge are only US providers,” Savoie explained, referring to the likes of Amazon Internet Products and services and Microsoft Azure.

China, for instance, has dedicated a great offer of brainpower to the quantum race. Researchers have touted breakthroughs and debates are simmering around no matter whether China has surpassed the U.S. on some fronts.

India, for its aspect, declared strategies before this 12 months to devote $1 billion in a 5-yr system to establish a quantum computer system in the place.

James Sanders, an analyst at S&P World-wide Marketplace Intelligence, informed CNBC that governments around the environment have been taking far more fascination in quantum computing in the latest a long time.

In March, Sanders posted a report that identified governments have pledged close to $4.2 billion to help quantum study. Some noteworthy examples contain South Korea’s $40 million investment decision in the subject and Singapore’s Ministry of Education’s funding of a investigate center, The Heart for Quantum Technologies.

Where will it be employed?

All of these initiatives have a very long lens on the long run. And for some, the positive aspects of quantum can seem to be nebulous.

In accordance to Sanders, the positive aspects of quantum computing usually are not likely to be immediately obvious for every day people.

What is possible to materialize is that quantum personal computers will wind up utilized in creating products and solutions that customers sooner or later get.

James Sanders

analyst, S&P World-wide Current market Intelligence

“On a terrible day, I am talking individuals down from the thought of quantum cell phones. Which is not reasonable, which is not likely to be a point,” he said.

“What is possible to occur is that quantum desktops will wind up used in coming up with products that consumers eventually obtain.”

There are two key regions where quantum’s breakthrough will be felt — industry and protection.

A workers member of tech business Q.ant puts a chip for quantum computing in a check station in Stuttgart, Germany, on Sept. 14, 2021. It really is anticipated that the power of quantum computing will be able to decrypt RSA encryption, a single of the most typical encryption methods for securing details.

Thomas Kienzle | Afp | Getty Pictures

“Places the place you have HPC [high-performance computing] are regions where by we will be seeing quantum pcs acquiring an effect. It really is factors like content simulation, aerodynamic simulation, these kinds of things, incredibly higher, challenging computational troubles, and then device finding out artificial intelligence,” Savoie mentioned.

In prescribed drugs, common programs for calculating the habits of drug molecules can be time-consuming. The speed of quantum computing could speedily raise these procedures about drug discovery and, in the long run, the timeline for medicine coming to market place.

Stability troubles

On the flip facet, quantum could existing stability issues. As computing energy advancements, so far too does the risk to existing protection approaches.

“The more time-term [motivation] but the 1 that that every person acknowledges as an existential menace, each offensively and defensively, is the cryptography place. RSA will be inevitably compromised by this,” Savoie added.

RSA refers to just one of the most common encryption methods for securing details, created in 1977, that could be upended by quantum’s velocity. It is named right after its inventors — Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman.

You happen to be viewing a large amount of curiosity from governments and communities that never want to be the very last folks on the block to have that technological know-how simply because [other nations] will be ready to decrypt our messages.

Christopher Savoie

CEO of Zapata

“You’re viewing a whole lot of curiosity from governments and communities that really don’t want to be the previous people on the block to have that know-how since [other nations] will be equipped to decrypt our messages,” Savoie mentioned.

Magda Lilia Chelly, main details security officer at Singaporean cybersecurity firm Liable Cyber, informed CNBC that there requires to be a twin track of encryption and quantum investigate and development so that protection is not outpaced.

“Some authorities believe that quantum computer systems will sooner or later be able to break all forms of encryption, although other folks imagine that new and more refined types of encryption will be made that can not be broken by quantum computer systems,” Chelly mentioned.

A quantum processor on a prototype of a quantum laptop or computer. There demands to be a twin monitor of encryption and quantum research and improvement so that security is just not outpaced, mentioned Magda Lilia Chelly, chief info safety officer at Singaporean cybersecurity agency Liable Cyber.

Julian Stratenschulte/dpa | Photograph Alliance | Getty Visuals

“In certain, [researchers] have been seeking at approaches to use quantum personal computers to variable significant figures promptly. This is important simply because numerous of the contemporary encryption schemes employed today count on the simple fact that it is pretty challenging to aspect substantial numbers,” she added.

