Editor’s note: This is an ongoing list.
March
15 Mar – Clayton Utz (Sydney, Australia)
Baker McKenzie’s Australian head of restructuring and insolvency is set to join corporate Australian law firm Clayton Utz. Maria O’Brien will join the firm’s Sydney office. (from http://www.law.com)
14 Mar – Covenant Chambers (Singapore, Singapore)
Khelvin Xu, most recently a disputes partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore, has left the firm to join local boutique Covenant Chambers as a director.
Xu focuses on cross-border and complex commercial disputes, particularly those involving technology-related issues. He represents clients in matters involving B2B disputes, shareholder agreements, minority oppression, directors’ duties, and employment issues.
Xu is acting on a multi-million-dollar international arbitration for a cryptocurrency platform against a cryptocurrency trading desk, linked to the cryptocurrency crash of June 2022. He has also successfully acted in a multi-million-dollar international arbitration for a Japanese corporation listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange against a Hong Kong entity in respect of the distribution of consumer products in Mainland China. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
14 Mar – Yulchon (Seoul, Korea)
Yulchon has expanded its intellectual property capabilities with the addition of JongCheol Lee and Mun Hui Kim as partners, in response to “Korea’s rising IP disputes and the exponential growth of the entertainment sector fuelled by K-content.”
Lee most recently served as an executive vice president of Samsung Electronics. Before that, he held the position of senior vice president and chief officer of Samsung’s legal/compliance team, overseeing operations at the electronics giant’s North American headquarters.
Meanwhile, Kim specialises in the media and entertainment industry. She previously worked at Yulchon until 2015 and recently rejoined the firm after a stint at law firm Jipyong.
Kim provides advisory and litigation services across various segments of the entertainment industry, including global OTT platforms, leading domestic broadcasters, and IT companies. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
12 Mar – Yang & Yang Solicitors (Hong Kong, China)
Rossana Chu is now a partner at Hong Kong law practice Yang & Yang Solicitors, having joined in January. Chu was the managing partner of LC Lawyers, which closed its doors in Hong Kong in January. She joined LC lawyers in 2017 when the firm hired half a dozen lawyers from Troutman Sanders as the Atlanta-based firm pulled out of Asia. (from http://www.law.com)
12 Mar – Jingtian & Gongcheng (Hong Kong, China)
Beijing-headquartered law firm Jingtian & Gongcheng has welcomed back Li Fai as a partner in its Hong Kong office. He was most recently a partner at EY member firm LC Lawyers, which shuttered in January this year.
Li, who was a partner at Jingtian & Gongcheng between 2019 and 2021 before moving to LC, specialises in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets. He has experience in initial public offerings, corporate restructuring, private equity financing, and general commercial and compliance matters.
Li has provided legal advice for several Chinese companies listing in Hong Kong and has participated in restructuring and M&A projects for Hong Kong-listed companies, involving industries such as manufacturing, retail, food, media, pharmaceuticals, and energy. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
12 Mar – BTPLaw (Singapore, Singapore)
Singapore corporate boutique BTPLaw has hired Lynn Ariele Soh and Leeza Lee as partners. Soh was most recently a director at Eng & Co, the Singapore member firm of PwC Legal, while Lee was a managing associate at Linklaters’ Hong Kong office.
With more than 14 years of experience as a corporate lawyer, Soh’s practice areas include M&A, fundraising for start-ups, venture capital, employment law and general corporate advisory. Before joining Eng & Co in 2019, she was vice president legal at Fullerton Health, and worked at Allen & Overy and WongPartnership prior to that. Soh was named as one of the ALB Asia 40 Under 40 in 2020.
Meanwhile, Lee specialises in equity and debt capital markets. She has over eight years of international financing experience advising on a broad range of debt and equity products, including convertible and exchangeable bonds, corporate hybrids, private and pre-initial fundraising, loans and liability management transactions. Before moving to Hong Kong in 2017 to join Linklaters, she was also at WongPartnership. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Mar – Withers (Singapore, Singaproe)
Withers KhattarWong, the Singapore office of international law firm Withersworldwide, announced today that Deborah Barker, SC, will be stepping down as the firm’s Managing Partner.
Shashi Nathan, Partner and Head of the Singapore White Collar Defence and Investigations Practice, and Daniel Yong, Partner and Head of the Singapore Funds Practice, will take over the helm as Joint Managing Partners effective 31 March.
The appointment of Nathan and Yong coincides with the firm’s 50th anniversary celebration, marked by several initiatives to give back to the community. (from http://www.withersworldwide.com)
7 Mar – Dentons Rodyk (Singapore, Singapore)
Dentons Rodyk has made its first partner hire of the year after welcoming aboard private wealth expert Linda Bai Lu from local outfit Taxise Asia, where she headed the China private client practice.
The China-qualified Bai is set to bolster Dentons Rodyk’s private wealth, family office and tax offerings, particularly when it comes to the needs of Chinese clients related to Singapore. She has experience advising Chinese high-net-worth individuals and families on wealth management, estate management and tax, as well as Chinese corporate entities on investing outside China using Singapore as a base. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
6 Mar – Mills Oakley (Sydney, Australia)
Australian law firm Mills Oakley has poached Squire Patton Boggs partner Natalie Lonergan to establish an energy and resources group and help the firm win more work in the sector.
5 Mar – Frasers Law Company (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Frasers Law has welcomed energy specialist Gwendoline Yi-Quin Brooker as a partner to support the firm’s growing Hanoi office.
