Hogan Lovells has made further moves to strengthen its position in Southeast Asia with a new association in Indonesia and a partner hire in Singapore.
The firm announced that it will enter a new association with Indonesian law firm Dewi Negara Fachri & Partners (DNFP) effective today (1 June). The decision comes after Hogan Lovells ended its three year association with Hermawan Juniarto last year.
The move will combine Hogan Lovells’ 30 years’ experience in Asian markets with the knowledge of DNFP’s founding partners Dewi Djarot and Fachri Fachrul, who have 30 and 20 years legal experience in the region respectively. The firm has three partners in total.
DNFP founding partner Dewi Djarot said: ‘There are many demands and challenges facing Indonesia across energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and healthcare but, despite this, the region is poised to continue to grow.’
Hogan Lovells chief executive Steve Immelt told Legal Business working with Indonesian lawyers who understand the culture and ‘what’s happening on the ground’ was key to clients in the region.
‘Clients considered Indonesia to be something that was important for them, and they were coming to us and saying what do you have? When you are asked that question enough you realise you need to come up with an answer.
‘We thought DNFP would be an ideal partner for us. There is likely to be a fair amount of activity, with infrastructure as an immediate focus and there are significant number of issues with disputes, from insolvency to cross border disputes.’
Immelt added the firm’s strategy was aiming to bring its Asia business closer to the ‘dynamic state’ they enjoy in the US and Europe.
‘It’s required investment – bringing in new people we think will be critical to growing out the practice.’
The LB 100 firm has also hired Noor Meurling as a new partner in Singapore. She previously led Ashurst’s corporate M&A practice in Jakarta, where she has advised on major joint ventures and acquisitions in the region since 1989.
The announcement comes after the firm added new blood to its capital markets practice in Hong Kong this week. The firm added Stephen Peepels from DLA Piper and Sammy Li from Paul Hastings.
The recruitment of Meurling comes as the latest of a series of hires to bolster revenues and expertise in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, Hogan Lovells hired Berwin Leighton Paisner’s head of international arbitration Kent Phillips to its Singapore office.
