Kennedys is having a very good year. The international firm posted a £138.8 million global turnover for the 2015/16 financial year, marking a 7 percent increase from £129.9 million in 2014/15. But nowhere is Kennedys’ robust growth more notable than in the Asia-Pacific region, where the Singapore office reported a £7.8 million turnover for the same period, soaring by 144 percent from £3.2 million last year.
In a tight and ever-challenging legal market, these numbers are resounding success indicators. Julian Wallace and Kevin Kwek, joint managing partners of Kennedys in Singapore, credit the firm’s consistent global push for its resilience and development. It has expanded in Latin America and Europe, as evidenced by recently opened offices in Russia and Denmark as well as newly established associations with firms in Norway, Sweden and Argentina.
“The practice of law is becoming increasingly globalised with many linkages among various jurisdictions. With our expanding global reach, we are better able and better poised to provide our clients a multi-jurisdictional coverage,” noted Wallace and Kwek.
In Singapore, Kennedys has a joint law venture agreement (JLV) with local firm Legal Solutions, an arrangement that has allowed the London-headquartered firm to extensively broaden its scope of services. That this association has been fruitful for both parties should not come as a surprise. Not only do the firms have a years-long history of collaboration, but the JLV also combines their fortes: Kennedys is well known in the insurance space, while Legal Solutions has a well-regarded dispute resolution practice.
Kennedys also credits their skyrocketing turnover in Asia-Pacific to its flourishing aviation practice. The timing of this foray couldn’t be better, as the region is “seeing a strong growth in the aviation sector, with Asian airlines and their passenger numbers increasing rapidly. This is driving global aviation markets upward,” explained Kwek and Wallace.
Another thriving area is disputes work, which perhaps stems from a slowdown in corporate as well as the global economic outlook. “Construction litigation is increasing, along with other commercial litigation matters. We are also seeing an increased number of large insurance related disputes and more insolvency related work coming our way,” they shared.