Brooker brings more than 23 years of experience from TotalEnergies where she was recently a senior disputes adviser. She also worked with Exxon Mobil, a multinational oil and gas corporation, for 16 years. Her expertise spans transactional law within the oil and gas sector, from upstream operations to refining, marketing and the growing arena of renewables. (from http://www.law.asia)
5 Mar – Appleby (Hong Kong, China)
Officeshore firm Appleby has made 2 Hong Kong partner hires this week.
John McCarroll SC and Lily Miao are joining the firm from the British Virgin Islands office of Harneys and the Hong Kong office of Mourant Ozannes, respectively. (from http://www.law.com)
5 Mar – Greenberg Traurig (Singapore, Singapore)
Greenberg Traurig has appointed a co-managing shareholder and head of mergers and acquisitions in Singapore with the hire of King & Wood Mallesons partner Jake Robson.
Robson has worked at King & Wood for over 4 years, joining the firm in 2020 from Morrison & Foerster, where he was a partner. At both firms, he worked to build the M&A practice in Southeast Asia. Before spending 6 years at MoFo, Robson was also partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, where he practice for over 15 years. (from http://www.law.com)
4 Mar – Pinsent Masons (Australia)
Pinsent Masons has hired 2 partners from KPMG Law to launch a technology, media and communications practice in Australia.
The two partners, James Arnott, who was head of KPMG’s technology and digital transformation team, and Veronica Scott, who led KPMG’s cyber, privacy and data practice, are bring along a team of six lawyers. (from http://www.law.com)
1 Mar – Tokyo International Law Office (Tokyo, Japan)
We are pleased to announce that Victor Sai has joined the Tokyo International Law Office team.
Victor spent over twelve years at US law firms in California with a focus on complex intellectual property litigation in the U.S. District Courts and U.S. International Trade Commission. Victor has extensive experience in working with Japanese clients.
The addition of Victor to the firm will further support our commitment to deliver successful outcomes for clients. (from LinkedIn.com)
1 Mar – Dentons (Sydney, Australia)
Dentons has added 2 employment partners to its Sydney office as part of a nine-strong team hire from Kennedys.
Justin Le Blond and Persephone Stuckey-Clarke join the firm from March 5, 2024, bringing the total number of partners in Dentons national employment and safety practice to six. (from http://www.law.com)
1 Mar – Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Malaysian law firm Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership (RDS) has upped its partner strength to 20 after the addition of corporate partner Falisa Abu Bakar. Falisa’s last role was as a partner at Zul Rafique & Partners between 2016 and 2022.
She becomes the second former Zul Rafique partner to join RDS in recent times after disputes partner Farah Shuhadah Razali in August last year.
Falisa, who joins RDS’ corporate practice, specialises in projects, construction and Infrastructure matters. Her recent work includes advisory services for the construction of the first of several offtake-basis controlled release fertiliser plants, a latex gloves production plant, a silicone synthesis facility, and on the development of the Pengerang Integrated Complex (previously known as the PETRONAS RAPID Project). (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
1 Mar – Yulchon (Seoul, Korea)
South Korea’s Big Six firm Yulchon has hired David MacArthur, the co-head of the international arbitration practice at Big Four Japanese firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune.
MacArthur will be relocating back to Seoul where he previously worked for another Big Six practice, Bae, Kim & Lee, as a partner. At Yulchon, MacArthur will also take on the title as the firm’s international arbitration practice co-head.. (from http://www.law.com)
February
28 Feb – Yoon & Yang (Seoul, Korea)
Korean Big Six law firm Yoon & Yang has landed construction, engineering and public procurement expert Jae Woo Jeon and labour specialist Sam Park as partners. Both recently held senior in-house roles: Jeon was at Daewoo Engineering & Construction, while Park was at Samsung Electronics.
With these additions, Yoon & Yang aims to “transcend traditional legal advisory roles to become a more comprehensive and specialised strategic business partner for its clients,” said Myung Soo Lee, a senior managing partner of Yoon & Yang, in a statement.
Jeon is Yoon & Yang’s second senior construction lawyer hire in a matter of months, with the firm welcoming back construction and arbitration lawyer Joseph Lee from Pinsent Masons in September. Jeon worked for Daewoo Engineering from 2009 to 2023, holding roles such as head of legal affairs, head of the compliance support Office and head of domestic legal affairs Office. In these positions, he oversaw legal issues regardingo real estate development, contracts, construction, and general corporate.
Park joined Yoon & Yang after over a dozen years at Samsung Electronics. At the electronics conglomerate, he was most recently the Head of Legal at Samsung Electronics Service, Samsung Electronics’ affiliate, supervising corporate legal affairs, including labour commission cases, wrongful dismissal claims, industrial accident claims, labour audits and labour-management relations. Previously, Park was at South Korea’s National Labour Relations Commission and the Ministry of Employment. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
28 Feb – Shin & Kim (Seoul, Korea)
South Korean Big Six law firm Shin & Kim has hired former judges Dong-kyu Kim and Hun-tae Doh as partners in Seoul. While Kim will specialise in bankruptcy and insolvency, Doh is a tax expert.
The hires come shortly after Shin & Kim appointed Jong-In Yoon, the former chairman of Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission, as a senior advisor to spearhead the establishment of an AI-related practice group.
Kim, who was most recently a presiding judge at the Seoul Southern District Court, brings more than 20 years of experience as a judge at various levels, including the Seoul High Court and the Supreme Court of Korea. He will lead the firm’s new corporate restructuring centre, which was established in response to a rise in real estate project financing risks and corporate restructuring.
