Rising Stars

Firms To Watch: Labour and employment: local firms

Eng and Co. LLC handles a range of transactional-related work and employee incentive plans, including corporate acquisitions and expansions. Lynn Soh is a corporate lawyer with a background in labour and employment work, notably employee incentive plans for start-ups and SMEs.
PRP LAW LLC remains noted for employment disputes with senior litigator Pradeep Pillai having a strong record in this area. He represents employers and employees in a variety of disputes, including allegations of sexual misconduct, contract breaches, breaches of non-competition clauses, and wrongful dismissal claims.

Labour and employment: local firms in Singapore

Allen & Gledhill LLP

Allen & Gledhill LLP devotes considerable resources and expertise to the labour and employment field, covering the full range of advisory, transactional, and contentious areas. It has continued to impress in employment litigation, notably in relation to non-compete clauses, notice periods, restrictive covenants, personal data breaches, and alleged breaches of terms of employment. It is also frequently engaged in large-scale investigations, employment contracts, employee incentives and benefits, restructurings, and outsourcing arrangements. Kelvin Wong and Sanjiv Rajan co-head the employment and health and safety practice, the former active across HR matters and the latter noted for his litigation expertise. Tay Yong Seng is another leading employment litigator, along with Vincent Leow and Christine Tee.

Practice head(s):

Sanjiv Rajan; Kelvin Wong


Other key lawyers:

Tay Yong Seng; Christine Tee; Vincent Leow


Testimonials

‘A strong, committed team with strengths across all areas of practice in labour and employment matters, from trial litigation to investigations and trade union negotiations.’

‘Tay Yong Seng is the best litigation partner I have worked with. A superbly outstanding legal strategist who relishes novel and difficult legal cases, many of which are landmark cases in Singapore. Yong Seng is one of the strongest advocates I have worked with. His arguments are powerful, clear and incisive and persuasive.’

‘Tay Yong Seng is a vigorous, thoughtful advocate respected by courts and international arbitration tribunals, whom he frequently appears before. He is Oxford-educated and combines academic rigour scholarship with proven trial experience.’

‘A&G is the premier law firm in Singapore and there is exceptional depth of quality through the entire firm.’

‘Tay Yong Seng has always provided excellent feedback and advice on employment matters, particularly in relation to the set up of employment relationships within a firm and also in a stressed, dispute environment. He is Oxford educated and his knowledge of the common law is exceptional and he uses this tremendous understanding of the law to provide accurate and invaluable practical legal advice.’

‘A great team.’

Work highlights


  • Acted for the plaintiffs against a former senior employee for breach of personal data obligations.
  • Acted as lead counsel for BGC in an ongoing commercial dispute in the Singapore High Court in connection with ‘forward contracts of employment’ to join the business and a ‘no-show’ by the defendants.
  • Acted for Qantas Airways in a claim against their former co-CEO of Jetstar Japan, who was then seeking to start work as the CEO of Virgin Airlines’ loyalty programme, Velocity Frequent Flyer, after accepting a senior role at Qantas Airlines loyalty programme.

Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow forms part of the firm’s global formidable labour and employment practice. Bringing together advisory, transactional, and contentious expertise, the Singapore firm is at the forefront of high-stakes and sensitive employment matters. The team features a number of experienced labour and employment experts, which frequently represent big-name multinationals and major regional businesses. Celeste Ang leads the Asia Pacific employment and compensation practice from Singapore and frequently represents clients in headline employment disputes. Kelvin Poa is noted for advisory and transactional matters, including employment contracts, redundancy processes and employee share incentive plans. Local principal Zhao Yang Ng specialises in employment law and immigration matters.

