The growth of a law practice is not measured only by the number of lawyers, the number of offices or the range of services it provides. Behind the scale of an organization lie the way it practices, its ability to build a team, its commitment to preserving professional values, the trust it earns from clients, colleagues and government agencies, and the value it brings to the community.
Seen in that light, the development of Phong & Partners Law Firm is a bright spot worth recognizing. From a practice founded in Da Nang, Phong & Partners has gradually extended its operations to many major provinces and cities across the country, built up its team and become increasingly involved in a wide range of professional activities, legal advisory work, public legal education and legal training.
The team at Phong & Partners. Photo: Phong & Partners.
Operating model and standards as seen by the judicial authorities
Before earning recognition from peers or clients, a law practice must first meet the requirements of organization, legal compliance and professional standards. This is also the perspective that matters most to the state agency responsible for overseeing judicial support services at the local level.
Over the years, as Phong & Partners has grown, the firm has steadily built a systematic operating model and expanded its presence across many localities. From a regulatory standpoint, however, the development of a law practice is not merely a matter of scale. What matters more is its ability to maintain consistency in how it operates, in the quality of its professional work and in its professional standards as the organization keeps growing. That is a challenge for which any law practice seeking long-term growth must find a suitable answer.
Mr. Chau Thanh Viet, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Justice, commented on Phong & Partners: “Phong & Partners is one of the law firms in the city with a notable track record of operation and development. In the course of our work, we have observed that the firm places great emphasis on complying with the law and with professional ethical standards.
Its gradual expansion into a network of offices and branches across many localities shows that Phong & Partners has built a fairly well-structured and systematic operating model. As Da Nang develops at a rapid pace and increasingly attracts businesses and both domestic and international investors, the growth of law firms such as Phong & Partners also helps meet the market’s increasingly diverse and specialized legal needs.”
A distinct identity within the legal community
As the legal profession develops as a whole, each law practice chooses its own path and builds its own identity. For a firm that has been operating in Da Nang and has gradually expanded into many other localities, the question of identity becomes all the more interesting.
Lawyer Tran Tuan Loi, Chairman of the Da Nang Bar Association, speaking with the reporter.
Lawyer Tran Tuan Loi, Chairman of the Da Nang Bar Association, shared his perspective on Phong & Partners: “In the beginning, Lawyer Le Ngo Hoai Phong’s strengths lay in intellectual property and corporate law. After founding Phong & Partners, however, he built a team of lawyers with a range of complementary specialties, while gradually expanding the firm’s network of operations across many localities.
Phong & Partners is also one of the more active firms in the professional activities of the Bar Association, and has made significant contributions to the professional work of the Da Nang Bar Association.”
From its very first days, Phong & Partners has pursued the philosophy of “Honour Justice – Respect Goodwill”: upholding the rule of law while never underestimating the good faith of the parties, because negotiation and mediation are always the least costly, least damaging and most effective path to resolving a dispute for everyone involved. Phong & Partners brings this value into harmony across its legal expertise, its responsibility to clients and its professional conduct.
The firm’s identity is also reflected in the path it has been striving toward: becoming a “multi-practice national law firm” and a “multi-practice law firm with dedicated specialist departments.” At Phong & Partners, collective intelligence is put to full use. Specialized departments focus on distinct areas of legal service, while also providing in-depth support to other departments within the overall picture of the firm.
Beyond its professional work, Phong & Partners runs many activities to celebrate the values of the legal profession, including professional competitions, contests honoring other trades and occupations, composing songs that express a love for the profession, and professional partnerships with universities and media organizations.
A practice that wants to endure cannot rely on a single generation. For this reason, building a succession pipeline and creating an open, supportive environment in which young lawyers can learn from their seniors is also a strong focus at Phong & Partners.
Client trust - the measure of reputation
For a provider of legal services, the real-world experience of clients and the assessment of the business community are a true yardstick. Let a few of Phong & Partners’ clients speak for themselves.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, General Director of Hoi An Tourism - Service Joint Stock Company, said: “In the course of doing business, a company constantly faces legal issues that need timely advice and handling. What we value in Phong & Partners is their fairly comprehensive support, not only when a dispute arises but also in advising on, identifying and preventing legal risks at an early stage.
Letter of thanks from Mr. Jake. Photo: Phong & Partners.
The lawyers at Phong & Partners take a practical approach, seeking to understand the company’s operations and needs before proposing a legal solution. The Phong & Partners team handles our matters with complete dedication and a high sense of responsibility. This gives us greater peace of mind in working with them and in making business decisions.”
Mr. Jake Hemsey, a client from Australia who used the firm’s services to set up a company in Vietnam, sent his thanks to Phong & Partners: “Thank you Tracy, Tavin and Sherry for all your guidance and support in setting up Koalacare Australia Vietnam Company. We could not have done it without your help...”
