The Legal 500

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Valerie Kwok leads Drew & Napier LLC’s ‘hardworking, intelligent’ team. Sandy Foo acted for Hyflux on the S$890m project financing of Singapore’s second desalination plant.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s equity capital markets group, led by Sin Boon Ann, Petrus Huang and Yeo Wee Kiong, ‘sees legal issues from a commercial perspective’, advising DnB NOR Bank as sole global co-ordinator in the secondary listing of Golden Ocean Group. The debt capital markets group, led by Farhana Siddiqui and Petrus Huang, advised Overseas Union Enterprise on its S$1bn multicurrency MTN programme.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

At Drew & Napier LLC, Ralph Lim and Benedict Teo represented RBS and Macquarie Capital as joint financial advisers to RHC Healthcare in its S$3.2bn offer for Parkway Holdings. The ‘strong, efficient, pragmatic’ team handles pan-regional work, with Sandy Foo advising a Singapore fund on its acquisition of the Cross Tower property in Shanghai, and Julian Kwek advising the Sawit Mas Group on the sale of its oleochemical plants and palm oil plantations.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC is commended for ‘responsiveness, thoroughness and range of expertise’. Hri Kumar SC and ‘ethical and zealous advocate’ Cavinder Bull SC advised the Monetary Authority of Singapore on complaints following Lehman Brothers’ collapse. Bull represented UBS against two customers who sued for negligent advice following the global financial crisis. ‘Unparalleled litigator’ Davinder Singh SC, Hri Kumar SC and Yarni Loi successfully defended Asia Pacific Breweries against a S$100m claim by four foreign banks. ‘Superb negotiator’ Indranee Rajah SC is representing a private equity fund against a luxury resort chain. Wendell Wong and Tony Yeo are ‘diligent, sound in judgement and pragmatic in approach’.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC advises on contracts, share options and incentive schemes, merger support and employment disputes. Kelvin Tan and Tony Yeo are leading names.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC represents multinationals McDonald’s, Intel and IBM and local clients SingTel and CapitaLand, and appears in prominent court cases. Dedar Singh Gill successfully represented Ozone Community Corp in the Hysteric Glamour trade mark case. Tony Yeo handles technology and pharmaceutical cases. Cecelia Girvin provides non-contentious trade mark advice.

Within International arbitration, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Clients appreciate Drew & Napier LLC’s ‘efficiency, excellence and professionalism’. Jimmy Yim and Abraham Vergis are co-counsel in a $20m construction contract dispute. The ‘exceptional’ Cavinder Bull, deputy chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, wins clients’ ‘highest accolades and recommendations’, handling an $80m international arbitration over a major infrastructure project. Clients recommend the ‘highly intelligent’ Harpreet Singh Nehal, ‘standout litigator’ Davinder Singh, construction expert Tan Liam Beng and the ‘hugely impressive’ Indranee Rajah.

Within Legal market overview,

The local market is dominated by four preeminent law firms: Allen & Gledhill LLP, WongPartnership LLP, Drew & Napier LLC and Rajah & Tann LLP. While the latter two are particularly strong in litigation, strong transactional firms, notably Shook Lin & Bok LLP, Stamford Law Corporation and Rodyk & Davidson LLP lead the chasing pack. Specialist boutiques are increasingly involved in some of the biggest deals. Loo & Partners LLP is one such example. Asia Practice LLP and RHT Law LLP, the latter recently established an alliance with Taylor Wessing LLP, are breakway boutiques launched by high-profile partners from large local firms.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s ‘sharp, responsive, dedicated’ Sandy Foo, Tan Liam Beng, Eugene Tan and consultant David Chin are representing Hyflux in the $890m project financing of Singapore’s second desalination plant.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC handles contentious and non-contentious construction work. Qualified civil and structural engineer Tan Liam Beng, who heads the practice, is handling three disputes involving the construction of the Singapore Parallel Train Project on Jurong Island. Eugene Tan is advising the main contractors in a S$167m dispute concerning Singapore’s common services tunnel.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s restructuring team is ‘exceptionally smart, aggressive and creative in dealing with complex legal issues’. Mandarin speaker Julian Kwek is advising the Sawit Mas Group on its corporate restructuring. Davinder Singh SC and the ‘highly skilled and hardworking’ Blossom Hing successfully obtained an order to appoint provisional liquidators over Singapore-listed, China-based Celestial Nutrifoods. Kwek, together with Sushil Nair and Chan Wei Meng is acting for S-Chip companies Fibrechem Technologies and China Hongxing Sports Co.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC handles dry and wet work for an international client base. Director Werner Tsu, commended for his ‘remarkable expertise’, is representing a Norwegian company seeking S$20m indemnity from a Chinese enterprise following a tug and tow accident.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC was reappointed for the 13th consecutive year as the Infocomms Develoment Authority (IDA)’s external legal advisor, handling licensing and regulatory issues regarding Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN) project, including the Next Generation Interactive Multimedia, Applications and Services (NIMS) Platform). Corporate clients include Microsoft, AT&T and Sprint. The team, led by Lim Chong Kin, is recommended for ‘good knowledge of the telecommunications industry and consistently excellent service’, advising IDA on its second triennial review of the TCC. Ng Ee Kia provides regulatory expertise. Loh Wei Hao was promoted to partner.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s tax practice focuses on disputes and litigation, enterprise risk management and transactional advisory work. Practice head Ong Sim Ho, commended for his ‘truly superior knowledge’, and director Ong Ken Loon advised on tax issues arising from a joint development of land. Together with recently promoted director Seah Ching Ling, Ong Ken Loon advised a multinational enterprise on the tax elements of restructuring its Asia Pacific operations.