Practice head(s):

Celeste Ang; Kelvin Poa


Other key lawyers:

Zhao Yang Ng; Pradeep Nair


Drew & Napier LLC

Drew & Napier LLC has assembled a large team of employment law specialists. It routinely handles significant domestic and regional employment engagements across the advisory, transactional, and litigation spheres. The firm’s reputation as a major force in litigation, brings it a substantial pipeline of employment cases, though it has a highly developed presence in non-contentious matters too. Kelvin Tan co-heads the employment department and has an established record in major employment disputes. Benjamin Gaw also co-heads the team, bringing extensive non-contentious expertise in reviewing employment contracts, handbooks, and policies, along with employee stock option plans, retrenchment exercises, and termination of employment, among other areas of specialism. Lim Chong Kin is noted for personal data protection and anti-harassment work, while Rakesh Kirpalani is rated for technology sector employment disputes

Practice head(s):

Kelvin Tan; Benjamin Gaw


Other key lawyers:

Lim Chong Kin; Rakesh Kirpalani; Ang Wei Shuen


Testimonials

‘Kelvin Tan has deep expertise and is very responsive and professional and this can be seen in his team as well. He provides practical guidance and recognises that the ideal legal position or taking a conservative position is not always feasible from the client’s perspective. ’

‘Good service and personalised attention.’

‘Their team is very flexible and client oriented. They will not push their legal point of view and respect our business perspective and risk appetite. ’

‘Rakesh Kirpalani and Ang Wei Shuen are dedicated to their professional work.’

‘Kelvin Tan’s team is client-centric. They know what the client needs, and deliver top-notch advice each time.’

‘Kelvin Tan offers practical and helpful strategic advice, which enables businesses to navigate murky waters with confidence.’

‘Good expertise and responsiveness.’

Key clients

Abbvie Pte Ltd


Align Technology, Inc


Aries Fertilizers Group Pte Ltd


Chevron


Clarins Pte Ltd


Digital Realty


Fujitsu Components Asia Pt. Ltd


Fullerton Fund Management


Hertz Corporation


The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation


Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd


McCormick Ingredients SouthEast Asia Pte Ltd


Michael Welter


MOH Holdings Pte Ltd


MSA SE Asia Pte Ltd


Nippecraft


SAP Asia Pte Ltd


Singapore Airlines Limited


Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP has a broad mix of contentious and non-contentious employment work, fielding one of the largest teams in the Singapore market. It is a member of Ius Laboristhe global legal network that specialises in labour and employment law. The wide-ranging practice encompasses an impressive flow of engagements, including employment policy reviews, trade union negotiations, employment disputes, investigations and disciplinary processes, and retrenchment and restructuring exercises. The firm is also rated for managing multi-jurisdictional employment issues. Desmond Wee leads the non-contentious employment team with an impressive background in retrenchments and restructurings, investigations, and employee benefits. The highly-rated Jonathan Yuen heads the employment disputes group, handling high-stakes cases and major investigations. Murali Pillai, SC is another leading employment litigator.

Practice head(s):

Jonathan Yuen; Desmond Wee


Other key lawyers:

Muralidharan Pillai, SC; Jared Kok


Testimonials

‘One-stop service, which makes the entire legal proceedings a seamless journey. Shielded the client from most of the direct pressure. The human touch by the Rajah & Tann team ensures that they stand out in comparison with other teams. ’

‘Jonathan Yuen and Jared Kok’s advice was a combination of efficiency and commercial practicality. Clearly leaders in their field of work. High level of professionalism instilled strong confidence. ’

‘Jonathan Yuen and his team are responsive and practical. They closely collaborate with our team to ensure that we get the advice we need to keep business moving while being compliant with the law.’

‘Jonathan Yuen leverages his expertise to help manage their associated law firms in other countries to enable seamless advice in cross-border situations. ’

‘Jonathan Yuen deeply understands our business and that enables us to receive very quick yet targeted advice. He has an excellent network of partner firms in other jurisdictions as well as counsel within his firm that are ready to assist us in the event that we have a matter. His business acumen and network are truly what sets him apart from the crowd.’

‘The team is very practical in its advice and can offer solutions to clients which can be implemented and deployed quickly. ’

‘Jonathan Yuen is a very experienced operator in the employment law space and is responsive to client needs and understands their risk profile well and is able to provide bespoke advice and solutions on a cost effective basis.’

