Indonesia > Foreign firms > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Allen & Overy has a very strong focus on the Indonesian market, with expertise in banking, capital markets, corporate and projects, working in tandem with associate firm Ginting & Reksodiputro in association with Allen & Overy. Banking practice head Gautam Narasimhan 'gets things done' and 'is strong in contentious negotiations'; in recent highlights, he advised a consortium on a $210m syndicated loan to Gajah Tunggal. Elsewhere, Jeremy Stoupas leads the capital markets practice and assisted a consortium with the Indonesian government's $1bn issuance of medium-term notes. Hong Kong-based capital markets specialist Amit Singh represented BNP Paribas and Citi as underwriters on a high yield offering by APL Realty. Corporate mandates are primarily handled by Brendan Hannigan, who advised ExxonMobil on its acquisition of Federal Oil and also assisted Tokopedia with its $1.1bn venture capital financing from Alibaba. Projects are handled by Jason Humphreys, who acted for the lenders on the $12.8bn project financing of the Tangguh gas field in Bintuni Bay. New partner Scott Lovell is another key member of the projects team.

From its base in Singapore, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP undertakes corporate and M&A, project finance, and banking and finance mandates for international clients that are active in Indonesia, working alongside its associate firm Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung in association with Herbert Smith Freehills. David Clinch is part of the energy, mining and infrastructure groups and is noted for project finance and development as well as acquisitions and disposals. He advised Chevron on the sale its geothermal assets in Indonesia to Star Energy. Adrian Cheng is also recommended for project finance, with particular expertise in upstream oil and gas financing. Recent mandates of his included advising Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, ING Bank and Société Générale collectively on the $360m financing of Medco E&P Melaka for the development of gas fields in Sumatra. Brian Scott is highlighted for corporate transactions, while Mark Robinson is highly regarded for TMT-related transactions. Both partners assisted JD.com Inc with its venture capital financing of GO-JEK. Also recommended is Alastair Henderson, who is an expert in international arbitration.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP's Singapore office managing partner, David Zemans, is a key figure for corporate and M&A, banking and finance, and restructuring mandates. Zemans worked alongside projects and energy specialist James Murray to assist a consortium of investors with proposed new loans to Agincourt Resources, which will be used to repay its existing debtors PTAR and its parent company, Marlin Enterprise. In other recent highlights, capital markets co-head Naomi Ishikawa advised a consortium on its purchase of Soechi Line's $200m issuance of bonds, while Giles Kennedy – also joint head of the capital markets practice – acted for CLSA and Mandiri Securities on the $200m offering of notes by TBLA. Also recommended are corporate specialist Jacqueline Chan and special counsel Pablo Malay.

White & Case Pte. Ltd. has a strong reputation in the region, particularly for banking and finance, restructuring, corporate and M&A, and project finance mandates. In recent highlights, banking and restructuring team head Guan Feng Chen advised FKS Group on its $240m loan from Rabobank, while capital markets expert Kaya Proudian assisted a consortium with the $140m IPO of Medikaloka Hermina. M&A specialist Jonathan Olier is also a key figure and acted for the Development Bank of Japan on its minority investment in a Singaporean special purpose company and its acquired 33% stake in Indonesian firm Panji Raya Alamindo. Elsewhere, project team leader Steve Payne advises Saudi Aramco on its joint venture with Pertamina, which involved a $5bn upgrade of an Indonesian refinery. Also recommended is Jon Bowden, who advises PE houses and sponsors on corporate transactions.

Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow focuses on banking and finance, projects,  capital markets, and dispute resolution. James Huang heads the finance and projects team and is supported by Chin Chew. Dispute resolution specialist Nandakumar Ponniya is also recommended.

