Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has returned to Singapore after a hiatus of five years, as it seeks to tap into a region that has seen massive economic growth since the firm withdrew from the city-state in 2007.
The Freshfields office will be helmed by partners Stephen Revell and Gavin MacLaren. Revell, the head of the firm's global capital markets practice, will relocate from Hong Kong, while MacLaren, who leads Freshfields’ Asia energy and natural resources practice, recently joined Freshfields from Allens. Meanwhile, Lucy Reed, the global head of Freshfields’ international arbitration group, will spend a significant amount of time in the Singapore office.
In a phone interview with ALB, Revell said that the firm had seen great growth in client demand for legal services in Southeast Asia in recent times. “Back in 2007, there was a lot less optimism about the region,” he said. “We were in the middle of a downturn, and the future looked like it belonged to China. Since then, however, Singapore has emerged as a clear centre for growth in Southeast Asia. It is a radically different place now.”
Revell added that among the top drivers for growth in the region was Indonesia’s emergence as a major provider of energy and natural resources. “This is not a short-term move by any means,” he said. “Southeast Asia is clearly going places, so as client demand from the region increased, the decision to open was a pretty straightforward one.” MacLaren added that Singapore would be an important part of Freshfields’ pan-Asian energy and natural resources strategy. “We have some of the leading lawyers in Asia in this field in both contentious and non-contentious work,” he said. “Our clients’ initial reaction to our expanded energy and resources capabilities in Asia, which also include partners Mark Plenderleith, Gang Yuan, Lucy Reed, and Geoff Nicholas, has been extremely positive.“
Speaking about the firm’s growth strategy in Singapore, Revell said the firm had the licence to operate an international practice in the city-state, and “that is all we need” for the time being. The firm plans to focus on corporate/M&A and joint ventures, financing (including both equity and debt capital markets work), and also international arbitration, in order to tap into Singapore’s noticeable growth as an international arbitration hub. According to MacLaren, Freshfields will begin with about 15 or 20 lawyers in Singapore, with plans to expand further.
In 1980, Freshfields became the first international law firm in Singapore. Prior to its withdrawal in 2007, it had established an alliance with Drew & Napier.
Ranajit Dam is Southeast Asia Editor at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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