Key clients

Procter & Gamble


Menarini Group


Brightcove


Prudential Assurance Company Singapore


Willis Towers Watson Brokers Singapore


Standard Chartered bank


Marriot International Group


LinkedIn


INSEAD


Work highlights


  • Acted for Prudential Assurance Company Singapore in a S$8.6m High Court Suit against its former Group Financial Service Director and a company owned by him.
  • Acted for the Singaporean and Malaysian Headquarters of a global Fortune 500 FMCG Company in a High Court Suit against the Defendant who had wrongfully exfiltrated nearly 1,400 pages of highly confidential documents, financial information, and business plans.
  • Acted for Standard Chartered Bank in defending and striking out a claim brought by an ex-employee for breach of duty of care and contract in relation to serious allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct involving senior bank employees.

WongPartnership LLP

WongPartnership LLP has consolidated its position in the labour and employment field as a result of its substantial resources of both contentious and non-contentious expertise, and increasing levels of specialisation. It continues to work on major misconduct investigations, large-scale retrenchments, and trade union negotiations. It also has extensive experience in transfers of employees, employee incentive plans, and immigration matters. The team represents some of Singapore and Southeast Asia’s largest corporates, in addition to a multitude of other multinationals. Vivien Yui co-heads the group, providing longstanding experience in non-contentious engagements, with fellow co-head and ‘go-to lawyerJenny Tsin impressing in employment litigation and investigations.

Practice head(s):

Vivien Yui; Jenny Tsin


Other key lawyers:

Chang Qi-Yang; Ho Wei Jie; Lim Jia Ying


Testimonials

‘The team is always there when clients need them. They always put clients’ needs as a priority.’

‘The team is very practical. Jenny Tsin in particular is very sharp and gives innovative solutions to clients.’

‘Jenny Tsin is a go-to lawyer if you are looking for help to address any complicated labour and employment issue in the Singapore market. She is experienced in all aspects of employment law, with particular focus on preventing and resolving disputes between employers and employees.’

‘Jenny Tain’s corporate law and dispute background and her experiences in handling labor and employment matters in Singapore are what makes her so good at providing solid and practical legal advice to corporate clients.’

‘The team at WongPartnership LLP led by Jenny Tsin is recognised amongst local practitioners as a leading expert in the field of employment law. The team is nimble and able to quickly leverage on the expertise of their colleagues from the corporate or tax team to handle a diverse range of employment-related issues.’

‘Jenny Tsin is approachable and responsive. Given her experience as a market-leading expert in the field of employment law, she confidently delivers practical and commercially sound solutions to complex employment disputes.’

‘They are smart, responsive and practical. Their employment team have sufficient number of partners and associates to handle any kinds and volume of employment matters.’

‘Jenny Tsin is very easy to work and reliable.’

Key clients

Celanese


Exyte Singapore Pte Ltd


Foursquare Inc


LexisNexis Group


Nanofilm Technologies International Ltd


Nikon Singapore


CapitaLand Group


Keppel Corporation


Cordlife Group Limited


Christian Dior


LVMH (Tag Heuer)


CPG Corporation


AerCap Inc


Asia Capital Reinsurance Group


J.P. Morgan


Butterfield


L Catterton Asia


SMRT Corporation Ltd


Teleperformance USA


Work highlights


  • Acting for L Capital Asia Advisors and L Capital (HK) Limited in respect of a dispute relating to a former senior employee’s termination of his employment and his alleged entitlement to carried interest.
  • Acted for an ex-portfolio manager who was a whistleblower against several activities linked to UTI’s CEO and MAS licensed representative of UTI International (Singapore) Private Ltd.
  • Acting for entities within a group of companies that is listed in Europe, which provides business process outsourcing and digital integrated business services, in a dispute brought by a disgruntled senior employee for alleged claims including wrongful termination, purported bonus payments in excess of USD3.9m, and negligent misrepresentation and/or misstatements.