Clifford Chance corporate specialist Melissa Ng advised Star Energy on its possible divestment to BCPG and assisted Medco with its purchase of Saratoga Power. Elsewhere, banking and finance expert Andrew Brereton acted for Dynapack Asia on financing its 100% share acquisition of King Plastic. Other key members from the team include Thomas England, who focuses on complex financing transactions, and Andrew Gambarini, who is noted for leveraged, acquisition and credit financing. In other work highlights, capital markets specialist Johannes Juette advised the Republic of Indonesia on the Islamic finance aspects of its $25bn trust certificates issuance programme and a $3bn dual tranche issuance. For contentious matters, Paul Sandosham represents clients in the construction and energy sectors, particularly for oil and gas-related disputes, and cross-border arbitration specialist Kabir Singh is also worthy of note. Also recommended are Kate Sherrard, who focuses on restructuring and insolvency mandates, and Nicholas Wong, who is an expert in project development and financing.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Indonesia practice is well known for acting in big-ticket M&A deals, as well as capital markets, projects and disputes. Philip Morgan leads the team and advised Rosneft on a $19bn joint venture with Pertamina and represented Japan Tobacco on its $677m acquisition of Karyadibya Mahardhika and Surya Mustika Nusantara from Hari Mahardhika Usaha. Elsewhere, Arun Balasubramanian assisted SakaEnergi with its debut issuance of $625m notes on the Singapore Stock Exchange, while Nigel Gleeson acted for Astra International on its $1.5bn venture capital financing of Indonesian technology platform GO-JEK. Gavin MacLaren has joined Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Jones Day Indonesian practice is split between its Hong Kong and Singapore offices where it advises clients on capital markets, energy, projects and infrastructure, M&A, and banking and finance matters, as well as disputes. Of note is James Harris, who is highly experienced in infrastructure projects and acts for clients including IFC and the World Bank. Key members from the capital markets team include Jeffrey Maddox and of counsel Paul Kuo; the latter acted for Alpha JWC Ventures on the sale and purchase of shares in a US-based lending platform. Darren Murphy and Maria Pedersen are the names of note in the projects team; Murphy represented General Sekiyu on its $4.3bn merger with JX Nippon Oil & Energy. Corporate partners Elizabeth Cole, Alex Cull and Matt Skinner are also recommended.

Latham & Watkins LLP has a strong track record in Indonesian projects and finance transactions. Noteworthy names from the team include Michael Sturrock, who focuses on corporate mandates; Timothy Hia, who is an expert in bank and acquisition financings; and project finance specialist Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi.

Linklaters is a popular choice for international clients seeking advice on energy projects in Indonesia and is associated with Jakarta-based Widyawan & Partners. Singapore managing partner Christopher Bradley co-heads the practice, Tessa Davis, and has extensive experience in project finance; Bradley advised a consortium on a $660m loan facility to Star Energy Geothermal. Capital markets specialist Hyung Ahn represented a consortium on the first ever offshore rupiah issuance or 'Kimodo Bond' by state-owned Jasa Marga, which was valued at Rp4tn. Of counsel Kevin Crombie and managing associate Anne Beresford are also recommended.

London-based, Jeff Smith leads the South East Asia team at Norton Rose Fulbright, which regularly advises on big-ticket power and infrastructure projects in Indonesia together with associate firm TNB & Partners. Singapore-based project finance expert Nick Merritt is recommended, as is corporate finance specialists Stephen Woods and Craig Loveless. Bangkok-based M&A expert Somboon Kitiyansub is also worthy of note. Other key names in the team include Stephen Begley, also in Singapore, and of counsel Laurie Pearson. Also recommended is Yu-En Ong, who is an expert in acquisition and asset finance.

The 'excellent' Shearman & Sterling LLP has expertise in capital markets, project finance, M&A and arbitration. The 'quite excellent' Bill McCormack co-heads the team and recently advised a consortium of Marubeni, Sojitz, and Pertamina collectively on the $1.8bn funding of the 1,600MW Jawa 1 power plant in West Java; fellow practice head Ben Shorten regularly acts on the lending side of major power project deals. Capital markets specialist Andrew Schleider assisted Credit Suisse with its $150m of notes from Golden Energy and Resources. Anna Chung has recently been promoted to partner and advises on project development and financing.

