Singapore authorities have six licenses to foreign law firms to practice in the city state…..
Bloombergreports that the licenses have been awarded to the following firms
- Clifford Chance,
- White & Case
- Latham & Watkins
- Allen & Overy,
- Norton Rose
- Herbert Smith
Bloomberg reported December 5th
Clifford Chance, White & Case and Latham & Watkins won licenses to practice law in Singapore in areas including corporate finance and intellectual property as part of reforms intended to strengthen the city’s finance sector.
Allen & Overy, Norton Rose and Herbert Smith were also awarded the new Qualified Foreign Law Practice license, Law Minister K. Shanmugam announced today. Previously, they could only advise on Singapore law through joint ventures.
The change will “realize the potential of our legal services sector to develop into an engine of growth in its own right,” he told a news conference. Shanmugam estimated the firms will double their revenue, staffing and profits in Singapore in five years.
The Southeast Asian city-state hopes allowing the firms to practice corporate law and employ locally qualified lawyers will support and strengthen its position as a financial center. Foreign law firms remain restricted from some areas, including appearing before Singapore courts.
“Singapore somewhat missed out on the gold rush of new international law firms into China and the Middle East in the last few years,” said Jeremy Small, director of recruiter Law Alliance in Singapore. “This puts it squarely back into the spotlight.”
The rest of the report is worth reading as it explains how Singapore hopes to compete with Hong Kong by awarding these new licenses and also hopes to get a jump on India by letting foreign law firms set up India desks while the indian authorities and bar associations bicker about licensing foreign law firms to practice in the country
Read the full report at
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJT5QEunlQNI&refer=home