Bird & Bird ATMD LLP

Bird & Bird ATMD LLP has a strong emphasis on employment law, much like the firm’s other global offices, including in China, Hong Kong and Sydney. The Singapore office is noted for domestic and regional engagements, frequently working alongside other offices to handle multi-jurisdictional employment matters. The wide-ranging practice includes labour law specialisation, especially trade union negotiations. The firm continues to impress in technology sector engagements, including restructurings and retrenchment exercises. Seow Hui Goh heads the employment team, focusing on domestic and ASEAN employment issues, including contentious and non-contentious mandates. Promoted to counsel in May 2023, Natasha Cheng brings further senior employment expertise to the team and is building the firm’s standing in immigration law.

Practice head(s):

Seow Hui Goh


Other key lawyers:

Natasha Cheng


Key clients

Dulwich College


Work highlights


  • Represented Dulwich College, an international school located in Singapore, in a High Court claim brought by a former employee against the college for wrongful dismissal.

Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore

Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore fields a sizeable team that is led by Singapore managing partner Thomas Choo, who divides his time between corporate and venture capital transactions, and employment and immigration matters. The team frequently advises multinational clients on employment contracts and policies, trade union negotiations, and internal investigations. The firm is active in the insurance, transport, and trade sectors, among others. Prakash Pillai and Weiyi Tan provide additional employment disputes expertise, including employee termination, enforcement of restrictive covenants, and unfair dismissal matters, along with employee investigations.

Practice head(s):

Thomas Choo


Other key lawyers:

Prakash Pillai; Weiyi Tan; Junxiang Koh


Testimonials

‘Everyone, including the paralegals, is extremely responsive and professional. They also give very practical and commercial advice which we need for our industry.’

‘Thomas Choo is hands-down the best employment lawyer I have come across in Singapore. Not only is he responsive and proactive, he goes beyond what is typical of a lawyer and I would recommend him to anyone seeking employment advice in South East Asia.’

‘Very high quality of written work, very responsive and practical.’

Key clients

Blackrock Inc.


ASICS


AIA


Alstom Transport


Saudi Aramco Trading


British Broadcasting Corporation


Upfield


Willis Towers Watson


UPS


Clarksons


Berkshire Hathaway Insurance


McConnell Dowell


Mott Macdonald


Partner Reinsurance


Glencore


CXA Insurance Brokers Singapore Pte Ltd


Dentons Rodyk

Dentons Rodyk has a large senior bench of professionals that have a significant focus on the employment sphere. The firm continues to act for clients in major employment disputes, including those involving non-compete clauses and restrictive covenants, along with alleged breaches of director’s and fiduciary duties. Edric Pan is joint deputy managing partner, co-head of the employment group, and is an experienced figure in contentious matters, including disputes over non-compete clauses and other restrictive covenants. I-An Lim is co-head of the employment group and has extensive experience in advising education institutions on human resource, employment, contractual, and commercial matters. Ray Chiang is also co-head of the team, specialising in non-contentious matters, including drafting of senior executive employment contracts, drafting and reviewing employment handbooks, and assisting with negotiations with trade unions. Mark Seah is another senior litigator with a background in employment cases.

Practice head(s):

Edric Pan; I-An Lim; Ray Chiang


Other key lawyers:

Mark Seah


Testimonials

‘Very attentive and personalised service, quick to respond, particularly when we have urgent cases and queries, highly professional and goes above and beyond.’

‘Communication is very clear and there are little to no misunderstandings about how to manage a case. The individuals make themselves available to our global team no matter what time it is in Singapore.’

Key clients

PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited


HubSpot Asia Pte Ltd


Work highlights


  • Advised the Singapore subsidiary of a NYSE-listed cloud software company, HubSpot, to enforce a non-compete clause against its former Managing Director, APAC.