Ashurst LLP has expertise in both contentious and non-contentious matters in the energy and infrastructure sector. Andrew Digges is an expert in projects and infrastructure, as is Daniel Reinbott who has particular strengths in LNG and upstream oil & gas work. Chin Chuan Chen is also active in energy transactions. Also recommended is dispute resolution expert Rob Palmer, who acts on litigation and arbitration matters relating to the construction, energy and infrastructure sectors.

DLA Piper's work in the region includes projects, capital markets and litigation. The practice was bolstered followed the arrival of projects and energy expert Matthias Schemuth from Ashurst LLP; he advised the project sponsors of the development and $3.3bn financing of a coal-fired power station in Java. He also acted for DBS Bank on its $820m financing for Huawei which is investing in a telecoms project in Indonesia in East Kalimantan. Capital markets specialist Joe Bauerschmidt is particularly active in transactions involving the energy industry. He assisted AJBB with Evergreen's attempted rights issue with the client as the standby buyer. Hong Kong-based Carolyn Dong worked with China Shenhua Energy on the development of a 2 x 1000 MW power plant in Java. Bangkok-based Timothy Tan acted for Media Nusantara on its $250m refinancing loan from Deutsche Bank, ING and Standard Chartered Bank. Also recommended is John Goulios, who focuses on international arbitration and litigation.

Energy and infrastructure projects have been a mainstay of Gibson Dunn. Brad Roach leads the practice and has extensive experience in advising multinational clients on energy projects and corporate transactions. He has worked on energy projects predominantly involving the oil and gas and mining sectors, and his corporate work mainly involves advising on M&A and joint ventures. Also recommended is Jamie Thomas, who is an expert in corporate finance transactions, with a particular emphasis on cross-border transactions and project finance.

Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee works closely with its associate firm Dewi Negara Fachri & Partners and is particularly strong in corporate, finance and dispute resolution matters in the region. Maurice Burke  is a key figure and specialises in commercial litigation. Other notable names include banking and finance specialist Alexander McMyn; capital markets expert Andy Ferris; Alex Wong, who focuses on energy and infrastructure projects; and Stephanie Keen, who works on corporate matters. International Finance Corporation, Bangkok Bank and Bank ANZ are key clients.

K&L Gates' APAC offices are regularly involved in matters pertaining to project finance, M&A and dispute resolution. Singapore-based Lian Yok Tan leads the Indonesia group and is highly experienced in M&A, commercial contracts and project financing. She recently acted for ANTAM on its $145m contract with Sumitomo for the construction of a coal-fired power plant. Tokyo-based Robert E Melson Jr. advised BTMU on the financing of aircraft to Garuda Indonesia. Meanwhile, Perth-based Chris Scott advised Merdeka Copper Gold on financing its Tujuh Bukit Copper Mine in Indonesia.

Projects, M&A and disputes are the key practice areas for King & Spalding LLP in the region. Merrick White is a key figure and advises sponsors and lenders on oil and gas, LNG and petrochemical projects. Energy sector specialist Richard Nelson recently assisted Ophir Energy with its $205m purchase of Santos’ upstream oil and gas business. Elsewhere, Simon Cowled is an expert in corporate and finance-related matters and represented Nebras Power on its $5bn bid to acquire Equis Energy’s renewable energy portfolio.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP's activity in Indonesia involves advising international and domestic clients on capital markets, corporate and M&A, banking and finance and projects and infrastructure. Corporate transactions specialist Rajeev Duggal advised Equis Funds Group on the $5bn sale of Equis Energy to Global Infrastructure Partners. Fellow corporate partner Jonathan Stone, who is based in Hong Kong, assisted Paiton Energy with its $1.2bn issuance of senior notes. Banking and finance expert Clive Rough is also recommended. Medco Energi and Modernland Realty are key clients.