Allen & Gledhill won a whopping 11 awards at the ALB Southeast Asia Law Awards 2013, on a night when Rachel Eng of WongPartnership became the first person in the event’s history to win the Managing Partner of the Year award twice.

Other big winners at the awards ceremony, held at Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel on May 17, included Linklaters, which won the International Deal Firm of the Year award, and Timothy Pitrelli, Assistant General Counsel at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who was named Singapore In-House Lawyer of the Year. Eng won the Managing Partner of the Year award a second time after winning it in 2011.

Southeast Asia’s most talked about M&A transaction last year, Heineken's acquisition of Asia Pacific Breweries, received the IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd category Singapore M&A Deal of the Year, as well as the coveted Southeast Asia Deal of the Year award. The Real Estate and Construction In-House Team of the Year winner, CapitaLand, also won the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association Award for Singapore In-House Team of the Year.

Notably, there were an unprecedented number of joint winners at the 2013 awards. The International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year award was shared by Allen & Gledhill and Drew & Napier; Allen & Gledhill and WongPartnership tied for the Tax and Trusts Law Firm of the Year; and there were two winners each for Investment Bank In-House Team of the Year (Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan), Shipping In-House Team of the Year (Neptune Orient Lines and PSA International), and Malaysia Deal Firm of the Year (Wong & Partners and Zul Rafique & partners).

"Asian Legal Business is delighted to celebrate the success of the SE Asia Law Awards 2013 winners,” said Andrew Smart, managing director of ALB. “The economic outlook in the region remains bright compared to the rest of the world, with an average of more than 5 percent GDP growth predicted for the whole region, providing opportunities for successful deals and outstanding performance in the legal industry. Competition is keen and each winner deserves the accolade for their unique achievements last year.”

The annual ALB SE Asia Law Awards, which have now been held nine times, are judged by an external panel that consists of legal professionals who are considered leading experts in their fields, as well as associations and industry specialists.

For a full list of 2013 winners, click here.

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