Clyde & Co has appointed Brian Nash, a marine and commercial disputes veteran, as managing partner of its Singapore office, as the firm continues to bolster its Asia team with a series of relocations, lateral hires and partner promotions across the region.
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Clyde & Co has appointed Brian Nash, a marine and commercial disputes veteran, as managing partner of its Singapore office, as the firm continues to bolster its Asia team with a series of relocations, lateral hires and partner promotions across the region.Nash has spent more than 25 years at Clyde and Co, including four on the firm's Global Management Board, and five as joint head of shipping in London, apart from five years in the Middle East as head of dispute resolution.
The relocation of Nash from London to Singapore follows that of Michael Parker, who moved to Hong Kong as the firm’s Asia-Pacific managing director.In the last 12 months, the firm has increased partner numbers in Asia from 12 to 23, and raised the total regional headcount to more than 200. Much of this has resulted in the merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) in November 2011, which effectively doubled the size of the firm, apart from enhancing its capabilities in corporate, commercial, employment and construction.
In an interview with ALB, Nash listed a number of priorities for the firm’s Singapore office and Southeast Asia practice, starting with broadening and expanding the firm's existing capabilities in traditional core sectors such as insurance, marine, aviation, energy and commodities. “We will be looking to create a specialist non-marine insurance capability to take advantage of BLG's position in that market, and to extend our commodity disputes practice, both through lateral hires into Singapore,” said Nash.
"International arbitration is also a significant area of focus for the firm internationally and we will be driving development in line with this locally, with a particular focus on inward work from India in the first instance. We will also be examining our core sector offering across the broader sphere of construction, corporate, and projects work.”
Lisa Foley, Clyde & Co's Asia COO, said in a statement that the relocation of Nash reflected the level of investment the firm was seeking to make in the region. “Asia is strategically very important for Clyde & Co and our clients, being a high profile hub for insurance and international trade. The next phase of development, planning and implementation for the firm is already underway,” she said.
The firm has hired a number of partners in Hong Kong in recent times, including Ian Cocking, who joined from Minter Ellison in Hong Kong to launch Clyde & Co's regional construction and infrastructure practice; fellow construction partner Gilbert Kwok, who joined from Stephenson Harwood; Paul Jebely, who joined from Ashurst to head Clyde & Co's regional aviation finance team; and Andrew Horton, who arrived from Reed Smith Richards Butler to start BLG's marine practice in Hong Kong. Insurance Australia Group GC Michael Cripps also recently joined the firm in Shanghai.
Recent partner promotions in Asia include insurance specialist Anthony Sassi (who was promoted at BLG pre-merger) and shipping lawyer Gary Yin in Hong Kong, and corporate insurance specialist Carrie Yang and corporate and employment specialist Matthew Durham in Shanghai. ALB
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