UK law firm Nabarro has appointed David Kim, a Korea specialist, as a partner at its Singapore office, as it looks to tap into the increasing importance of the city-state as a hub for Korean firms furthering their growth in Southeast Asia.
Kim was most recently general counsel with Malayan United Industries in Kuala Lumpur, prior to which he led the Korean practice at SNR Denton. He is expected to spend some time in South Korea, apart from assisting clients out of Nabarro’s Singapore office.
Emerson Holmes, partner and head of the firm’s Singapore office, said he expected the bulk of Kim's clients to be companies headquartered in South Korea. “Whilst recognising our licence restrictions in Singapore, we will use our Singapore office to work with South Korean companies who are transacting in Southeast Asia as well as in other key jurisdictions in Asia,” said Holmes.
Two-way trade in goods and services between South Korea and Southeast Asia is expected to reach $150 billion by 2015, and Holmes said that Nabarro’s decision to invest in a partner with experience and extensive contacts in South Korea reflected this. “We have seen an increase in the number of matters that we deal with involving South Korean companies,” he added. “We expect that this will develop and grow further, given David's experience. We hope that matters will complement our core focus in the office which includes infrastructure projects, energy, and international arbitration.”
However, Nabarro has no plans to open in South Korea. “We see our Singapore office as being our central hub for the Asian region and, therefore, attracting more overseas legal work into Singapore,” Holmes said.
Kim’s arrival takes the number of partners at the Singapore office to three, the others being Holmes and Glenn Cheng. ALB
Ranajit Dam is Southeast Asia Editor at ALB. Follow him on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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