Virtual assets and investment funds lawyer Joy Lam has joined Baker McKenzie’s financial services practice in Hong Kong, where she will advise clients on virtual asset funds, tokenized offerings, and the development of infrastructure that support the virtual assets ecosystem.

Lam, who joins from Sidley Austin, has market-leading virtual assets experience and has acted on several ground-breaking transactions, including advising on Asia’s first open-ended tokenized fund, Asia’s first close-ended tokenized fund and securing the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s first approval for a virtual assets fund that permits subscriptions and redemptions to be effected in cryptocurrency. Her significant experience also includes advising on virtual asset funds, non-fund tokenized offerings, and the complex and rapidly evolving regulatory requirements for managing investments in virtual assets and operating secondary exchanges for virtual assets.

Lam is a founding committee member of the Asia Security Token Alliance, active in thought leadership and the publication of whitepapers related to tokenization and also a regular speaker at conferences, including those organized by OSL, Hong Kong’s first regulated crypto exchange and Asia’s largest digital asset trading platform.

According to Jason Ng, head of Baker McKenzie’s financial services practice in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore, globally there is an accelerating shift toward virtual assets and digital payments. He says: “At a time when financial institutions, sponsors and fintech providers across the globe are working to integrate and expand their digital assets offerings and investments to future-proof their business, having Joy on board will help us better meet our clients’ growing needs. Joy’s track record and experience with blockchain technology, tokens and virtual asset exchanges will no doubt be of significant value to our clients and will further solidify our market-leading position. We are thrilled that Joy is joining us.”

“Joy’s notable experience in virtual asset products complements our financial services regulatory, IP and technology, and funds teams in Hong Kong,” adds Steven Sieker, managing partner of the firm’s Hong Kong and mainland China offices. “Her arrival strengthens our ability to offer a compelling proposition of a complete end-to-end solution for financial institutions and virtual assets participants that addresses all transactional and advisory aspects of their business needs. Her joining is further evidence of our ongoing commitment to grow our transactional bench strength in key money centers, including Hong Kong, and bolster our new service delivery offerings for the benefit of our clients as they undergo digital transformation.”