Eight months after applying for a Foreign Legal Practice licence to open in Singapore, US law firm Dechert has been given the nod to launch its fourth Asian office.
Partner Dean Collins, who moves across from US rival O’Melveny & Myers, will be the office’s sole lawyer due to delays in obtaining licences for two associates who will continue working out of Hong Kong until authorisation is granted. Collins, a fund formation lawyer who sat in O’Melveny & Myers’ investment funds and securitization practice group in Singapore, was previously of private equity house Actis, which focuses on investing in emerging markets, and has had stints as a consultant at UBS and Merrill Lynch.
The Philadelphia-headquartered firm’s latest opening comes two years after an international push that saw Dechert open offices in Chicago, Dubai, Frankfurt and Kazakhstan.
The firm is once again looking to push its international credentials and last month added two partners in Europe, hiring Olswang’s head of the real estate Eleni Skordaki in London and financial services lawyer Johan Terblanche from Loyens & Loeff in Luxemburg. The opening in Singapore marks the firm’s 27th office, 13 of which are in the US.
A number of law firms have recently sought to bolster their capability in Singapore by relocating top talent, including Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s head of arbitration Lucy Reed and Latham & Watkins’ corporate duo Rod Brown and Luke Grubb.
Tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