Meanwhile, Doh was a presiding judge at the Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court. He, too, has experience as a judge of the Supreme Court of Korea, as well as courts such as the Seoul Central District Court. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
27 Feb – Lindsay Francis & Mangan (Singapore, Singapore)
Dechert Asia international arbitration head Mark Mangan has left the firm to co-found a dispute boutique, Linkdsay Francis & Mangan, in Singapore.
The two other co-founders, former Dechert partner Timothy Lindsay and former Meredith Connell partner Kim Francis, also run an Auckland-based disputes boutique Lindsay & Francis, which as established in 2017. Both Lindsay and Francis previously worked in the London office of Dechert in 2010. (from http://www.law.com)
23 Feb – Haiwen & Partners (Beijing, China)
Haiwen & Partners has hired a partner from Zhao Sheng Law Firm, the China joint operation practice of Linklaters.
Benran Huang is a mergers and acquisitions lawyer based in Beijing. He joined Zhao Sheng as an associate in 2019 and was made partner last year. Prior to joining Zhao Sheng, he practiced at Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for two years and at Linklaters for over four years. (from http://www.law.com)
21 Feb – Simmons & Simmons (Singapore, Singapore)
UK law firm Simmons & Simmons has beefed up its partner strength in Asia by hiring Terence Seah in Singapore from Stephenson Harwood and Jeffrey Friedenberg as the head of its private funds practice in Hong Kong, and also relocating disputes partner Steven Kaye to Singapore from London.
With 15 years of experience, Kaye specialises in the construction sector and advises on construction disputes, including defending professional negligence claims against design and build contractors, architects, engineers, surveyors and project managers. Having started his career at Kennedys in 2009, Kaye joined Simmons in 2018 as a managing associate in London and became a partner in 2022. (from http://www.law.com)
21 Feb – Pinsent Masons MPillay (Singapore, Singapore)
Pinsent Masons MPillay has hired veteran energy lawyer David Clinch as a partner for its Singapore office.
Clinch joins Pinsent Masons from Shearman & Sterling, where he was a counsel. He first joined Shearman & Sterling in 2021 as a partner from Herbert Smith Freehills, where he had spent almost three decades based in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. (from http://www.law.com)
21 Feb – King &Wood Mallesons (Sydney, Australia)
King & Wood Mallesons is growing its employment and industrial relations team with the hire of a partner from Australian firm Clayton Utz.
Cillia Robinson will join the firm’s national employee relations and safety team in mid-2024, based in the Sydney office. (from http://www.law.com)
20 Feb – DLA Piper (Seoul, Korea)
DLA Piper has added Brian Youn as a partner in Seoul to fortify its presence in Asia’s finance, projects and restructuring (FPR) practice.
Youn previously served as a counsel at Milbank with a portfolio of advising major financial institutions, Korean Emission Control Areas, sponsors, investment advisers, investment banks and airlines. His expertise includes financing endeavours of electric vehicles and large-scale energy, oil and gas, mining and infrastructure projects.
Youn’s native proficiency in Korean, coupled with his fluency in Mandarin Chinese, adds to the firm’s seamless communication and collaboration within the region. (from http://www.law.asia)
20 Feb – Simmons & Simmons (Singapore, Singapore)
Simmons & Simmons has made its second Asia hire in the space of a week with the addition a partner in Singapore.
Following the hire of Jeffrey Friedenberg in Hong Kong earlier this week, disputes lawyer Terence Seah is joining the UK firm from Virtus Law, the Singapore alliance firm of Stephenson Harwood, where he was a partner. (from http://www.law.com)
19 Feb – Gilbert + Tobin (Melbourne, Australia)
G+T is delighted to welcome incoming partner Luke Barrett to the Corporate Advisory practice, based in Melbourne.
Luke has more than 25 years of experience specialising in superannuation law and investments and will become a partner and lead the firm’s superannuation team.
This is a significant evolution for the superannuation industry and for the firm, with G+T being uniquely placed to offer high-calibre advice underpinned by a deep understanding of the internal operating environments within superannuation funds which is unrivalled in the legal market.
Luke’s experience and understanding of the superannuation sector, along with G+T’s market-leading corporate advisory and M&A transaction capabilities, creates a complete offering for super funds that includes broad advisory, fund mergers, large-scale private market transactions, investment governance, risk management, breach remediation and regulatory compliance. For the superannuation industry, this means funds will have access to specialist advice from a G+T team which seamlessly brings together market-leading practitioners from every area of specialisation which is relevant to a matter, while knowing the advice will always be completely tailored to the particular needs and circumstances of the superannuation industry. (from http://www.law.com)
19 Feb – Simmons & Simmons (Hong Kong, China)
Simmons & Simmons has hired Jeffrey Friendenberg as the firm’s head of private funds based in Hong Kong.
Freidenberg has more than 20 years of experience in the asset management and investments funds sector, with a particular focus on advising international and regional asset managers, financial institutions, investment advisers, family offices, and institutional investors. (from http://www.law.com)
19 Feb – Ashurst (Sydney, Australia)
Commercial litigation partner and head of gender equality at Australian firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth Felicity Healy is to leave for Ashurst. (from http://www.law.com)
15 Feb – Hamilton Locke (Sydney, Australia)
Australian law firm Hamilton Locke has boosted its regulatory and disputes team with the hire of a partner from Clifford Chance and a partner who was previously at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Sydney-based Tim Grave joins from Clifford Chance where he was a partner for over a decade. He co-led the UK firm’s Australian regulatory investigations and financial crime team. (from http://www.law.com)
15 Feb – Clifford Chance (Singapore, Singapore)
Clifford Chance has hired Jamie McLaren, a corporate partner at Herbert Smith Freehills who focuses on private equity deals.
