French law firm LPA Law has boosted its presence in Asia through a merger with Vietnam’s APFL Partners, in a deal that hands it a presence in one of the region’s fastest-growing economies.  

LPA said the merger would ensure “seamless” support of clients in Vietnam with their international investment projects and cross-border commercial activities. 

APFL has 13 lawyers including two partners across offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, according to its website. The team advises clients on international and local legal matters and brings expertise in corporate and commercial law, M&A, banking and finance and dispute resolution.

Frédéric Bailly, managing partner of LPA Law, said the tie-up marked a “milestone” in the firm’s development as it moved to be the leading French-speaking law firm in the region. 

“Asia is crucial for our growth, and we are excited to strengthen our ties with our local clients and partners,” he added.

LPA currently has 50 lawyers in its other Asia offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

Its tie-up with APFL comes amid strong economic growth in Vietnam, which has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the world in the 1980s to a middle-income economy.

Notwithstanding dips during the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has seen consistently high rates of GDP growth in recent years, fuelled by its position as a regional manufacturing hub and magnet for foreign direct investment, which hit a record high of $38.2bn last year. 

Last year it amended its Law on Investment and Law on Enterprises to reduce bureaucratic delays for foreign investors and offer more attractive tax breaks, particularly in renewable energy, high-tech manufacturing and digital transformation.

Arnaud Bourrut-Lacouture, LPA’s co-managing partner in Singapore, will lead LPA’s Vietnam offices as managing partner. 

He and APFL’s four founding partners – Nicolas Audier, Nicolas Picard, Bernadette Fahy and Etienne Laumonier – previously overlapped at French heavyweight firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, where Audier was partner in charge of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos between 1999 and 2008. 

Audier stepped down as the APFL’s managing partner earlier this month and transitioned to a senior counsel role alongside Fahy and Picard, while Laumonier and Antoine Logeay serve as the firm’s current partners.  

“Reuniting with my former Vietnamese colleagues is an honour,” Bourrut-Lacouture said. “Throughout my experiences in France and Singapore, I have maintained close ties with the APFL team. Taking on this new role, as the firm’s representative in Vietnam, is a challenge I embrace.” 

APFL, which launched in 2008, is rated by the legal directory Chambers and Partners for its corporate, disputes and projects work. The firm advised French logistics company CMA-CGM on the expansion of its activities in Vietnam and in 2022 acted for the Casino Group in the sale of a majority stake in GreenYellow to Ardian. 

Prominent international law firms began entering Vietnam in the early 1990s after the country opened up to international business, with Baker McKenzie, Freshfields and Allens, in alliance with Linklaters, being among the first. 

A string of firms have set up shop in the country or extended their presence there in recent years amid its rapid economic development. 

European firm Kinstellar formed a joint venture with Vietnamese firm Asia Counsel last year, while in 2022 Dentons combined with local firm LuatViet and KPMG added lawyers in Vietnam through the acquisition of regional firm ZICO Law. 

Japanese firms including Miura & Partners, Anderson Mori, Atusmi & Sakai and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto have also opened offices in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, as has South Korean firm Kim & Chang.