UK firm draws in senior lawyers for Singapore launch

This marks the firm’s third expansion in 2017

UK firm draws in senior lawyers for Singapore launch
A UK-headquartered international firm is setting up shop in Singapore after attracting a team from a larger global rival.

DWF will open its office in the Southeast Asian country with former Eversheds Sutherland Singapore managing partner Oommen Mathew, former Asia construction head Iain Black, and former associates Charis tan and Kate Lan, Legal Week reported.

Eversheds Sutherland’s merger went live earlier this year, and it also got permission to merge with local Singapore firm Harry Elias at about the same time. Mathew and Black opted from joining Eversheds Harry Elias and Harry Elias managing partner Philip Fong assumed the Singapore office’s leadership this month.

“With many of our clients with operations in Singapore, and growing demand across the region, securing a base in the rapidly growing Association of Southeast Asian Nations region is currently the most important strategic step for us in the development of our international business,” Andrew Leaitherland, DWF managing partner and CEO, told Legal Week.

“With Oommen and Iain from Eversheds Sutherland, we have a powerful launch team with excellent regional knowledge and experience and a very strong base on which to build out our offering. Singapore is the regional hub for financial services and insurance, two of our sector specialisms, and we will be adding teams that focus on these sectors shortly,” he said.

The new office extends DWF’s reach into Asia, adding to its office in Sydney. The move comes after the firm opened in Berlin in March and in Paris in January.


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