McLaren has practiced at Herbert Smith for almost a decade, first goining the firm as an associate in London in 2015 and then making partner five years later. He relocated to Singapore from the UK in 2020. He previously practiced at DLA Piper and at Scottish law firm MacRoberts. (from http://www.law.com)
12 Feb – Gilbert + Tobin (Perth, China)
Gilbert + Tobin has acquired a legal practice and two partners in Perth, the latest move by the top-tier Australian firm as it seeks to boost its energy, infrastructure and mining capabilities in Western Australia.
The firm has acquired Wright Legal, a four person firm founded in 2001, and two of its four directors, Trish Chapman and Dom McGreal, will join G+T as partners. The other Wright Legal staff have been offered work at G+T. (from http://www.law.com)
8 Feb – Waston Farley & Williams (Singapore, Singapore)
Waston Farley & Williams has hired new partner Merrick White from the Singapore office of McDermott Will & Emery, leaving the latter firm with just one partner left in its city-state outfit.
White was one of McDermott’s first partner hires for Singapore, where the firm chose to relaunch its Asia presence after exiting China and Seoul in 2020 and 2019, respectively. (from http://www.law.com)
7 Feb – Bird & Bird (Hong Kong, China)
Bird & Bird has recruited capital markets expert David Cheng as a partner in Hong Kong from Winston & Strawn, which recently shuttered its Hong Kong office.
U.S. law firm Winston & Strawn closed its Hong Kong outpost on Feb. 1 after 15 years of operation in the city. In a statement, it said the exit aimed to further “consolidate our resources in Asia.”
With more than 15 years of experience, Chen advises underwriters, placing agents, and public and private companies in sectors such as energy, food and beverage, consumer products, real estate, pharmaceuticals, finance, media and entertainment, technology and communications on IPO, spin-off and M&A, with a focus on IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
6 Feb – Yulchon (Seoul, Korea)
Seoul-headquartered law firm Yulchon has welcomed Sang Mook Kang, a former senior prosecutor with the Busan District Prosecutor’s Office, as a partner.
The hire comes months after the additions of Wook Jin Rah and Woo Young Choe, two other former prosecutors, to Yulchon’s criminal bench.
While serving as a prosecutor at Special Crime Division 1 of Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Kang managed anti-corruption investigations of corporate executives and high-ranking government officials accused of white-collar crimes. He also investigated international criminal cases that involved negotiations with foreign authorities. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
6 Feb – Skrine (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Kuala Lumpur-based law firm Skrine has hired barrister Louise Azmi as a partner. She was most recently running her own independent practice.
Azmi advises on commercial, construction, oil and gas, and general civil litigations. She also represents clients before various arbitration institutions, including the Asian International Arbitration Centre and Thailand International Arbitration Center. Azmi is on the Reserve Panel of Arbitrators at Singapore International Arbitration Centre and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators.
Azmi started her career in London in 2004 at Broadway House Chambers, before relocating to Kuala Lumpur in 2016 to join the Malaysian Bar. She is a door tenant at 2 King’s Bench Walk, London. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
6 Feb – Tokyo International Law Office (Tokyo, Japan)
Tokyo International Law Office has hired corporate expert Jean-Denis Marx as a partner from Baker McKenzie, where he had worked for three decades.
Marx advises foreign companies on their investments and operations in the country regarding compliance with company law and labour law as well as joint ventures, licensing, franchising, general contracts, and intellectual property litigation. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
6 Feb – Stephenson Harwood (Hong Kong, China)
Stephenson Harwood has hired another Hong Kong partner, this time from Eversheds Sutherland.
Amy Yu is an equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions lawyer who has spent almost nine years practicing at Eversheds Sutherland, where she made partner in 2018. She joined Eversheds as a counsel in 2015 from Latham & Watkins, where she was an associate. (from http://www.law.com)
1 Feb – K&L Gates Straits Law (Singapore, Singapore)
K&L Gates Straits Law, the Singapore office of U.S. law firm K&L Gates, has hired investment funds specialist Jason Nelms as a partner from Morrison Foerster.
The hiring comes weeks after K&L Gates Straits Law welcomed aviation finance lawyers Samuel Kolehmainen and Duc Nguyen in early January from Herbert Smith Freehills.
Nelms advises sponsors and investors on structuring, formation and offering of private investment funds including private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, co-investment vehicles and other alternative investment products.
Before joining Morrison Foerster as a partner in 2015 in Singapore, he was at Proskauer Rose in New York, Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Hong Kong and Fried Frank in New York. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
1 Feb – King &Wood Mallesons (Singapore, Singapore)
King & Wood Mallesons has bolstered its banking practice in Singapore with the addition of Gary Hamp, who was previously an independent consultant in London. Hamp is KWM’s first Asia partner hire in 2024.
Hamp has previously served as head of Hogan Lovells’ Hong Kong banking practice, and co-led Latham & Watkins’ Hong Kong banking group, before moving to London as a partner with Shearman & Sterling in 2020. He quit Shearman in September 2022 to set up an independent consultancy practice, according to his LinkedIn bio.
Hamp advises clients across Asian jurisdictions on leveraged finance, acquisition finance, structured lending and secured syndicated financings in addition to acting for private credit funds and advising on the banking law aspects of complex restructurings. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
31 Jan – Yang & Yang Solicitors (Hong Kong, China)
Yang & Yang Solicitors, the Hong Kong association firm of the PRC’s East & Concord, has hired veteran corporate lawyer Rossana Chu as a partner. Chu was previously the managing partner of LC Lawyers, EY’s Hong Kong law firm, which closed recently.
