Singapore law firm, Cavenagh Law LLP, and leading international law firm, Clifford Chance, have established a Formal Law Alliance (FLA). The FLA allows the two firms to provide the broadest range of Singapore and international law service available in the market, including local litigation advice, from one platform – “Clifford Chance Asia”.
Cavenagh Law is a boutique Singapore law firm that brings together top Singapore legal talent from a variety of leading Singapore law firms. The firm’s focus is on dispute resolution. It comprises three partners: Harpreet Singh, a Senior Counsel in Singapore with extensive international arbitration and litigation experience; Paul Sandosham a specialist in energy, infrastructure and construction-related disputes; and Nish Shetty, a Singaporean who founded the disputes practice at Clifford Chance in Singapore in 2009.
Together, the integrated ‘Clifford Chance Asia’ team in Singapore will provide clients with court based litigation expertise, complementing Clifford Chance’s existing highly regarded arbitration and regulatory practices in Singapore, as well as drawing on coordinated advice from around Clifford Chance’s global Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice across 25 countries.
Cavenagh Law’s Managing Partner, Harpreet Singh SC, commented, “The recent steps in the liberalisation process taken by the Singapore government further strengthen Singapore’s position as a pre-eminent global legal hub. As partners, we have made the conscious decision that we should be part of that evolution. We now have a platform to work from Singapore on leading local, regional and global matters as part of a team with Clifford Chance.”
Clifford Chance’s Managing Partner for Singapore, Geraint Hughes said, “We are delighted to have received this approval for the FLA. We can now offer our clients high quality advice and service across the broadest range of Singapore and international law expertise available in the market. As transactions and, consequently, disputes become ever more cross-border, our clients increasingly need and want to access this expertise from one platform in Singapore.”
Through the FLA, lawyers at Cavenagh Law will have access to Clifford Chance’s global career development and worldwide resources. “It is an exciting opportunity for our team and is ground breaking for Singapore lawyers in local Singapore firms. One of the key attractions for us is the ability to give our Singapore lawyers access to Clifford Chance’s world class training, know-how, sector expertise and resources and to provide them with international work and career opportunities,” commented Paul.
Nish said, “Harpreet and Paul have first-rate credentials and a wealth of local litigation and dispute resolution expertise. Together, we look forward to forming a market leading dispute resolution team in Singapore.”
Today’s announcement reflects Clifford Chance’s continued growth and investment in Asia Pacific. This year, Clifford Chance received approval to open an office in Seoul, Korea, and in 2011 the firm opened offices in Sydney and Perth, Australia. Asia Pacific Regional Managing Partner, Peter Charlton said, “Our partnership with Harpreet, Paul and their team is a natural step for us and exciting news for our clients. Singapore is critical to our growth strategy in Asia Pacific – as a global and regional legal hub it is of increasing importance to the international business community.”