Spreading legal knowledge, creating value for the community
While legal advisory work is directed mainly at individual clients, public legal education extends its impact to the community at large.
For many years, Phong & Partners has partnered with Da Nang Radio and Television to produce the program “Your Lawyer,” bringing common legal issues in everyday life to the public in a more accessible format.
More than 150 episodes covering many different areas of law have been broadcast since 2023, reflecting the firm’s substantial contribution to public legal education. With legal programs on radio and television, however, the value lies not merely in the number of episodes produced. What matters more is that dry legal issues are translated into language people can relate to, giving citizens a better chance to recognize their rights and obligations and to handle the legal issues in their lives in accordance with the law, thereby reducing avoidable violations.
This is also a way for lawyers to fulfil their social responsibility beyond the scope of a single case or a single client. Alongside television, the press is another space through which legal knowledge reaches the public.
Over the years, the lawyers of Phong & Partners have written and commented on a wide range of legal issues in newspapers and specialized journals. These articles do more than explain a specific legal provision: they place legal questions in the context of situations unfolding in society. When legal knowledge is widely shared, the gap between the law on paper and life in practice has a greater chance of being narrowed.
Journalist Dam Viet Dung, Da Nang-based correspondent for Vietnam Lawyer Magazine, said: “Through our collaboration and exchange of information, we have noted that Phong & Partners has contributed a great deal to the editorial content of Vietnam Lawyer Magazine through specialist articles across many areas of law. Notably, these articles usually go beyond analyzing legal provisions to engage closely with practical issues and the difficulties that readers care about.”
Phong & Partners has twice had the honor of receiving a Certificate of Merit from the President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in 2023 and 2025, for its contributions to Vietnam’s business community, as well as a Certificate of Merit from Vietnam Lawyer Magazine for its contributions to the magazine’s activities and development in 2025. The firm has also been named among the Top 10 Outstanding Law Firms for 2022-2026 and the Top 10 Most Reputable Law Firms in Vietnam (The Best of Vietnam), affirming the reputation, professional capability and quality of service it has patiently built.
Bridging theory and practice for the next generation of lawyers
Alongside its practice, Phong & Partners maintains ties with the legal education community, including a partnership with the Faculty of Law at the University of Economics - The University of Da Nang. This is one of the activities that helps strengthen the link between what students learn in the classroom and the realities of legal practice.
Lawyer Le Ngo Hoai Phong, LL.M., Managing Partner of Phong & Partners Law Firm.
As part of this collaboration, Lawyer Le Ngo Hoai Phong teaches several elective courses at the Faculty of Law. Having a practicing lawyer in the classroom gives students more opportunities to approach legal issues from a practical perspective and to better understand the demands, skills and particular characteristics of the legal profession.
Beyond teaching, Phong & Partners also regularly recruits interns from among the Faculty of Law’s students. Through their internships, students can observe a working legal environment, assist with suitable professional tasks and gradually become familiar with the real-world requirements of a law practice.
In this way, the connection between the university and the firm goes beyond the transfer of knowledge: it gives students early exposure to the profession and a more realistic picture of the career they may pursue after graduation.
A journey measured in trust
Viewed from many angles, the development of Phong & Partners is reflected not only in the expansion of its network or the awards it has won, but also in the values cultivated along the way: from building its team and developing its expertise to sharing legal knowledge and contributing to the community. These values are the very foundation on which Phong & Partners has gradually shaped its identity and stayed true to the path it has chosen.
From the standpoint of state regulators, it is a story about organization and standards of practice. For those with many years of service in the judicial system, it is a story about how cases are approached and about professional culture. For the legal community, it is a story about identity and contribution to the profession. For businesses, it is about the ability to stand alongside them on the legal issues tied to their operations. For the press, broadcasters and training institutions, it is a process of sharing knowledge and connecting the law with everyday life.
Different as they are, these perspectives all point to the same question: how must a law practice build trust if it is to endure?
For Phong & Partners, the answer lies in its own philosophy: “Honour Justice – Respect Goodwill.” Justice is the foundation of the profession; good faith is the means by which legal values are turned into solutions that fit people and real life.
As Vietnam’s legal profession continues to grow, the story of a single law practice is no longer that practice’s story alone. Every way of practicing, every professional activity and every contribution to the community helps shape the overall face of the legal profession.
Beyond the numbers that describe its scale or the size of its team, the true value of Phong & Partners lies in the depth of the trust it has earned and the legacy of values it leaves behind. “Honour Justice – Respect Goodwill” is therefore more than a slogan. It is the path Phong & Partners has followed, is following and will continue to follow throughout its journey of service to the profession.