With more than 25 years of practice experience, Chu specializes in Hong Kong and cross-border M&A, including takeovers and privatizations of listed companies, cross-border transactions, asset management, ESG and sustainability, financings of acquisitions and restructuring-related deals, capital markets, corporate finance, technology law, regulatory compliance, and employment legal issues. She joined LC Lawyers in 2018 from U.S. law firm Troutman Sanders, which also closed its Asia offices at that point. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
Yang & Yang spun off last year from Deloitte Legal’s Hong Kong law firm Yang, Chan & Jamison (now Chan & Jamison). The firm’s five other partners all joined from there: Managing partner Victor Yang was previously that firm’s managing partner; Valarie Fung Wing Yin was the APAC disputes head, Winnie Chiu Wing Ngar was a partner; and Chiang Kin Fung and Sam Wu Ming Sum were associates.
Additionally, Yang was previously the managing partner of the Hong Kong office of the PRC’s Zhong Lun Law Firm, which he launched in 2015, as well as managing and founding partner of local firm Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
30 Jan – Greenberg Traurig (Tokyo, Japan)
U.S. law firm Greenberg Traurig has further expanded its real estate team in Tokyo after recruiting a four-lawyer team from White & Case. Mizuho Yamada and Ayako Kawano come on board as shareholders, while Kazuo Kasai and Hiroshi Hara join as local partner and counsel, respectively.
These hires come some months after Greenberg Traurig added real estate experts Yuko Ino and Koh Ueda as shareholder and of counsel, respectively, from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
A weaker yen, attractive interest rates and increasing consumer demand spurred by post-COVID market re-opening has made Japan’s real estate market one of the hottest Asian investment options for global investors in 2023.
With more than four decades of combined experience, Yamada and Kawano advise on construction and development, financings, acquisitions, sales and M&A, as well as real estate and corporate-related bankruptcy, restructurings, and workouts. They left White & Case as partners.
Kasai, who was a counsel at his previous firm, advises equity investors and lenders on real estate financing, acquisitions and sales, as well as renewable energy projects. Meanwhile, Hara, who was an associate, supports real estate transactions, including securitization and asset finance, as well as renewable energy transactions and M&A. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
30 Jan – Mayer Brown (Singapore, Singapore)
U.S. law firm Mayer Brown has hired banking and financing specialist Janelene Chen as a partner in Singapore from Norton Rose Fulbright.
With roughly 17 years of experience, Chen advises financial institutions and corporate borrowers on trade finance, including receivables, payables and commodities, event-driven financing, structured lending such as asset-based lending, and general banking with a focus on matters covering Singapore, Indonesia and other ASEAN countries, Hong Kong and the PRC.
Chen joined Norton Rose in 2011 and became a partner in 2020. Previously, she was at local Big Four firm WongPartnership.
She becomes Mayer Brown’s first lateral partner hire in Singapore since its joint law venture (JLV) in October 2022 with PK Wong & Nair. It had made three partner hires earlier in 2022, including banking and finance expert Soumitro Mukerji. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
29 Jan – TSMP Law Corporation (Singapore, Singapore)
Singapore law firm TSMP Law Corporation has hired Tania Chin as director and head of its criminal litigation and investigations practice from Credit Suisse, where she held the role of vice president of APAC compliance investigations.
With nearly 15 years of experience, Chin advises individuals accused of sexual and white-collar crimes, as well as corporations, on internal investigations. At Credit Suisse, she conducted investigations arising from MAS regulatory requests, investigation of whistle-blowing reports, and investigation of employees’ breaches of company policies spanning issues including sanctions policies, unauthorised trading, anti-bribery and corruption, and anti-money laundering.
Chin joined Credit Suisse in 2022 from Withers, where she was a partner and spent more than nine years (including two at the pre-merger KhattarWong). Previously, she worked at INCA Law and Harry Elias Partnership. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
25 Jan – Vantage Chambers (Singapore, Singapore)
Disputes expert Jonathan Choo, who was most recently a partner at Bird & Bird, has left to launch his own practice in Singapore.
The new firm, called Vantage Chambers, offers services related to all forms of dispute resolution, with a specific focus on arbitration, mediation, and neutral evaluation and determination.
With more than two decades of experience in commercial disputes in both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations and mediations, Choo is also a Singapore arbitrator and mediator. He has additionally represented clients in litigation and court matters.
Before joining the UK-based Bird & Bird as a partner in 2016, he was a partner at the legacy Olswang. He previously worked for DLA Piper and Drew & Napier. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
25 Jan – The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (Hong Kong, China)
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre has announced that Joanne Lau, currently a partner at Allen & Overy, will become its new secretary-general. She will commence her role on Feb. 26.
Lau will succeed Mariel Dimsey, who has held that position since 2022. Dimsey will return to CMS to become local managing partner of its Hong Kong office.
Lau joined Allen & Overy as a trainee solicitor in 2012, and has been with the firm since. She handles commercial and investor-state arbitrations across multiple sectors, jurisdictions and arbitral rules. Lau also has a long association with HKIAC, having previously served on the HK45 committee, where she held the position of co-chair from 2020 to 2022, and on the HKIAC Proceedings Committee. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
25 Jan – Howse Williams (Hong Kong, China)
Hong Kong law firm Howse Williams has hired regulatory and compliance lawyer Jason Chan as a partner from Dechert, where he was a senior associate.
Chan’s arrival comes shortly after financial services regulatory specialist Jill Wong left Howse Williams to join Reed Smith last July.
With nearly a decade of experience, Chan advises on regulatory and compliance of investment funds and virtual assets as well as non-contentious financial regulatory work.
