Reed Smith has entered into a formal alliance with Singaporean firm Resource Law giving the firm the capability to practice Singapore law for the first time.
The nine lawyer firm will work alongside Reed Smith’s 20 lawyer Singapore office, which opened in 2012 to support clients in the energy and natural resources sector. The Resource Law team is led by Mohan Subbaraman who left Ince & Co late last year.
With experience in advisory, transactional, corporate, and dispute resolution, Resource Law will compliment Reed Smith’s strengths with its own energy and natural resources specialisation, alongside maritime, financial industries, insurance and life sciences.
Subbaraman said Resource Law aims to mirror Reed Smith’s global strategy: ‘As Singapore consolidates its position as one of the world’s leading international dispute resolution, commodity trading, maritime and financial centres, I am confident our enhanced offering via the Formal Law Alliance will become even more important as we aim to support and grow these practice areas.’
He added: ‘We are also aiming to boost our practice in other growth areas for Singapore where Reed Smith is already a market leading firm globally such as life sciences, pharmaceuticals and regulatory work.’
The alliance follows Reed Smith’s continued strengthening of its Singapore office, taking on arbitration and disputes partners partners Calvin Chan and Kohe Hasan at the end of 2015 from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Oon & Bazul respectively to enhance its energy and natural resources offering.
Reed Smith Singapore managing partner Barry Stimpson said: ‘In that time we have grown from five partners to a team of 20 lawyers practicing English, US, Australian and Hong Kong law and who can advise across the wide range of industries and practices in which we provide specialised advice.’
He added: ‘As we embark on the next stage of our growth in Singapore, we will collaborate closely with our alliance partner Resource Law LLC and together strive to make a contribution to the expansion of Singapore as a regional and international centre for legal services as well as affirming our commitment to the market and the needs of our clients.’
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk