Ince & Co Singapore?? has forged a formal law alliance (FLA) with a local maritime law firm – Incisive Law LLC .
The press release sent out yesterday says that Ince & Co is the first English firm specialising in maritime law in Singapore to do so
The newly formed Incisive Law team is led by joint managing directors Bill Ricquier and Mohan Subbaraman.
The former specialises in non-contentious commercial law while the latter focuses on maritime shipping litigation.
The new alliance – Ince Law Alliance – will be able to address issues that fall under both Singapore and English law in the maritime sector as opposed to merely one jurisdiction.
Here’s the rest of the press release..
‘From the clients’ point of view, this arrangement is far more convenient because there is now a single point of contact and obvious savings in terms of time and cost,’ said Richard Lovell, the managing partner of Ince & Co.
Currently foreign – or offshore – law practices in Singapore are allowed to advise on international arbitration disputes involving Singapore law, but not in domestic arbitration disputes or local court proceedings.
‘The usual arrangement in the past was that the offshore law firm would have to instruct an unrelated local law firm to act for its clients in the matters of involving Singapore law or for disputes that were litigated in the Singapore courts,’ said Mr Subbaraman.
‘Now, if a client of the Ince Law Alliance requires Singapore law advice or representation in the Singapore courts, we at Incisive Law are immediately available.’
In Singapore, while the firms within an FLA have separate legal identities, they are able to market their legal services as a single service provider and bill their clients as if they were a single law practice.
This development – a result of the increasing liberalisation of Singapore’s legal sector – will dovetail with the island’s ambition of becoming a viable alternative to London as a centre for international maritime dispute resolution.
‘I’m sure that there’ll be other (firms) following in our footsteps,’ said Mr Lovell.
A growing number of maritime law firms with a formal foothold in both Singapore and English law could have knock-on effects for the country’s significance as a maritime centre.
‘One of the ancillary advantages of having an FLA is that shipowners and shipbrokers coming to set up in Singapore will have issues that are purely under Singapore law,’ said Mr Ricquier.
Over the next three months, the offices of the Ince Law Alliance will see its headcount grow from 18 to 24 or 25 people. Around 10 of them will be Singaporean and some of them will be dual-qualified – in English and Singapore law.