Prior to joining Dechert, Chan worked at Sidley Austin and Clifford Chance. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
23 Jan – WongPartnership (Singapore, Singapore)
Singapore Big Four law firm WongPartnership has made its first lateral partner hire in about a year after welcoming disputes expert Daniel Gaw as a partner from Dechert, where he was a senior associate.
With 11 years of experience, Gaw advises corporations, equity funds, and sovereign states on high-value disputes and arbitrations in oil and gas, mining, renewable energy, construction, and commodities.
Prior to joining Dechert in 2018, Gaw was at Rajah & Tann Singapore for about three years. He previously worked at the Supreme Court of Singapore and the Competition Appeal Board as a law clerk.
22 Jan – Kan Kun Law Offices (Hong Kong, China)
Major PRC law firm Han Kun Law Offices has hired capital markets lawyer Bonnie Yung as a partner in Hong Kong from Mayer Brown.
With nearly two decades of experience, Yung advises corporate clients in sectors including IT, real estate, financial services, retail, manufacturing and mining on transactions such as IPO and M&A.
Yung joined Mayer Brown in 2021 from EY network firm LC Lawyers. Prior to that, she spent nearly nine years at another U.S. firm, Paul Hastings.
Han Kun, which established a presence in Hong Kong in 2014, merged with its associated law firm in the SAR, Miao & Co in late 2022. Yung is believed to be the first lateral partner then. The Han Kun Hong Kong office eight partners and consultants in total. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
22 Jan – Eric Chow & Co (Hong Kong, China)
Eric Chow & Co, the Hong Kong association firm of PRC law firm Commerce & Finance Law Offices, has recruited capital markets expert Angela Zhang as a partner from Tian Yuan Law Firm.
With more than 12 years of experience, Zhang advises corporate clients in the biotech, consumer products and education sectors on IPOs and other financing transactions. Prior to her two-year stint at Tian Yuan, she worked for Sidley Austin and Kirkland & Ellis. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
19 Jan – Shin & Kim (Seoul, Korea)
Leading South Korean law firm Shin & Kim has appointed Jong-In Yoon, the former chairman of the Personal Information Protection Commission, as a senior advisor to spearhead the establishment of a comprehensive AI-related practice group.
The group, named the AI & Data Center, is co-chaired by Yoon and Jae-You Choi, former vice-minister of the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning. The group will work closely with partners such as Joe Juneyoung Jang, who specializes in ICT, and TMT and data privacy expert Jeong Ho Ahn.
With the increasing adoption of AI by businesses and individuals, the number of legal issues related to intellectual property infringements and privacy violations has been on the rise. The EU is expected to implement its AI Act in the first half of this year, and discussions on regulations are ongoing in other countries, including the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.
In a statement, the firm highlighted that the AI & Data Center aims to provide comprehensive legal and policy advisory services. This will assist clients in the AI industry address and overcome various challenges associated with utilizing AI technologies and offering data-driven services.
Yoon, a seasoned public servant with over three decades of experience, served as the chairman of the Personal Information Protection Commission from 2020 to 2022. Previously, Yoon held positions at various government offices, such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Government Innovation Organization and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs’ Creative Government Organization, both in the role of director.
18 Jan – GLP Capital partners (Hong Kong, China)
Kirkland & Ellis capital markets partner Nicholas Norris has left the firm to become a senior legal adviser at alternative asset management company GLP Capital Partners.
A Kirkland partner since 2011, Norris has advised private equity firms, investment banks, and corporations on capital market transactions such as M&A, private equity investment, and corporate finance in the SAR and PRC. He joined Kirkland from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, prior to which he was at Simmons & Simmons.
Norris’ notable deals included advising Nesta Investment Holdings on its $11.6 billion acquisition of Global Logistic Properties (GLP), Asia’s biggest warehouse operator; representing Golden Lincoln Holdings on its $931 million privatization of Hong Kong-listed global sourcing and logistics group Li & Fung; and acting Blackstone Group on its $1.1 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Indian IT outsourcing services provider Mphasis. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
18 Jan – Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (Bengaluru, India)
Indian law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has made its first partner hire in the new year with the addition of KZ Kuriyan, who had been a Bengaluru-based partner in J Sagar Associates’ corporate team since 2020.
Kuriyan, who had spent his entire career at JSA since graduating in 2011, specializes in private equity deals and assists domestic and international PE funds on cross-border transactions.
One of his top clients has been one of Bengaluru’s top real estate developers, Prestige Estates Projects. He advised Prestige Estates on a $1.5 billion real estate sale to US private equity major Blackstone Group, one of the largest portfolio deals in the sector. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
16 Jan – AZB & Partners (Mumbai, India)
Indian law firm AZB & Partners has welcomed back real estate lawyer Ruchit Parikh as a partner in Mumbai from Trilegal, the firm’s second real estate partner hire in four months.
In October last year, AZB welcomed a team of six real estate lawyers in the southern city of Bengaluru from J Sagar Associates, led by another returnee, Malini Raju.
AZB also lost two real estate partners last year: In Mumbai, Monika Bhonsale moved to Trilegal in November, while Delhi practice head Rohit Bajaj joined Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co in August.
With real estate being one of India’s fastest-growing sectors, Parikh “will be a significant addition to our real estate practice in Mumbai, and will further enhance servicing our clients in this practice area,” said Zia Mody, AZB co-founder and managing partner, in a statement.
