Skip to main content

Home-booking company Airbnb has hired Darrell Chan as deputy general counsel for the Asia-Pacific from Discovery Communications, where he led the APAC corporate legal and regulatory affairs teams. Chan will be based in Singapore, which serves as Airbnb’s APAC headquarters.

Chan’s hire comes as Airbnb faces legal and regulatory challenges in Singapore, which frowns on short-term property rentals. In fact, two men were charged late last year for unauthorized short-term letting of apartments, the first such cases under the city-state’s rules on short-term property letting introduced in 2017.

Prior to his time at Discovery, Chan was the head of legal for Asia at travel booking giant Expedia for three years, building and managing the legal and public policy functions in the region. Earlier in his career, he had had stints as an associate at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Singapore Big Four law firm Drew & Napier. He was named in ALB’s 40 Under 40 list last year.

Related Articles

Indonesia’s AVYA builds construction expertise with new partner

Indonesian law firm AVYA Law has announced the appointment of Ryand Armilis as a new partner to lead its construction and infrastructure practice group.

Singapore: Former Cavenagh Law disputes partner joins Oon & Bazul

Elan Krishna, a former partner at Cavenagh Law, the Singapore Formal Law Alliance (FLA) firm of Clifford Chance, has joined local outfit Oon & Bazul to strengthen its dispute resolution practice.

Malaysia’s Zul Rafique welcomes back real estate pro from in-house role

by Nimitt Dixit |

Malaysian law firm Zul Rafique & Partners has bolstered its real estate capabilities with the addition of Ainal Marlinda Md Said, who joins from her role as legal head of property developer Sime Darby Property.