Shipping specialist law firm Ince & Co has today launched Ince Law Alliance, a formal law alliance (FLA) with a newly-formed local entity, Incisive Law – to target English and Singapore advisory work in the maritime sector. Ince & Co will only be the second foreign firm to enter into such an alliance in Singapore after Wikborg Rein’s formation of Pan Asia Law Corporation in 2008. It is also the first English maritime firm to take this step.

Morrison & Foerster has lured leading international tax lawyer Eric Roose and his team of three from White & Case to join its Tokyo office.

Publicly-listed oil & gas services company Clough has appointed Nabarro Singapore to its legal panel as its key Asian counsel – an appointment which is the result of partner Glen Cheng’s prior relationship with the company.

The in-house head of legal compliance and enforcement of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) has prodigally returned to Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill. Adlin Abdul Majid has re-joined the firm she left in 2002 to join the governmental agency responsible for developing the country's information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

M&A specialist partner Piyasena Perera has left Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy to join Japanese Big Four, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, as a special foreign counsel.

London-based Hogan Lovells senior partner Andrew Carey will relocate to Singapore in April 2011 as part of the firm’s expansionist push to further develop its capital markets capabilities in the region.

Wikborg Rein and Allens Arthur Robinson have advised the sponsors of one of the world’s first floating LNG production projects.

Clashes between police and anti-government protestors intensified this week as 1000 GCC troops entered Bahrain on Tuesday 15 March. A ‘state of emergency’ declaration by the Kingdom of Bahrain prompted lawyers and staff from international firms to evacuate Manama; as they await the all-clear signal to be issued from the British Foreign Office.

Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Freshfields, Ashurst, Herbert Smith and Norton Rose all sprang into action yesterday amid concern for the safety of their Tokyo-based employees following last week’s earthquake, tsunami and the recently heightened fears of spreading nuclear contamination.

Clyde & Co has poached Ashurst’s head of aviation for Asia, Middle East and Africa Paul Jebely, to launch the Asian arm of the firm’s global aviation finance practice.