With 12 years of experience, Parikh advises on real estate transactions, including acquisitions, investments, developments and sales across India. Parikh’s first stint with AZB was from 2017 to 2020, after which he moved to Trilegal. Previously, Parikh worked at Desai & Diwanji, Rajani, Singhania & Partners, and Markand Gandhi & Co. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Jan – Lewis Silkin (Hong Kong, China)
London-based law firm Lewis Silkin has bolstered its dispute resolution capability with the addition of Kenix Yuen as a partner from local boutique Gall Solicitors.
Having spent the entirety of her decade-long career at Gall, Yuen advises listed companies in Hong Kong and the PRC and individuals on cross-border litigation, arbitration and shareholder disputes. She became a partner at Gall in 2020.
Lewis Silkin established its Hong Kong office in 2015 after hiring employment expert Catherine Leung as a partner from Baker McKenzie, with Femins joining from Stephenson Harwood in 2021. At the end of 2022, the office lost two partners: Asia IP head David Swain became general counsel at Essex Bio-Technology, while Hong Kong office head Kathryn Weaver moved to Seyfarth Shaw. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Jan – ADCO Law (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Indonesian law firm ADCO Law has increased its partner count to six after hiring capital markets specialist Hanny Marpaung as a partner from HHP Law Firm, where she was a senior associate, and promoting labour expert Morales Sundusing.
The two new partners have also been named as practice area heads. Marpaung helms ADCO’s newly established capital markets and securities practice, while Sundusing leads the employment and industrial relations practice.
Marpaung advises issuers, banks and underwriters on capital market transactions, including IPOs, M&As, rights issues and debt issuances, as well as disclosure, good corporate governance, related-party transaction materials and takeovers. Prior to her second stint at HHP starting in 2022, Marpaung worked for Makarim & Taira S, Nasoetion & Atyanto, and Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners. She also heads a senior in-house role at Terra Capital.
Sundusing joined ADCO in 2020 after working at SWAS Law Firm, Schinder Law Firm, and Maqdir Ismail & Partners. He advises corporate clients on employment law, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Jan – K&L Gates Straits Law (Singapore, Singapore)
Aviation lawyers Samuel Kolehmainen and Duc Nguyen have left Herbert Smith Freehills in Singapore to join K&L Gates Straits Law as partners.
Their departures come a few months after HSF partner Siva Subramaniam moved to Singapore Big Four law firm Allen & Gledhill to co-lead its aviation finance practice.
Kolehmainen joined HSF in 2018 along with Subramaniam as part of a four-partner move from Watson Farley & Williams. He previously worked for Clifford Chance and two Finnish firms, apart from an in-house role at aircraft lessor Amentum Capital. He advises on commercial and Export Credit Agency financings and matters related to operating leases and aircraft trading.
Meanwhile, Nguyen advises on aviation financing, such as operating leasing, tax leasing, asset trading and structured finance. Prior to joining HSF as of counsel in 2022, he also worked for Clifford Chance. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Jan – Shardul Amarchand Mangalds (Delhi, India)
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co has hired a second Delhi partner from rival Khaitan & Co in about two months after welcoming back capital markets specialist Devi Prasad Patel as a partner.
Patel advises issuers and underwriters on equity capital market transactions, including IPO, rights issues and qualified institutions placements, with a focus on drafting and reviewing legal documents and agreements, legal due diligence and collaboration with senior management of issuers.
Patel’s first stint at SAM was between 2014 and 2017, after which he joined Khaitan in 2018, becoming a partner in 2023. He also worked at Hammurabi & Solomon. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
11 Jan – Harneys (Hong Kong, China)
Offshore law firm Harneys has recruited litigator Calvin Chow as a partner in Hong Kong from local firm PC Woo & Co. This marks Harneys’ first lateral partner hire in the city since 2021.
Chow advises clients across Greater China, including the PRC, on cases spanning shareholder disputes, insolvency matters, family disputes, claims involving fraud and funds disputes. He joined PC Woo in 2008, prior to which he worked as a software engineer and trader. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
10 Jan – Ing Loong Yang (Hong Kong, China)
Hong Kong-based arbitration pro Ing Loong Yang has quit the partnership at U.S. law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to begin a career as an independent arbitrator and mediator.
Yang joined Akin Gump from U.S. rival Latham & Watkins in 2022, where he had been a partner since 2013. He has expertise in cross-border disputes involving parties in Greater China, and experience as an arbitrator in cross-border disputes across Asia, focusing on disputes involving PRC parties.
Yang started his career in Singapore as a deputy public prosecutor and state counsel. He moved to private practice with Allen & Gledhill in 1999, and then moved his practice to China and Hong Kong, where he held partner positions at Sidley Austin and Latham. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
5 Jan – Induslaw (Mumbai, India)
Corporate lawyer Siddharth Manchanda has returned to Induslaw as a partner in Mumbai after a two-year stint as general counsel at edtech company Unacademy.
With more than 14 years of experience, Manchanda advises clients in sectors such as education, telecom, pharmaceuticals and insurance on M&A, private equity, venture capital, disputes and general corporate.
Manchanda joined Unacademy in 2021 after spending a year at IndusLaw. He previously worked at law firms Themis Associates and Bharucha & Partners. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
5 Jan – White & Case (Hong Kong, China)
Global law firm White & Case has hired equity capital markets expert Ryan Tou as a local partner in Hong Kong from Allen & Overy, where he was an of counsel.
With more than a decade of experience, Tou advises issuers and investment banks on IPOs and other capital market transactions as well as corporate governance. Before joining A&O in 2018, he worked for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, and Reed Smith in Hong Kong.
In a statement, White & Case said the hire would enhance its global capital markets practice, which is one of the firm’s focus areas. Tou’s “arrival represents an exciting expansion of our existing capabilities advising international and regional clients on Hong Kong IPOs and public company issues,” said Eugene Man, Asia-Pacific banking & capital markets regional head at White & Case.