If profitable, this would make it possible to split most existing encryption strategies, making it feasible to unlock messages that are encrypted.

‘Stop-start’ development

Sanders stated the progress and eventual commercialization of quantum computing will not be a straight line.

Difficulties like the menace to encryption can garner interest from governments, but research and breakthroughs, as very well as mainstream fascination, can be “halt-start,” he said.

Progress can also be affected by fluctuating curiosity of non-public investors as quantum computing would not deliver a rapid return on financial commitment.

“There are a great deal of circumstances in this field the place you may possibly have a lead for a 7 days and then another enterprise will appear out with yet another sort of the improvement and then every little thing will go quiet for a little bit.”

An additional looming challenge for quantum study is getting the ideal expertise with distinct abilities for this investigate.

“Quantum experts that can do quantum computing don’t expand on trees,” Savoie reported, including that cross-border collaboration is required in the deal with of competing govt passions.

“Talent is international. Persons do not get to choose what state they are born in or what nationality they have.”

Asian Shares Slide After Big-Tech Sell-Off on Wall Street | Business News

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Small business Author

Shares have fallen in Asia just after a broad slide on Wall Street led by technology businesses.

Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 3{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca}, while oil costs edged bigger.

China-U.S. tensions regained the highlight after U.S. Trade Consultant Katherine Tai explained she programs frank discussions with officers in Beijing about an interim trade offer aimed at resolving a tariff war.

Tai claimed she did not want to “inflame trade tensions with China.” But her feedback proposed continuity of U.S. coverage towards Beijing under President Joe Biden from the approach adopted by his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Political Cartoons

Talking to the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Studies in Washington, D.C., she also explained that the U.S. “must defend to the hilt our economic passions” and acquire “all actions vital to guard ourselves versus the waves of destruction inflicted about the years by unfair competitors.”

Shanghai is shut right up until Friday for a countrywide getaway. But shares fell .3{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} in Hong Kong to 23,989.61, even though Tokyo completed the early morning down 2.8{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} at 27,658.31. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.1{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 2,956.04 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined .8{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 7,218.90.

Increasing bond yields and vitality selling prices are stoking investor problem about inflation.

The selling price of U.S. oil has risen to nearly $78 for each barrel, its optimum level given that 2014, as OPEC and allied oil producers caught to a program for careful manufacturing increases even as world wide desire for crude surges.

The yield on the 10-yr Treasury notice held constant at 1.48{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca}.

The S&P 500 fell 1.3{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 4,300.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Typical dropped .9{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 34,002.92, and the tech-large Nasdaq missing 2.1{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 14,255.48.

Modest business stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 index gave up 1.1{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} to 2,217.47.

Facebook slid 4.9{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} a day following a previous employee instructed “60 Minutes” that the company has constantly picked its personal pursuits over the community superior. The social network and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms also suffered a all over the world outage that started around midmorning U.S. time on Monday.

Apple fell 2.5{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} and Microsoft dropped 2.1{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca}.

Natural gasoline price ranges jumped 2.6{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca}. Vitality organizations rose along with power prices. Devon Energy rose 5.3{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} for the most significant get in the S&P 500. Marathon Oil climbed 4.1{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca}.

In Tuesday investing in Asia, benchmark U.S. crude was up 35 cents to $77.97 per barrel. Brent crude, the common for international pricing, acquired 47 cents to $81.73 per barrel.

Investors are significantly fearful about inflation as oil prices rise and companies contend with source troubles that increase their fees and drive them to increase costs. Wall Street is also concerned about the Federal Reserve’s timing on trimming back bond buys and an eventual transfer to raise its benchmark desire fee.

Wall Road will get more details on the economy’s health and fitness this week. On Tuesday, the Institute for Source Administration will launch its service sector index for September. The providers sector is the largest section of the financial state and its wellbeing is a crucial issue for development.

On Friday, the Labor Office will launch its work report for September. The employment market has been having difficulties to entirely recover from the hurt accomplished by COVID-19 more than a yr in the past.

The U.S. greenback rose to 111.11 Japanese yen from 110.93 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1608 from $1.1618.

AP Enterprise Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.