The strong currency, an increasing amount of work coming in from countries around the region, and the growing international reputation of Singapore law firms is luring foreign lawyers away from top and mid-tier international firms and has created a steady stream of Singaporean lawyers practicing overseas going home to work for local firms.
Singapore Big Four firm Rajah & Tann, for example, has made a number of senior lateral hires from international firms this year. In the past two months alone, veteran Baker & McKenzie acquisition finance partner Angela Lim and Watson Farley Williams partner Christopher Muessel have joined the firm.
Muessel, a corporate partner who specialises in cross-border transactions in Southeast Asia, will be spearheading Rajah & Tann's Vietnam operation, which is expected to launch in approximately two months and, like its Malaysian counterpart, will be 100% owned by the firm and staffed by locally qualified lawyers.
Other partners appointed to the firm this year include Kevin Julian, a former managing partner of Freshfields Singapore, and Chester Toh, also from Freshfields. “The Singapore dollar is strong, and that has allowed us to go hunting for talent,” told ALB in an interview.
According to Rajah & Tann managing partner Lee Eng Beng, the firm is still looking for more hires from international firms. “Our currency has made it a little easier. And if you look at the big Singapore law firms, they are all 250-300 lawyers strong; we’ve reached that critical mass and we do have the resources to invest in building the brand, infrastructure and expertise to contend with major international firms.”
Meanwhile, fellow Big Four firm WongPartnership earlier this year secured Clyde & Co’s Doha-based partner Andrew Watson – in one of the Gulf’s highest-profile crossovers to date. Watson currently co-heads WongPartnership’s Middle-East practice with Paul Shandosham and sits within the firm’s IP and media technology practice group. (Previous to his role at Clyde & Co, Watson formerly headed Denton Wilde Sapte’s Brussels office as managing partner and boasts strong credentials in the infrastructure, trade and banking & finance sectors.)
International-to-local lateral hires are not limited just to the big Singapore firms. Local corporate boutique Arfat Selvam hired ex-Clifford Chance and Freshfield corporate lawyer Krishna Ramachandra as its joint-managing partner last year. “2009 started slow but went gangbusters as the year went on, and turned out to be our most profitable year on record with 50% revenue and profit growth,” Ramachandra said. “In 2005 the firm restructured and put on more partners, targeting new, dynamic young blood with international experience and it has made a difference.” ALB
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