Ashley Hyein Song worked as a researcher representing Singapore and South Korea for the global research law firm specialising in Law and Economics from 2017 to 2023. Some of her projects helped the government entities to adopt digitisation, cryptocurrency-economy, and COVID relief measures in commercial leases. She was a visiting researcher, conducting a project about Bilateral Investment Treaties in Max Plank Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany. She has two Masters in Law and Economics; one in EU Erasmus Program, and the other at University of Pennsylvania, the U.S. For ten years, she taught Law and Economics in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Seoul, South Korea, and Dhaka, Bangladesh; in international high schools and universities. Alongside her work, she was broadcasted live as a Korean translator for the Korean team who was at semifinal in roll games’ international competition in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.
1. Hi Ashley Hyein! Can you tell us a little about the work you are currently doing and have been doing?
Since 2017 I have worked as a consultant for a law firm which specialises in the field of law and economics and economic analysis of the law. One of the projects involved amendment of the European Union’s directives about Mergers and Acquisitions, where the EU was analysing the impacts on other markets. I was involved in analysis involving law and economics in South Korea and Singapore.
2. What made you take the leap into working in NewLaw for ALSP’s? And why is it a good fit for you?
I majored in economic analysis of law. I taught it for a semester in one of the prestigious universities in Seoul, South Korea; in international school in Bangladesh, and in Republic of Kyrgyz. In Hong Kong, I found my passion about “what changed in law” could help a myriad of foreign corporations; making them more efficient, customer oriented, and impact the larger society in Hong Kong.
3. What’s the most rewarding assignment you’ve ever had and why?
One of the rewarding projects of mine was about digitisation of the company-registry in Singapore. After a month of work, the project was translated into Hebrew by my supervisor. After finishing the work, I totally forgot about it. About a year later, my supervisor sent me an email that the client, the large corporation, had additional questions about the work that I had done. I found that my work was serious for the client and felt highly responsible for it. I would still like to contribute to this field of work. It is highly innovative and I am passionate about it.
4. As an experienced NewLaw/ ALSP consultant, where do you see NewLaw/ ALSP fitting into the matrix of the legal sector and how have you seen it evolve?
In my experience as a consultant, I have found many lawfirms in NewLaw are highly interested in what has changed recently. For example, in South Korea, many investments from Information Technology, e.g., over-the-top streaming companies, change the domestic markets; and eventually makes new black letter law in telecommunication. It is because a new market actor needs new regulation. During the pandemic, a rapid growth of Netflix was an issue. In South Korea, dominance of Netflix incurred a series of lawsuits between Netflix and the Korean conglomerate which provided the Wi-Fi network service. At the same time, Netflix successfully established kinship with them to make more contracts and partnerships; that made it highly feasible to expand their market dominance in the Asian region.
5. What trends do you expect to see in the legal services industry in the next 5 years?
One of the critical issues is efficiency. To be specific, I have been involved in researching various projects that have looked into how to make corporate or government entities more efficient and provide cost saving with less human labour. In the next five years, the questions will be focused around how to eliminate labor costs, that includes the cost for paying for lawyers. For example, in Paypal, an online platform eliminates the cost of hiring the mediator, or lawyers in payment disputes. In many of the Asian countries, such as Singapore, tokens made from cryptocurrency are used in public transportation, which reduces the cost of ensuring safety. This is because cryptography embedded in the token is unable to be counterfeited. I suspect in the future, saving in labor; that is, improving efficiency by reducing the workforce will be critical in legal services.
6. Your favourite tune? And why?
My favorite tune is a variety of records by the Beatles. I was an amateur pianist in classical music. One of the institutions who taught me the piano was Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Germany. I played Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. When I first arrived at Hong Kong, I got to learn about FreeJam in Hong Kong. I got to be more interested in what FreeJam Hong Kong plays, pop, rather than classics. Records by the Beatles are ones that I can take the best advantage of; particularly, “jealous guy.”
KorumLegal is a boutique legal consultancy committed to providing value innovation in legal service delivery. The legal services industry is continuing to change with ‘NewLaw’ – and clients are seeking more innovative and cost-effective solutions without compromise on experience and quality
