U.S. law firm Mayer Brown has continued to make inroads into Singapore after entering a joint law venture (JLV) with PK Wong & Nair, a local law firm specialising in cross-border transactions and disputes.
The JLV, to be known as Mayer Brown PK Wong & Nair, will advise on international and Singapore law with PK Wong & Nair handling all Singapore court litigation and related matters.
The JLV has demonstrated Mayer Brown’s continued pivot to Southeast Asia. The firm has added three partners to its Singapore outpost so far this year, including international arbitration expert Kay-Jannes Wegner from Kim & Chang, and energy expert Justin Tan from Clyde & Co. Soumitro Mukerji, a banking and finance specialist, joined from Hogan Lovells in January. The firm, which opened in Singapore in 2011, now has 13 partners in the city-state.
“Over the past ten years we have built a highly competitive and dynamic offering in Singapore,” said Jon Van Gorp, chair of Mayer Brown, in a statement. “The continued growth of the market as an international legal hub, along with the increasing prominence of Singapore law as a preferred governing law across Southeast Asia, has driven client demand for an integrated local and international service offering.”
Full-service firm PK Wong & Nair came into existence in 2020 after the merger of former EY member firm PK Wong & Associations and Nair & Co, a disputes and insolvency boutique. Co-managing directors Mark Wong ad Suresh Nair head the firm that has over 20 lawyers, including eight directors.
Wong described the JLV as a “logical step” for the firm. “As an established locally grown Singapore law firm, the increasing international dimension of the work we undertake for our clients, means that finding a partner with an aligned global platform is a strategic imperative,” he said.
