Legal Industry News & Trends: Jan Week 2

Legal Industry News & Trends: Jan Week 2

Legal Industry News & Trends: Jan Week 2

1. Singapore People Moves

i. Western Firms: CRS, Gibson Dunn, and MoFo

CRS: Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) appointed corporate lawyer Tun Zaw Mra as a partner in its Singapore office.

  • Specialisation: Tun focuses on sectors like real estate, energy, and financial services.
  • Experience: Tun, formerly of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), has over 14 years of experience in M&A and corporate transactions across developed and emerging markets. He has also played a key role in Myanmar’s legal framework development, including drafting the Myanmar Companies Law 2017.
  • Takeaway: Tun’s appointment follows the firm’s significant regional expansion, which included:

Gibson Dunn: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher hired Hagen Rooke as a partner in its financial regulatory practice in Singapore. This follows the departure of partners Brad Roach and Paul Tan from Gibson Dunn’s Singapore office in recent months and Troye Doyle’s exit in early 2024.

  • Specialisation: Rooke, who specialises in financial regulation and fintech, is experienced in advising financial institutions on regulatory matters, including licensing, conduct of business, regulatory changes, and investigations.
  • Experience: Rooke joins from Reed Smith, where he had been a partner since 2022. He has also served at Linklaters, where he spent nearly seven years, and CMS Cameron McKenna in London.

MoFo: Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) welcomed back seasoned private equity (PE) expert Scott Jalowayski as a partner for its Singapore office.

  • Specialisation: His expertise lies in M&A transactions across the healthcare, technology, and real estate sectors.
  • Experience: Jalowayski has over 20 years of experience. He previously co-chaired Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s global PE group and founded its Asia PE practice. He also held roles at Ropes & Gray and MoFo, where he worked in Japan and Hong Kong.

 

ii. Local Firms: Lighthouse and Eugene Thuraisingam

Lighthouse Law: Lighthouse Law has strengthened its dispute resolution and white-collar crime practice by welcoming a team led by experienced litigator Muslim Albakri.

  • Experience: Albakri previously ran his own firm, Albakri LLC. He has over a decade of expertise in civil litigation, commercial disputes, and white-collar criminal defence. Albakri has also worked at Tan Kok Quan Partnership and Rajah & Tann. Lighthouse Law, established in 2022, is part of the Aliant Law network, based in Los Angeles.
  • Clientele: He has served clients such as non-profits, listed companies, and foreign governments.

Eugene Thuraisingam: Eugene Thuraisingam welcomed Jerrie Tan back as a partner.

  • Experience: Tan previously worked at the firm in 2013 before spending eight years at K&L Gates Straits Law. Her expertise lies in commercial disputes, corporate investigations, and international arbitration, particularly in China-related matters.
  • Clientele: Fluent in Mandarin, she specialises in serving Mandarin-speaking clients and those from China.
  • Track Record: Tan has over 40 reported judgements in the Singapore Supreme Court and regularly takes on pro bono cases involving capital charges. She is also the youngest female lawyer appointed to the Lead Counsel panel for capital offences in Singapore.

 

iii. New Practice: Helmsman and Dauntless

Helmsman: Helmsman launched new IP and TMT practice groups with new associate director Basil Lee.

  • Experience: Lee is a former partner at Lee & Lee and has extensive experience in IP litigation and TMT regulatory matters, including handling commercial disputes and complex regulations in data protection, consumer rights, and cybersecurity.
  • Track Record: He successfully removed an injunction against the Kaws: Holiday art exhibition, ensuring public access to the event.

Concurrently, three other lawyers, Peter Huang, Lester Ho, and Constance Leong, have also been promoted to associate director.

Dauntless: Three partners from Oon & Bazul—Suresh Divyanathan, Aaron Leong, and Rachel Leong—have left to establish Dauntless Law Chambers. The boutique firm launches with five fee earners and specialises in commercial and intellectual property disputes, arbitration, litigation, and mediation.

  • Divyanathan, previously head of Oon & Bazul’s commercial arbitration, will serve as managing director.
    • Experience: Has international arbitration experience in diverse industries and jurisdictions. He has handled ad hoc and institutional arbitrations (e.g., ICC, SIAC, UNCITRAL) and commercial litigation in the Singapore High Court.
  • Aaron Leong will join as director.
    • Specialisation: He specialises in international arbitration and commercial litigation.
    • Experience: He has handled cases on fraud, contract rescission, and ownership disputes across pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and shipping sectors.
  • Rachel Leong will also join as a director.
    • Specialisation: She focuses on disputes involving wrongful termination, fraud, unauthorised fund transfers, and contractual issues. She covers a broad clientele across sectors like trade, oil and gas, and technology, representing parties from various global jurisdictions.

 

2. Hong Kong People Moves

i. Western Firms: CMS, Ashurst, and Simmons

CMS: CMS hired seasoned corporate partner Steven Tran to lead its Asia M&A and private equity practice in Hong Kong.

  • Specialisations: Tran specialises in sectors like consumer, industrial, real estate, technology, and business services, with a strong focus on Southeast Asia.
  • Experience: Tran joins from MoFo’s Singapore office. He has 25 years of experience advising multinationals, private equity funds, and their portfolio companies on cross-border transactions.
  • Takeaway: This strategic hire aligns with the firm’s recent bolstering of the Hong Kong practice through notable additions from Mayer Brown. Tran is the fifth MoFo partner to leave recently.

