Singapore-based law firm Fervent Chambers has announced significant leadership changes, with the appointment of William Wan as managing director and the return of Clarence Lun as head of dispute resolution and international arbitration.
K&L Gates Straits Law, the Singapore office of U.S. law firm K&L Gates, has strengthened its corporate capabilities in Singapore with the addition of partners David Kuo and Meraj Noor from rival DLA Piper.
UK-headquartered Eversheds Sutherland has confirmed to ALB that the firm is currently reviewing whether to keep its Beijing office open, while also making plans to reestablish an office in Singapore.
UK law firm Addleshaw Goddard has added its second lateral partner in Singapore in a matter of weeks after hiring corporate expert Matt Gorman from Reed Smith.
Singapore law firm Joyce A Tan & Partners has announced the appointment of two new directors, Wendy Lee and Frederick Tay, strengthening its corporate offerings.
Latham & Watkins has advised French industrial group Seche Environnement on its S$605 million ($445 million) agreement to buy Singapore’s ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering from Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group.
UK law firm Simmons & Simmons has hired tech and financial disputes expert Lijun Chui as a partner in Singapore from Bird & Bird.
U.S. law firm Baker Botts has tapped Ashurst again for an energy-focused partner in Singapore, two months after it launched its office in the country with partner hires from the UK-based law firm.
"The Asian legal market has developed to become much more intra-regional, particularly with the expansion of PRC and Japanese law firms into the global financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore. I think this is a positive trend reflective of the market's growing maturity, and also the opportunities it presents and will likely continue despite current global economic uncertainty."
As the Asian region witnesses a spike in investible assets, with its number of billionaires outstripping all other regions, Singapore and Hong Kong have been keen to hold on to some of the wealth that might have otherwise made its way to offshore jurisdictions.