Interview: Patrick Dransfield†

By: Jennifer Baccanello & Camila Elyse Katz / On: February 1, 2022

Number of Words

Approximately 3000

Roasted sweet potatoes, Xinjiekou Free Market, 1986

Interviewee’s note: Xinjiekou was one of China’s first free markets allowed in the 1980s, when the country was transitioning away from its planned economy. Behind the sweet potato sellers was a sign that reminds sellers not to cheat their fellow comrades. Roasted sweet potatoes remain one of Beijing’s most popular and enduring street foods.

Patrick Dransfield

Principal of Clearway Communications
Co-Founder of the Managing Partners’ Club

Named by Asia Law Portal one of the “30 People to Watch in the Business of Law in Asia” in 2019, Patrick Dransfield, a British citizen and a permanent resident of Hong Kong, is currently Principal of Clearway Communications and Co-Founder of the Managing Partners’ Club. Clearway Communications is a unique resource for connecting people and ideas in the business of law. The Managing Partners’ Club focuses on providing a forum for its members to share their experiences and learn about effective management in the legal profession.

In his current leadership roles, Mr. Dransfield draws from his wealth of experience at Pacific Business Press, White & Case, Shearman & Sterling, Euromoney Institutional Investor, and Haymarket Publishing. His experience extends across public organizational experience, press relations, major speech writing, revenue generation, business development, thought leadership, people management, as well as coaching and strategic planning related to corporate and financial institutions and law firms.

Apart from his experience as a senior business executive, Mr. Dransfield is also an author and accomplished photographer. Featuring photographs taken in 1986 in Beijing and Datong (a prefecture-level city in Shanxi Province), his solo exhibition titled Track of Time: Moments of Transition held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong in October 2020 prompted a four-page feature in the How To Spend It magazine of the Financial Times (October 17, 2020). The following book titled Track of Time provides a valuable resource that plays witness to China evolving from a liminal state to become the second largest economy in the world (for more information about the book, see https://www.clearwaycomms.com/book-launch).

Mr. Dransfield received a B.A. (Joint Hons.) in English and History of Art from Leeds University, United Kingdom, in 1985 and an M.A. in Far East Asian Studies (Chinese Politics, Anthropology, and History) from University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), United Kingdom, in 1990.

Mr. Dransfield, you decided to undertake an M.A. in Far East Asian Studies. What triggered your interest in Asia, and in particular, China?

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You have an interesting and remarkable career that allows you to play different important roles ranging from being an advertising executive to managing director, marketing director, business development director, consultant, and principal. How have your skillsets evolved? What skills or personal attributes do you think have been pivotal to your career successes?

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Mr. Dransfield, you have forged strong relationships with private practitioners and in-house counsels at various corporations across Asia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom. What are your secrets of success?

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“At the foundation of all is trust! Asia has proved to be quite a small place and thus, being true to one’s word is essential.”

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Dashing Scholar, Bei Shi Da Campus, 1986

Interviewee’s note: This young man is reading a book on algebra. The thirst for knowledge to catch up on education interrupted before China re-opened its country in the late 1970s was very much a 1980s trope. In 1986, the choice to be a lawyer was not an obvious one largely because there were no private law firms to practice in. Most ambitious young men and women wanted to improve their English and go into engineering.

Children under the statue of Mao Zedong

Interviewee’s note: Taken in July 1986, the very month when the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Compulsory Education took effect, this picture depicts how a group of young kindergarten kids “lined up” for school at the feet of the marble statue of Mao Zedong.

You have a keen interest in visual arts and have been invited to exhibit photographs at numerous exhibitions in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre also displays a permanent installation of your work. Please tell us how an artistic mind can blend so well with a business-oriented brain. Do you see interesting similarities in these two seemingly different areas: art and business?

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Having worked in Pacific Business Press and having helped build a network of over 20,000 legal and compliance professionals in the emerging markets of Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa, where do you see the legal industry heading, particularly in these and other emerging markets?

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“[…] I firmly believe that the law firms that provide mutually beneficial alternative fee arrangements, embrace technology, engage in the emerging areas of law, and work hard to provide value-added services, will prosper.”

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Finally, congratulations on being named one of Asia Law Portal’s 30 people to watch in the business of law in Asia in 2019—you have clearly made a tremendous impact in the industry. We are curious to hear about your personal and professional goals for the near future.

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^† The citation of this interview is: Jennifer Baccanello & Camila Elyse Katz, Interview: Patrick Dransfield, SINOTALKS.COM, SinoInsights™, Feb. 1, 2022, https://sinotalks.com/sinoinsights/202202-baccanello-katz.

The original, English version of this interview was prepared by Jennifer Baccanello and Camila Elyse Katz; it was finalized by Nathan Harpainter and Dr. Mei Gechlik. The information and views set out in this interview are the responsibility of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the work or views of SINOTALKS.COM.