Ashurst: Ashurst hired James Ford as a partner for its Hong Kong investment funds and asset management practice.

  • Specialisations: Ford is a veteran in private equity and alternative assets and specialises in fundraising, secondary transactions, M&A, strategic investments, and capital markets.
  • Experience: He joins from A&O Shearman. Ford’s career includes a 17-year tenure at O’Melveny, where he served as managing partner of the Hong Kong office, followed by roles at SJ Berwin and pre-merger Allen & Overy. Since October 2023, he has been vice-chair of the technical committee of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
  • Clientele: His clientele includes Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, and he is noted for addressing complex regulatory, tax, and transactional issues.
  • Responsibilities: Ford will co-lead Ashurst’s funds team in Hong Kong.

Simmons & Simmons: Simmons & Simmons hired Karen Lam as partner and head of its Hong Kong securitisation and derivatives practice.

  • Specialisation: Lam is experienced in advising financial institutions on securitisations, structured notes, and derivatives, with notable involvement in initiatives like Stock Connect and Bond Connect.
  • Experience: She previously served at Linklaters for 20 years.
  • Takeaway: This is part of a broader strategy to expand Simmons’ Hong Kong office, which has recently seen several key hires, including former Freshfields counsel Kenneth Hui and I-Mab’s former chief legal officer Richard Li.

 

ii. Hong Kong & PRC Entities: CFN, Han Kun, and Hong Kong Bar

CFN Lawyers: CFN hired Patrick Wong as a partner for its corporate practice.

  • Experience: Wong has over 20 years of experience and was formerly with Reed Smith for 15 years.
  • Specialisations: He focuses on corporate matters such as fundraising, restructurings, M&A, and regulatory compliance and is experienced in spin-offs and privatisations.
  • Takeaways: The move reflects a broader trend where mid-sized local firms are attracting top-tier talent from international firms to enhance their competitiveness in Hong Kong’s legal market.

Hong Kong Bar: The Hong Kong Bar Association will undergo a leadership transition this month, with senior barrister Jose-Antonio Maurellet, the current vice-chairman, set to succeed Victor Dawes as chairman after his three-year term. Maurellet’s nomination as the new head, along with senior counsels Martin Hui Siu-ting and Eva Sit Yat-wah proposed as vice-chairs, will be voted on at the association’s AGM on January 23.

Han Kun Law Offices: Han Kun made two senior hires.

  • Alex Tao joins the Hong Kong capital markets practice as a partner.
    • Experience: Tao was formerly from Milbank and has held roles at A&O Shearman and the New York and Hong Kong offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell. He has over 20 years of experience in international capital markets transactions.
    • Specialisations: Tao specialises in high-yield, investment-grade, and convertible bond offerings, as well as IPOs in the US and Hong Kong markets.
  • Melody He joins as a partner for its Hong Kong corporate practice.
    • Experience: He is a seasoned M&A lawyer and was formerly from Ashurst. She has also held roles at DLA Piper, MoFo, and Herbert Smith.
    • Specialisations: She has over 25 years of experience in corporate law, securities, capital markets, and regulatory compliance across the US and Hong Kong markets.
  • This move follows Milbank’s closure of its Beijing office in December 2024 and is part of Han Kun’s strategy to expand its capabilities. Tao’s reputation and expertise are expected to bolster Han Kun’s full-service offerings to clients. With his arrival, the firm’s Hong Kong lawyer count has reached 32.
  • Takeaway: He’s addition marks the second lateral hire in days, following the hiring of Tao. It reflects a broader trend of PRC firms expanding in Hong Kong by recruiting talent from international firms. Han Kun’s recent hires also include Allen (Yilun) Zhang from A&O Shearman and Bonnie Yung from Mayer Brown. The firm now has 33 lawyers in Hong Kong, reflecting its rapid growth in the region.

 

3. Indonesia People Moves

i. Local Firm: HHP

HHP: HHP Law Firm, the Indonesian member of Baker McKenzie, welcomed Bima Sarumpaet back as a corporate partner.

  • Experience: Sarumpaet is a seasoned real estate and M&A lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience. He returns to HHP after a two-year tenure at MacalloHarlin Mendrofa Advocates.
  • Specialisations: He is experienced in advising on M&A, joint ventures, foreign direct investments, and real estate transactions across diverse sectors such as townships, logistics, data centres, and the hotel industry.
  • Takeaway: His return is strategically timed as Indonesia and Southeast Asia are seeing increased investment. HHP’s move to bring Sarumpaet back follows other significant hires within Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific network. This includes an M&A team led by former managing partner of MoFo’s Singapore office, Shirin Tang, and Ang Lip Kian to Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow.

 

4. Business Moves

i. Zhong Lun and Yunnan Jian Guang Ink Strategic Cooperation

Zhong Lun Law Firm entered into a strategic cooperation with Yunnan Jian Guang Law Firm, which has branches in Yunnan and Laos. The collaboration allows both firms to maintain independent operations while integrating resources, sharing experiences, developing markets, and training talent. It also enables the firms to leverage geographical and policy advantages to support businesses in areas like capital markets, international expansion, M&A, and investments. Zhong Lun will assist Jian Guang with cross-border legal services, while Jian Guang will help Zhong Lun meet client needs in Yunnan and Laos.

Takeaway: This marks Zhong Lun’s first such partnership. The model promotes mutual growth, with Zhong Lun evaluating further strategic expansions based on the cooperation’s success and market demand.

 

Discover More Industry Trends with JC

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