"Vision leads. Conviction decides."
Stephen Le (Lê Hoàng Chương) is the Founder and Managing Partner of Le & Tran, recognized for handling highly complex white-collar criminal matters and civil–commercial disputes in Vietnam.
With approximately 20 years of experience, he has served as an APAC strategic lead counsel, focusing on cross-border projects and disputes involving Vietnam, Singapore, and the United States. In addition to representing over 50 multinational corporations, he has also advised and represented nearly 200 individual clients, including chairpersons, CEOs, business owners, and high-net-worth individuals.
He is also a frequent speaker at reputable legal conferences and forums in Vietnam, Singapore, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Professional and academic background
Stephen is currently pursuing an EMBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) at Singapore Management University and attending Harvard Law School’s Program on Leadership in the Legal Profession in the United States.
He has a deep command of Vietnam’s commercial, civil, and criminal legal frameworks, together with strong working knowledge of Anglo-American common law systems, supported by a solid foundation in international business. He previously worked at Baker & McKenzie. After founding Le & Tran, he has served as lead counsel on major advisory and dispute matters for multinational clients such as Petronas, Marvell Technology, Suntory PepsiCo, Sanofi, Tan Chong Group, Bacardi, Adecco, Emerson, CJ, Samsung, and QBE Insurance, among others.
His practice focuses on white-collar criminal matters, commercial and civil disputes, international financial transactions, corporate governance, labor and employment, and family and marital matters.
International Recognition
In 2017, Stephen became the youngest lawyer to receive Vietnam’s prestigious “Litigation Star” award, presented by AsiaLaw Profiles in Hong Kong at the age of 31.
For ten consecutive years through 2026, he has been consistently recognized among leading lawyers in Vietnam and Asia by respected ranking organizations including Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Asian Legal Business, and Asia Business Law Journal.
CLIENT-REVIEWS SURVEYED BY CHAMBERS ASIA-PACIFIC 2026
“He provided very pragmatic advice, which was very much appreciated.”
“He is very responsive to our queries and helpful in answering our questions.”
CLIENT-REVIEWS SURVEYED BY LEGAL500 ASIA-PACIFIC 2025
“Stephen Le Hoang Chuong is forthright and calm and never overreacts or overpromises. He is confident in what can and can’t be achieved and sets out a clear roadmap to resolving the issue at hand.”
CLIENT-REVIEWS SURVEYED BY BENCHMARK LITIGATION ASIA-PACIFIC 2023
“Mr. Chuong is very smart and catches up on the issue quite well. He worked with us for just a short period, but he understood our business and quickly got to the point with a good strategy to handle the case.”
Practice Areas
High-level strategic thinking
Clients consistently recognize Stephen for his high-level strategic judgment. In any dispute, he quickly identifies the parties’ true end goals, while maintaining a comprehensive and deep understanding of the legal issues and the interests at stake across the client, the opposing side, and other stakeholders. This allows him to craft strategies that are precise, practical, and outcome-oriented, designed to protect the client’s position.
Deep legal knowledge and sharp litigation technique
Stephen remains directly involved in matters under his responsibility, both leading and actively working on cases, so that his knowledge and technique continue to sharpen through each engagement.
He approaches every case with the conviction that full mastery of facts and evidence is non-negotiable. He therefore takes the initiative in identifying, securing, and testing information and evidence, mapping the roles of all relevant parties, and anticipating their likely thinking and actions so he can prepare appropriate response plans.
For Stephen, the core of any case is evidence. He focuses on the technical discipline of collecting, structuring, and deploying favorable evidence, while strategically challenging adverse evidence. This enables legal arguments to be built with clarity, internal logic, and accuracy.
He is also known for managing pace and process, controlling timelines and procedural strategy throughout proceedings to protect the client’s interests in both substance and time.
Extensive experience and breakthrough creativity
Having handled more than 1,000 matters of varying scale throughout his career, Stephen understands the common traps that arise from psychology and emotion between clients and opposing parties. He analyzes blind spots and deception risks not only within legal processes, but also in interactions with relevant authorities, including state agencies, investigators, the procuracy, and the courts. He is confident in guiding clients toward steps that are careful, decisive, and legally grounded, while also thinking creatively. He develops litigation positions that close off an opponent’s attack angles and creates opportunities to advance the client’s claims and interests.
Decisive, strong-willed, and calm under pressure
Stephen understands the power of calmness in guiding clients through fear, whether driven by potential loss, crisis, or emotional strain. He trains for composure so he can remain prepared in high-stakes situations, helping clients stabilize, regain leverage, and strengthen their position.
Known for a strong and decisive character, he assumes leadership and stands fully accountable for his legal opinions and advice. He does not offer ambiguous guidance. Instead, he clearly explains the benefits and risks in each scenario so clients can make firm decisions with confidence.
Endorsements
“I have had the pleasure of working with Mr Stephen Le and his team in 2018 and again in 2019, a lasting impression and what has amazed me is his professionalism and methodical approach to addressing legal issues in Vietnam. I would highly recommend Mr Stephen Le and his firm for areas of Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Contracts as well as areas covering areas of various corporate legal aspects. Certainly a legal counsel of choice and legal firm to assist companies and individuals (particularly foreign corporates) when trying to navigate the Vietnamese legal environment.”
“Stephen and I worked together and that experience impressed upon me Stephen’s responsiveness, tactical acumen and stellar work ethic. He is a trusted and effective lawyer to go to for legal matters.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Stephen on several issues over the years and have always found him to be extremely bright, VERY aggressive and always to the point. He responds quickly and is always extremely honest in his opinion, even if you don’t want to hear it. There are not many people who merit the distinction of being labelled as honorable and results oriented but, in my book, he ranks with the best in protecting and caring for his clients no matter what the issue.”
“A solid lawyer who always has client’s best interest in mind.”
“Mr. Le did successfully assist D.I.E.C Singapore in the matters relating to debt recovery from two Vietnamese companies. Mr. Le usually approached the solutions in innovative ways and worked closedly and full-heartedly with me. It is also worth mention the level of confidence and diligence that Mr. Le demonstrated when working with me were extraordinary”