TSMP Law Corporation

TSMP Law Corporation frequently advises a range of financial institutions, multinationals, and large Singapore corporates. It has close links to a number of international law firms. The firm’s estimable client base brings it a wealth of engagements across the transactional, advisory, investigatory, and dispute resolution fields. It has a history of acting for clients in headline employment disputes, including restrictive covenant cases, wrongful dismissal claims, and breach of non-competition, confidentiality, and fiduciary duties. In non-contentious matters, the firm has extensive experience in employee stock option plans, retrenchments and redundancies, and industrial relations issues. Ian Lim is a genuine specialist in labour and employment, while associate director Nicholas Ngo is an emerging talent.

Practice head(s):

Ian Lim


Other key lawyers:

Felicia Tan; Thio Shen Yi SC; Nicholas Ngo


Testimonials

‘TSMP is a dynamic and diverse team, each individual playing to their strengths and also confident to be vulnerable.’

‘The partner, Ian Lim, has great insights and is very resourceful in attending to any legal issues.’

‘Ian Lim and his team are very business savvy and understand client’ needs and requirements. This is exactly why TSMP is our go-to law firm.’

‘Each individual is unique coming in with their varied expertise. This helps to review a legal issue at various angles as opposed to single-minded view with the other merely executing such view.’

‘Ian Lim is comfortable to listen and encourage his team members to take the lead and gives due credit and that is a good leadership.’

Key clients

Accor


DHL


IBM


Emerson


Samsonite


Seagate


Marsh & McLennan


Citibank


Air Liquide


Kyndryl


Work highlights


  • Advised TEHO International and its subsidiary TEHO Water on its investigations into endemic corporate fraud and related misconduct iTEHO Water’s ex-managing director.
  • Acted for Lightnet in a Singapore High Court Suit resisting and ultimately settling its ex-employees’ $1.4m claim for cryptocurrencies allegedly due to them as contractual incentives.

Withers KhattarWong LLP

Withers KhattarWong LLP has a long history in the employment sphere, particularly on the disputes side. Given the firm’s focus on private wealth, it is noted for its representation of senior executives and individuals, alongside its corporate client base. The firm has an impressive background in employee terminations, harassment claims, and senior executive exits. Deborah Barker SC has decades of experience in dispute resolution, including a significant proportion of employment cases. Amarjit Kaur is an emerging talent and esteemed litigator, who balances contentious and non-contentious employment work, including contract negotiation and employee benefits, while frequently acting for executives in employment disputes against large corporates, including breach of confidentiality claims.

Practice head(s):

Deborah Barker SC; Amarjit Kaur


Testimonials

‘Amarjit Kaur is one of the main factors that makes the practice unique. In addition, the smooth collaboration between the team and other lawyers that are supporting the client is very useful.’

‘Thinking outside the box and utmost commitment to the client is what makes the team stand out.’

‘Good teamwork and experience.’

‘The practice has strong capabilities in all aspects of Singapore employment law, and unlike many of the other international firms and large Singapore firms, it is happy to advise and act for individual executives and not only corporate employers.’

‘Amarjit Kaur is very capable and experienced, marries legal expertise with commercial nous, and is very responsive and always a pleasure to deal with as well.’

Key clients

Siew Kang Yoke and Lee Soon Weng, former tax associates at Macs Associates Pte Ltd


Fiona Brigitte Symons, President of B2B and B2C of Sales at Teleperformance Singapore Pte Ltd


CNPLaw LLP

CNPLaw LLP has a rounded practice focusing on non-contentious and contentious employment issues and immigration matters. It advises a large number of Singapore and Southeast Asia-based businesses. Pradeep Kumar Singh and Bill Jamieson are versatile practitioners, largely focused in transactional and advisory matters, with a history of employment engagements. The team has continued to work on a range of key matters, such as share option schemes, employee transfer issues, employee dismissals, and retrenchment exercises. Wong Pei-Ling is another notable partner.

Practice head(s):

Pradeep Kumar Singh; Bill Jamieson


Other key lawyers:

Wong Pei-Ling


Key clients

MSIG Asia Pte Ltd


Rebonics Pte. Ltd.


Harry Elias Partnership

Harry Elias Partnership is an established name in the labour and employment sphere. It continues to represent a range of clients in advisory matters, investigations, and disputes. It remains active in advising clients on handling employee contracts and moves, as well as representing them in disputes over non-complete and non-solicitation clauses. It has also defended clients against claims for wrongful termination. S Suressh and Toh Wei Yi are litigators with a significant focus on employment matters.

