Issue #7: Ohana means famiily…feuds

Written By Overheard in Asia

Happy Monday!

To those in Malaysia, we hope you had a smooth experience voting in the general elections!

Here are the latest 🌶 legal headlines to kickstart your week:


See you in 2 weeks' time!

Ling Yah

Drinks at Jann

How many partners & judges can you fit in one bar?

Turns out, a cozy number. 😍

Last Tuesday, there was a small gathering of lawyers at Jann (Four Points by Sheraton KL) because of 2 distinguished guests in town:

  • Lord Thomas: Former Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales; current President of the Qatar International Court and Chancellor of the University of Aberystwyth

  • Wayne Martin: Former Chief Justice of Western Australia

While we didn't quite convince the two judges to make Malaysia their second home (maybe someday? 😏), we'll never say no to drinks & a hangout. And a chance to promote OIA!

It was great to see some familiar faces.

And we hope the next meet-up (soo much less stressful than a conference!) happens soon enough. 😉

If You Fail, Try Try Again?

Location, Location, Location.

You need it to become a property baron, and most definitely when filing a lawsuit.

In this case, it seems that Riot Games Inc ("Riot") hasn't learned its lesson. 😕

Back in May 2022, Riot filed a copyright claim against ByteDance's Shanghai Moonton Technology Co Ltd ("Moonton"), alleging that Moonton had copied content and promotional material from League of Legends and its other spinoff games for Mobile Legends.

However, a LA Federal Court dismissed the claim as:

  • the dispute could be adequately heard in China;

  • Riot's parent company, Tencent Holdings Ltd, refused to join the case and provide critical information, i.e. which elements of the game were made by Riot and Tencent respectively.


What makes it spicier, is that Riot already tried the same stunt back in 2017, with the 2017 lawsuit being dismissed (by the same court!! 😮) on similar grounds offorum non conveniens. 

Riot claims that this 2022 lawsuit is different: it refers to different infringements & Tencent has consented to make a witness available.

The judge wasn't impressed.

But kudos to Riot for trying again, eh?
 

Family is... everything? 😳

Ahh family empires.

The wet dream of every KDrama scriptwriter.

Here, we're talking about India's billionaire Hinduja family (net worth of USD 33 billion), whose global empire spans banking, chemicals and healthcare and a work force that's almost 200,000 pax strong.

What happened?
In 2014, the 4 billionaire brothers signed a pact stating that "everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone".

But 86-year-old patriarch, Srichand Hinduja, now suffers from dementia.

And Srichand's children challenged the 2014 pact, claiming that their family was being sidelined. The 3 younger brothers were trying to use the 2014 pact to take control of Hinduja Bank, which was in Srichand's sole name!

A Bitter Feud
A protracted legal battle ensued.

One of Srichand's younger brothers, 82-year-old Gopichand, challenged the validity of a lasting POA granted to Srichand's wife & 2 daughters.

Proceedings were so contentious, the UK judge even had to consider placing Srichand in a public nursing home.

By Some Miracle...
The family has reached a "confidential agreement" to settle all litigation in London and abroad.

TL;DR
Money doesn't always keep you off the streets? 😳

Spotlight - James d'Apice
(Director, Chamberlains Law Firm)

⚒️ What do you do?

I'm in “partnership disputes” & advise business owners when they find they can’t get along. 

I use an online video project called “Coffee and a Case Note” to market my practice, where I summarise a piece of complex commercial litigation in an approachable manner. It's meant to break down barriers & increase everyone’s knowledge. 

🏆 What is your proudest professional achievement?

I think it is not a single moment, or single peak. I am more proud of the way I live my life, including my profession life, “day in, day out” consistently with my values.

E.g.: when I joined the law (and even now) it was not customary for a lawyer of any gender to identify as an intersectional feminist and to talk about dismantling the patriarchy, or Australia’s shameful treatment of First Nations people. I am proud when I find the courage to shed some light on these issues. 😊

⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?

Reading all of the books 📚.

I stopped reading when I became a lawyer! (Or sleeping, of course… 💤)

🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?

I would do something equally fun!

Either working with food & drink – like a beer brewer, or a butcher.

Or engaging with culture – like making music, being a historian or academic, or being a journalist.

Oh, and I can’t forget that other great job: lottery winner! 🤩

😋 Your favourite food haunt (bonus points if it's off the beaten track!)

I like to think I have a pretty broad, eclectic palate, but my favourite food is probably peanut butter toast eaten on my back balcony with a strong cup of coffee. Bliss!

For food haunts, I toss up between two.

In Sydney there is a restaurant called Fix that is essentially a refined bistro. It has the best wine and my favourite restaurant food on earth. 🤤

And there is a spot in a food court in Sydney’s Sussex Street called Happy Chef – part of a chain – which serves what I would choose for my last meal: a beef, tripe, tendon and wonton soup.

Bliss again! 😍

Noted: This interview has been edited for clarity & length.

Food Feature

First off, did you know that this Tom Yum Soup with glass noodles is served in a Michelin-starred shophouse?!

Rung Rueang รุ่งเรือง or Guay Tiew Mu Rung Rueang Tung is famous for its DIY Thai-style pork noodles.

You decide on the:

  • Flavours: Tom Yum Soup, Tom Yum No Soup, Clear Soup, No Soup

  • Noodles: Egg noodle, glass noodle, thick rice noodles, thick/thin vermicelli

  • Toppings: Fish ball & minced pork, fish ball & fish cake, pork, mixed 

  • Size: Small, Medium

Surely a place fit for all tastebuds!


Details: Facebook, Google Maps

Are you a student or young lawyer?

Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?

We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at editor@overheard.asia! 

Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:

David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years! 

Overheard in Asia
Previous

Issue #8: The $900 billion battle

Next

Issue #6: It’s All About the Money, Money, Money