Technology lawyer Wilfred Ng has returned to Bird & Bird as a partner in Hong Kong following a three-year stint at Chinese conglomerate Tencent, where he was a senior legal counsel in the international privacy and data protection department. 

Indian law firm Saraf and Partners has hired litigation and arbitration specialist Sairam Subramanian as a partner in Mumbai from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

U.S. law firm K&L Gates has hired debt capital markets specialist Jay Lee as a partner in Hong Kong from Simmons & Simmons.

London-headquartered law firm Charles Russell Speechlys is set to join an array of international law firms opening in Singapore after announcing plans for an office there in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory approval.

Houston-headquartered Baker Botts has returned to Asia after opening a Singapore office. The office is led by projects partner Richard Guit, who was mostly recently with Ashurst in Perth.

Clyde & Co has hired projects expert Ton van den Bosch as a partner in Singapore from Addleshaw Goddard, where he was the office managing partner.

Indonesian law firm ADCO Law has hired Alexandra (Alex) Gerungan as partner and head of its litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice from Makarim & Taira S, where she spent more than 17 years. 

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised the National Highways Authority of India’s Infrastructure Investment Trust on its $1.9 billion fundraising through institutional placement, with J Sagar Associates acting as counsel to the lead managers.

With young lawyers today rethinking everything from work-life balance to career aspirations, and in-house departments at companies across a variety of sizes and sectors ramping up their hiring, India’s law firms are finding it a challenge to hold on to top talent. Law firms now realise they need to rethink their talent retention strategies in a major way if they are to remain competitive for the long term.