Voon’s particular set of professional skills isn’t quite covered by the label “senior corporate/commercial lawyer”. He suggests the daily reality is somewhere between “Legal Doctor” and “Commercial Co-Strategist”.
To his client roster, which includes upper management and entrepreneurs across a breadth of industries, Voon’s business-minded approach frequently makes him more of a trusted long-term consigliere than an ad-hoc legal advisor.
As Managing Partner at KEMP, his attitude sets the tone for the firm’s working ethos: effective legal representation takes a holistic long view of a client’s commercial prospects and goals. An MBA and stint as a management consultant early in his career enable him to look at the most involved legal questions through a commercial lens.
With 28 years’ practice under his belt, he’s an authority on international corporate finance, capital markets, M&A, commercial contracts and the dynamic growth field of technology law. He founded Stephenson Harwood’s technology practice in China, and went on to do the same for UK capital markets and private wealth.
Putting his Big Law portfolio and expertise to work for every client, in a lean and agile setting that fosters trust and long-term partnership – Voon is happy to be leading the KEMP tribe.
Voon Keat Lai's Expertise
Experience
M.B. KEMP LLP (Managing Partner)
November 2020 - present
Stephenson Harwood (Managing Partner)
February 2009 - April 2020
Stephenson Harwood (Partner)
May 2001 - February 2009, May 2020 - November 2020
Education and Admissions
University College London 1987-1990
Ashridge Management College 1996
England and Wales admission: 1993
Hong Kong admission: 1994
Interview
What sets you apart as a lawyer?
Out of the box thinking. I also believe that making money and having fun are not mutually exclusive.
What’s the best part of your job and why?
Solving issues for people I like.
How would you describe your attitude to life?
There are very few things which are "impossible". It could be that it is not the right time yet, but to close one's mind to the possibility of doing something different would be to live in a cocoon.
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