Singapore’s Ministry of Law has renewed the Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licences of Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose Fulbright for five years, and that of White & Case for an initial period of one year.
Herbert Smith Freehills decided not to apply for a renewal of its licence after indicating “its preference not to commit to specific growth plans as part of the QFLP licence,” according to the Ministry. It will cease its operations as a QFLP by Oct. 31
“Our practice in Singapore is primarily international, working with our clients on significant cross-border matters,” said Michael Walter, Herbert Smith Freehills’s Southeast Asia managing partner, in a statement. “We do not believe that operating under our own licence is the only way to service our clients' Singapore law requirements. The Singapore Ministry of Law has granted us a six-month extension till the end of October, after which the firm will have new arrangements in place to support our ambitions and those of our clients in Singapore and the wider region.”
White & Case’s one-year conditional licence will be extended for a further four years subject to the firm being able to meet certain quantitative targets set by the ministry.
A total of 10 law firms were granted QFLP licences, six in 2008 and the remainder in 2013. Over the five-year licence period from 2009 to 2014, the first group of six QFLPs generated S$1.2 billion in total revenue, of which, about 80 percent came from offshore work, the ministry said.
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