Practice head(s):

S Suressh


Other key lawyers:

Toh Wei Yi


Key clients

Luxottica SEA


Russell Reynolds


eShop World


Iris Worldwide


Gate Gourmet


Sean “Dante Chen” Tan


3D Infosystems Pte Ltd


Work highlights


  • Acted for 3D Infosystems in claims against its former employee and their new employer.

Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC

Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC draws employment expertise from its dispute resolution and transactional teams. Led by Wendy Tan, the firm continues to advise large regional and international clients on large cases, including disputes over incentive bonuses and wrongful dismissal claims; Tan also regularly advises clients on employment contracts for senior executives and on the exits of senior executives. Transactional partner Wai Ming Yap frequently advises clients on employee share option schemes and other incentive matters.

Practice head(s):

Wendy Tan; Wai Ming Yap


Testimonials

‘The reactiveness, being very knowledgeable and the ability to bring the right capability for any topics.’

‘The reactiveness, competence and pragmatism of Wai Ming Yap.’

‘I work with Wendy Tan. She is very responsive and very helpful even where stretched with her own workload.’

Shook Lin & Bok LLP

Shook Lin & Bok LLP is well-known for its work in contentious employment matters, largely acting for corporate clients in cases concerning non-competition and confidentiality obligations, wrongful dismissal and harassment claims, misconduct investigations, and employee terminations. The firm has further expertise in the advisory segment, including on employment contracts and ongoing human resources advice. Probin Dass is a senior litigator with experience in contentious and non-contentious issues. Teo Mae Shaan and Joseph Tay are also key partners.

Practice head(s):

Joseph Tay; Teo Mae Shaan


Other key lawyers:

Probin Dass


Testimonials

‘Commercial-minded, innovative, smart, good work ethic.’

‘I found Teo Mae-Shaan and her team to be both responsive, knowledgeable and pragmatic.’

‘Tan Mae-Shaan covers both corporate and employment matters and so was the perfect fit for the private equity management advisory role I required support on, which encompassed both corporate and employment law aspects. She was responsive and knowledgeable and enjoyable to work with.’

Work highlights


  • Acted for the Envy Companies and liquidators in commencing a suit against eight former employees to recover approximately S$45.7m in inter alia commissions and/or profit-sharing.
  • Acting for the Singapore arm of a major Indian asset management company in a dispute with an ex-employee, a high-profile fund manager.
  • Acting for the Defendant, Ho Rongzan, in defending claims of breach of confidentiality and breach of non-compete and non solicit obligations by AbbVie Operations Singapore Pte Ltd.

Virtus Law LLP

Virtus Law LLP is building its standing in labour and employment law with its broadening ranks of individuals that have specialist expertise in the area. The firm has developed close links to clients in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, and it has demonstrated expertise in key issues such as non-compete clauses, employee share option plans, and employment contracts. Sheetal Sandhu is especially active in employee share option plans and employment policies, and Terence Seah is noted for internal investigations. Parikhit Sarma and Christine Ong are also key partners.

Practice head(s):

Terence Seah


Other key lawyers:

Sheetal Sandhu; Parikhit Sarma; Christine Ong


Testimonials

‘Christine Ong has been absolutely fantastic in helping us with a number of employment-related matters. She’s pragmatic in her advice, taking into account both legal and business considerations. Service from her and the team is prompt and professional always.’

‘Team has great knowledge of their practice.’

Work highlights


  • Acted for global reinsurance brokers whose employees conspired to set up a competing reinsurance broker firm and divert the client’s key business relationships to the competitor firm.
  • Advised an India-headquartered edu-tech unicorn, and its international subsidiary, on its suite of employment contracts and related matters to be implemented following the group’s acquisition of an accredited and regulated Singapore private education institution.
  • Advised a client on implementation of its employee share option plan and minority shareholder exit.