New ambitions

Sundaresh Menon reveals the challenges he faces as the new leader of Rajah & Tann and shares his passion for arbitration

Sundaresh Menon has come home. He rejoined Rajah & Tann in April 2007 following a stint with the Supreme Court of Singapore as judicial commissioner, and time spent with Jones Day as head of its international arbitration practice for Asia. “I actually chose to come back to Rajah & Tann because I had been there [before] and I really felt that I wanted, in a way, to return home,” explains Menon. “I felt that the opportunities were going to be very exciting. I saw that the likelihood of Singapore emerging as a real centre for arbitration in Asia was a very real one, and I saw a role for a strong local firm like Rajah & Tann to build on that and establish itself as a very strong regional arbitration player.”

New MP role

Perhaps it was this vision and enthusiasm that led Menon towards his next challenge. When former managing partner Steven Chong left Rajah & Tann to join the judiciary in October 2009, Menon was invited to take over the leadership of the firm. “I agreed because I felt it was an honour,” says Menon. “I had been with the firm for a long time and I was involved with a lot of the decisions and processes that took us from a law firm of 20 to a law firm of nearly 300. So it was an exciting opportunity and I said, yes, I would do it.”

As a new managing partner, Menon is adjusting to the responsibilities of his role while still balancing the demands of running his legal practice. “It’s certainly a job that I think people don’t appreciate until they have to do it,” Menon says. “The one thing that I have experienced is the sense that it has really added a significant component of time that needs to be devoted to managing the firm. I am not someone who subscribes to the notion that you should stop practicing, because I am first and foremost a practitioner. So I have resisted the idea of either cutting back on my professional work or compromising on that in any way.”

Menon is clearly passionate about the practice of law but he still has clear ambitions for the business of Rajah & Tann. “What I would really like to do is to institutionalise the firm and bring it to a level where we are professionally run,” he says. “We are in the process of bringing in more professional support people so that the lawyers can get on with doing what I think they are really good at.” Menon has also established a management committee consisting of seven partners, to assist him in dealing with the issues which arise on a day-to-day basis. “I find it beneficial for the firm to involve a core group of partners who are part of the process of making sure that the firm is run efficiently,” he says.

Menon benefits from consultation with the other partners and believes it strengthens the decisions that are made, because incorporating different perspectives can be powerful in getting the right result for the firm. “I can think of at least two or three occasions in the last few months where I have changed my initial view on things because of that process of consultation, so I am a believer in consultation,” he says. However, he is also clear about the requirements of his role. “I think I am reasonably consultative but I recognise that the managing partner has got to be the person that makes the decisions and so I don’t shy away from that. At the end of the day leadership is about responsibility and I don’t have any difficulty in accepting that,” he says.

His appointment as leader of Rajah & Tann comes during a challenging time for law firms. Not only is the world continuing to suffer from the effects of the GFC, the legal landscape in Singapore is undergoing some dramatic changes, with the liberalisation of the legal services market and the arrival of foreign law firms. “The status quo is going to be challenged with liberalisation because you are going to find six new players, perhaps more, who are going to go for a share of the market,” says Menon. “So the first challenge I see is getting ready and equipping [the firm] to be able to deal with that additional competition.”

One way that Menon is dealing with the changing landscape is ensuring that Rajah & Tann capitalises on growth in the arbitration market. “I think that the arbitration market in Singapore is growing in leaps and bounds and we are well on the way to establishing ourselves as a very important centre for arbitration internationally,” he enthuses.

Arbitration

As deputy chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Menon is a firm believer in the process of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and what it can offer parties as means for resolving commercial disputes. “I genuinely believe that parties are actually better off, most of the time, if they can find a solution that they are happy to live with,” says Menon.

ADR and in particular, arbitration is a point of focus for Rajah & Tann. “It is clear that this is a market space that is on the rise. Although the international firms have expressed interest to get into this [market], the truth of the matter is that for quite some time there have been very few, if any, barriers to the international firms coming in and competing for a share of the market,” observes Menon. “In spite of that, you have seen the emergence of a handful of very strong Singaporean firms in that space and we count ourselves as one of the leading players. So I think we will see that practice grow even more as one of the traditional areas.”

Menon is also of the view that international firms will generate disputes work. The current licensing scheme does not allow international firms access to the courts and this is an opportunity for the major litigation firms in Singapore. “While I think there are challenges, I also think there are going to be opportunities and I would like to make sure that we think through and have a clear strategy to play to our strengths and to take advantage of our strengths, so that we can continue to maintain our position in the market.” ALB