Legal Industry News & Trends: Oct Week 3
Legal Industry News & Trends: Oct Week 3
1. Regulations
i. Singapore Updates Bill to Block Allianz’s Insurance Deal
Singapore lawmakers have amended a bill to block Allianz SE’s proposed S$2.2 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Income Insurance Ltd. The amendment to the Insurance Act requires government ministry approval for transactions involving insurers linked to cooperatives. Allianz intended to acquire at least 51% of Income from NTUC Enterprise Cooperative Ltd.
Takeaway: This decision follows the government’s view that the deal is not in the public interest and could hinder Income Insurance’s ability to fulfil its cooperative mission. The announcement sparked public criticism, with concerns about potential higher insurance premiums and the deal’s impact on lower-income workers.
2. People Moves
i. SG: O’Melveny, TSMP, Skadden and Legal Solutions
O’Melveny: O’Melveny & Myers reestablished its presence in Singapore by hiring two Hogan Lovells partners specialising in M&A and private equity.
- Stephanie Keen is the former head of Hogan Lovells’ Asia Pacific (APAC) private equity and corporate and finance practices and a 30-year veteran. She has extensive experience advising on leveraged buyouts, M&As, equity offerings, cross-border transactions and corporate restructurings in multiple jurisdictions.
- Sylvia Taslim has nearly 20 years of experience in joint ventures, public takeovers, venture capital investing, private equity transactions and cross-border M&As, especially energy-related. Prior to Hogan Lovells, she served at King & Spalding, Clifford Chance, and Allen & Gledhill.
This marks the firm’s first resident partners in Singapore in several years.
TSMP: TSMP Law Corporation hired Raeza Ibrahim as a director in its dispute resolution practice. Ibrahim joins from Salem Ibrahim, where he was head of commercial dispute resolution. He has rich experience in Singapore court litigation, international arbitration, mediation, and negotiations. His expertise includes shareholder disputes, commercial litigation, construction matters, and white-collar crime. With this hire, TSMP’s leadership now consists of 13 partners and five directors.
Skadden: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom hired Friven Yeoh from Sidley Austin to lead its international litigation and arbitration group in Asia. Yeoh, a veteran in commercial arbitration, previously co-led Sidley’s global arbitration and trade group. He has also served at O’Melveny & Myers, Freshfields, and Herbert Smith Freehills. At Skadden, he will operate between the Hong Kong and Singapore offices, focusing on complex business disputes across industries. His expertise covers international arbitrations under various rules, commercial litigation and regulatory investigations related to product liability, energy, corporate affairs, and financial services
Legal Solutions: Commercial litigation and international arbitration expert Kevin Tan joined Kennedys’ Singapore joint law venture firm, Legal Solutions, as a director. Previously a partner at Rajah & Tann, Tan has extensive experience handling commercial disputes in Singapore and international arbitration across sectors such as commodities, technology and energy. His background includes roles at WongPartnership, the Attorney General’s Chambers, and the Supreme Court of Singapore. He currently serves as the vice-chair of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Singapore Arbitration Group and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
ii. HK & CN: Hauzen, Jia Yuan, GEN and Scott Palmer
Hauzen: Hauzen, a Hong Kong firm affiliated with Anjie Broad Law Firm, hired Hugill & Ip’s Caroline Thomas as a partner. Thomas has over 15 years of experience. She specialises in dispute resolution and regulatory law across the shipping, trade, insurance, energy, telecommunications, technology, pharmaceuticals, and construction sectors. She also advises on insurance regulations and M&A regulatory matters and acts as both arbitrator and counsel in international arbitrations. Thomas previously worked at the Hong Kong Insurance Authority and firms like Hill Dickinson, HFW, and Clyde & Co. Her arrival increases Hauzen’s lawyer count to 15.
Jia Yuan: Jia Yuan Law Offices added A&O Shearman’s Wanda Woo and her team to its capital markets practice in Hong Kong. Woo is the second partner recruited from A&O Shearman in just one week, following Daisy Qi’s appointment as senior partner and head of investment funds in Shanghai. Joining Woo are lawyers Feng Chaoyi and Gu Wenxin, who will serve as consultants. Woo has 18 years of experience across various sectors, including healthcare, TMT, new economy, autonomous driving and retail. She was the sole partner responsible for the Hong Kong capital markets practice at Shearman prior to its merger with Allen & Overy.
GEN: GEN Law Firm added Dacheng’s Saphira Wu as an M&A partner to its Shanghai office. Wu, who has a decade of experience, specialises in M&A and finance and is trilingual in German, English, and Chinese. She has advised multinational companies on the China market and compliance and helped high-tech enterprises with bond financing and creating red-chip structures. She has also served at KPMG, Grandall, and C&S Law Firm.
iii. UAE: HFW
HFW: HFW hired Kashif Syed as a partner in Kuwait following a 60% revenue surge in the Middle East over the past two years. Syed has over 16 years of experience in the region and will support clients across various sectors, including aviation, construction, shipping and energy. HFW sees this as part of its strategy to expand further in Kuwait and the Middle East. HFW is the only international law firm in Kuwait and recently established a new entity in Saudi Arabia.
3. Business Moves
i. Shanghai’s Wintell Launches a Singapore Office
Shanghai’s Wintell & Co has opened its first overseas office in Singapore, expanding its presence outside of China. This move follows its association with local firm Damodara Ong. The new office will focus on various areas of law, including international investment, arbitration, trade, shipping, family finance, AI, shipping, capital markets, compliance, and criminal law.
Takeaway: The expansion is part of Wintell’s plans to strengthen its partnerships in Southeast Asia to offer comprehensive legal services that serve Chinese businesses seeking to expand globally.
ii. China’s Guizhou Guida Launches a Bangkok Office
Guizhou Guida Law Firm, based in China’s Guiyang, opened its first overseas office in Bangkok, Thailand. Guida, which has around 700 lawyers across 16 domestic offices, offers legal services related to environment and natural resources, corporate legal affairs, civil and commercial dispute resolution, finance and securities, real estate and construction engineering, criminal law, IP, liquidation and bankruptcy, and taxation.
Takeaway: The move follows its recent partnership with the Thailand-Guizhou Trade Association to enhance China-Thailand legal cooperation.
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- Nikkei Asia
- Legal Era