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The Taiwanese legal market differs from other jurisdictions in the Greater China neighbourhood in one big way – there are barely any international law firms.
While Hong Kong and mainland China can boast of having dozens of global law firms, there are only a few in Taiwan. Baker McKenzie is one of the largest firms in Taiwan and the largest global law firm there with 69 lawyers, including 34 partners. Other U.S. law firms like Jones Day have a smaller presence, while there are no UK firms.
“Beyond that, there are no other international law firms with full operations in Taiwan,” says Henry Chang, a principal at Baker McKenzie in Taipei. “You have a few IP litigation firms that have partners flown in from the U.S., but Taiwan is not very international in terms of law firms.”
The self-governing island, however, has one important advantage over mainland China. “The quality and transparency of court decisions make the Taiwan system more reliable than its counterparts in mainland China,” says John Eastwood, a founding partner at Taiwanese firm Eiger Law.
Taiwan is home to globally known companies such as Foxconn, HTC and TSMC, which supply firms in the island with legal work.
“Taiwan is an export economy specialising in technology, so there’s always been some sector that Taiwan is manufacturing for,” says Chang, citing examples of how Foxconn makes iPhones and TSMC manufactures chips.
THE FUTURE: DATA PRIVACY, SOUTHEAST ASIA
Most of the work is related to IP, but data privacy work has been growing, thanks to Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act, which has developed over the years. “Before, it was much more skeletal. But with the enforcement regulations now in place and some amendments taking effect last year, it’s developed to a point where it’s fairly mature,” explains Chang of Bakers. He notes, however, that enforcement is still not as strict.
“Data privacy now touches on nearly everything,” says Eiger’s Eastwood. “Changes to the law were made a couple of years ago, but in truth, there's much greater awareness among companies and government authorities about the importance of data privacy.”
Law firms in Taiwan remain conservative about Taiwan’s future because of uncertainties with its two largest trading partners: the U.S. and China. With protectionist policies from U.S. President Donald Trump and political tensions with Beijing, Taipei has been looking further south.
Banks, for example, have been opening up offices in Southeast Asia, says Chang. Taiwan banks, led by CTBC Financial and Fubon Financial, have been expanding since 2013 in the region. According to Reuters, this is likely to accelerate over the next few years, thanks to the new Taiwanese government's backing for companies to diversify away from China.
However, Taiwan faces a major challenge as it moves to strengthen links with Southeast Asia. Due to pressure from Beijing, no government in the region has formally recognised Taiwan. With Trump’s “One China” policy stance still up in the air, the future for Taiwan, including its law firms, remains hazy.