Legal Awards
The World’s first ever Legal Awards – Asia Law & Practice IFLR Deals of the Year, established in 1998:
It is not often can one claim a ‘World First’! ‘The Asia Law & Practice IFLR Deals of the Year Awards’ were first launched at the Mandarin Oriental in 1998, at the nadir of the Asia Financial Crisis. The main architects were editor and journalist Chris Wright who formulated the Deals process and selected the winners, and me. We didn’t have a budget so no pictures now exist! The research and results were to Haymarket Publishing Industy standards – nobody but Chris knew the winners in advance (including me). There is a lot of cynicism surrounding awards among the generally misanthropric legal community – but not so the legal publishing folk captured in these pictures! As an industry we need to celebrate our ‘wins’ (because nobody else will)!
Special thanks to: Chris Wright, James Burden, Nick Ferguson, Huw Harries, Tina Tucker, Caroline Trender (nee Middleton), Nury Vittachi and the late Christopher Hunter.
In memory of Christopher Ross Brown (1954 – 2009), Founder Editor of IFLR
“My dear friend, similarly, you orchestrated so much of the success of our White & Case Global Alternative Investment Funds Practice in Hong Kong. I will always be grateful.” David Goldstein, CEO of Stoke Inventory Partners and former Partner and Head of White & Case’ Global Alternative Investment Fund Practice.
“Congratulations, Patrick. This was a great step forward in your illustrious and creative career as thinker, originator, writer and doer.” Philip Wood, CBE
“The world’s first legal awards is just one example of your innovative and positive contribution to the field of international legal practice. And you go from strength to strength.”Stefan Gannon, Barrister, former Special Advisor to the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
Inspiring young people towards reaching their full potential in the arts is also important to Patrick. In July 2025, Patrick provided a Teams talk about his time at Lancaster Royal Grammar as well as reflections on art and photography to the pupils studying art and photography for GCSEs and A Levels:
"Thank you once again for a splendid presentation in our school lunchtime today. I am delighted to tell you that the art and photography pupils of LRGS really were captivated by your vivid and vibrant delivery. We all loved your little anecdotes and the overall richness of your presentation. So much to think about. Thank you so much once again!” Christopher Bagnold, Head of Art & Photography, Lancaster Royal Grammar School
‘A Young Photographer in Old Beijing’: An in-person talk with pictures by Patrick M Dransfield
Key information
Date: 13 October 2025
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: SOAS University of London
Room: TBA
Event type: Seminar & Event highlights
About this event
In this talk, Patrick Dransfield will share highlights from the 800+ archive; his thoughts on art and also doing business with Chinese people in the context of these unique images of a China in transition.
In the Summer of 1986, Patrick was living with an old Chinese Professor of Chemistry and his artist wife in north Beijing. He’d acquired a second-hand twin periscope Seagull camera and proceeded to record the street scenes he encountered on his long cycle rides between Peking University and the Newsweek office in west Beijing.
“We are all the luckier for seeing these pictures through the deeply empathetic lens that Patrick M Dransfield brought to Beijing in 1986.” Professor Rana Mitter OBE FBA, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.
About the speaker
Patrick M Dransfield remembers first experiencing ‘wanderlust’ when, at the age of six, his father, Philip Brook Dransfield, read the diaries recorded when Philip was a young petty officer in the Royal Navy visiting China, Japan, Australia and the Dutch East Indies in 1945-6. The worlds of travel and eastern philosophies continue to fascinate – along with Patrick’s profound wish to escape the mundane through Art.
Patrick majored in English and History of Art at Leeds University and holds a Masters degree in Chinese History, Politics and Anthropology from SOAS, University of London. He is the author of ‘The Inner Circle Wu Xing’ series of novels and also "Track of Time: Moments of Transition". a book based on the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club Wall Exhibition of his ‘Old Beijing’ photographs of October 2020.
I am pictured presenting an AI generated 'self-portrait' at The Legal Innovation Forum in Dubai, April 24, 2025 - alongside the Founder and CEO, Andrew Bowyer.
It was a great privilege to work with actor Adam Fraser and Director / Writer Angelica Raagas (both pictured) on the satirical comedy film 'After Hours', premiered on April 23, 2025 at the Capstone Film Festival, New York University Abu Dhabi. Thanks to Terry Besson of Voice Lab UK for helping me with an American accent - I play Job, an aging talk show host reluctant to make way for new talent - type-cast again!
The premiere of the movie 'After Hours' will take place on the evening of April 23 2025 at NY University Abu Dhabi. The film is directed by Angelica Raagas and stars Adam Fraser as Jimmy, Marcus McGriff as Lester and Patrick Dransfield as Job.
Flow Book Shop
An independent bookstore selling used, second-hand and re-circulated books.
Event
Date: 21st August 2021 (2.30 - 3.30pm)
Venue: Flow Book Shop (Address: 1B, Fung Wah Industrial Building, 646, Castle Peak Road, Kowloon. Lai Chi Kok MTR Station, exit B1)
Registration: click here
Live Streaming (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=flow%20book%20shop
Flyer: Download here
Patrick Dransfield will be promoting his new new book: “Track of Time: Moments of Transition”; which includes the foreword by Professor Rana Mitter.
A trove of lost photographs shows China on the cusp of change. This unique collection of black and white pictures, printed in book form for the first time and taken by me in Beijing and Datong in 1986, was recently featured in the Financial Times “How To Spend It” magazine (October 17, 2020) as well as successfully exhibited at the Hong Kong FCC.