White & Case now has 16 partners in Hong Kong. They include disputes practitioner Wilfred Ho, who joined from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in July, and restructuring expert Sophie Lyall, who came on board from Ashurst in September. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
5 Jan – Stephenson Harwood (Hong Kong, China)
Stephenson Harwood has expanded its partner strength in Hong Kong with the hires of transaction specialist Danny Kan and disputes expert Dorothy Siron. They join as partners from Ping An Group and Zhong Lun Law Firm, respectively.
With more than 14 years of experience, Kan advises conglomerates, financial institutions, investment funds and start-ups on M&A and capital raising transactions as well as compliance. He joined Ping An as an in-house counsel in 2019 and became the head of Legal and Compliance of Ping An Global Voyager Fund in 2022. Previously, Kan was at Linklaters and Sidley Austin.
Siron advises corporations on cross-border litigation related to asset tracing and recovery, cyber fraud and other financial and white-collar crimes. She joined Stephenson Harwood from Zhong Lun Law Firm, where she was a senior partner. Previously, Siron was a partner at Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson for a decade. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
5 Jan – Herbert Smith Freehills (Hong Kong, China)
Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has welcomed back private capital-focused lawyer Benjamin Lohr as a partner in Hong Kong from Clifford Chance, where he was a counsel.
His return continues to expand HSF’s private capital offering in Asia. In September, the firm hired Peiwen Chen’s as a partner in Singapore from White & Case, and relocated Malika Chandrasegaran to Singapore from Sydney.
Lohr’s addition extends “the range of skills to help our clients raise and deploy capital in Asia… From fund formation and fund investment to bespoke M&A deals with fund elements, Benjamin’s hire complements the skills of our leading team in private capital transactions and disputes,” said Andrew Blacoe, HSF’s Asia head of corporate, in a statement.
With more than a decade of experience, Lohr advises international and regional sponsors on fund structuring and fundraising as well as secondary transactions, and advises sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors on investments in private funds. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
3 Jan – Lim Chee Wee Partnership (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Arbitration expert Ng Jern-Fei has joined Malaysian boutique Lim Chee Wee Partnership (LCWP), making the latter the country’s first law firm in Malaysia to have a King’s Counsel.
Ng, who joined LCWP on Jan. 2, will continue his current practice as a member of 7BR Barristers’ Chambers in London, Duxton Hill Chambers in Singapore and Temple Chambers in Hong Kong.
The Malaysia-born Ng “has been instructed in some 350 international arbitrations as counsel over the past 20 years. This and his many years of experience practicing English law will be immensely valuable to our clients,” said LCWP managing partner Lee Shih in a statement.
With 20 years of experience, Ng advises governments, multinational corporations and wealthy individuals on litigations and arbitration. He has worked on arbitration cases across Singapore, England, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.(from http://www.legalbusinessonline.com)
3 Jan – Oldham, Li & Nie (Hong Kong, China)
Hong Kong firm Oldham, Li & Nie has hired corporate and commercial lawyer Gary Lam as a partner from King & Wood Mallesons, where he was a counsel.
Lam has a focus on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and compliance-related matters. His clients include state-owned enterprises, public and private companies in Hong Kong and the PRC across a wide range of industry sectors.
Prior to joining KWM, Lam spent more than 13 years at Reed Smith after leaving PRC firm JunHe. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline,com)
3 Jan – Rajah & Tann (Singapore, Singapore)
Leading Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann has added international arbitration attorney Hew Kian Heong as a partner in its China office, as the firm looks to deepen its China capabilities following the signing of an upgraded trade pact between PRC and Singapore.
Hew was previously the head of construction and infrastructure disputes at Herbert Smith Freehills’ joint China operation firm. Kewei. He has advised and represented Chinese and international corporations on arbitrations, litigations and mediations in China, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, Geneva, and London, and on projects spanning from Asia to South America.
He also regularly advises client project teams on project implementation issues and disputes and risk mitigation, with a view to avoiding expensive litigation and arbitration.
Hew’s hire is part of a larger plan by R&T to expand its China presence and comes at a time when China and Singapore have taken their bilateral ties a notch higher with the signing of the upgraded China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in December. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline,com)
3 Jan – Christopher & Lee Ong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Malaysian law firm Christopher & Lee Ong, a member firm of Rajah & Tann Asia, has significantly strengthened its corporate team with the addition of five partners from local rival Adnan Sundra & Low.
The five partners are Adrian Chee, Jennifer Lee, Justin Chua, Jacyn Phuah, and Adrian Yap, and the move is part of the firm’s planned expansion to meet rising demand and growth in Malaysia, CLO said in a statement.
Chee, who joins CLO as head of its M&A practice, spent 27 years at ASL, making partner in 2003. He has expertise advising on the acquisition and disposal of strategic stakes in private and public companies in the consumer retail, education, energy, financial services, manufacturing, real estate and technology sectors.
Phuah, who will also be joining the M&A practice, had been a partner at ASL since 2020. She earlier worked at Rahmat Lim & Partners and Shearn Delamore & Co.
Lee and Yap will join CLO’s banking and finance practice. They have experience advising clients on financings, debt capital market deals, coveting both conventional and Islamic banking. Lee had been a partner at ASL since 2016, with previous roles at ZICO Law and WongPartnership. Meanwhile, Yap was a managing associate at ASL, and joins CLO as a newly minted partner. (from http://www.legalbusinessonline,com)
Chua joins CLO’s capital markets group, bringing significant equity capital market transaction experience. He has been a partner at ASL since 2019.”””