SOME of Asia’s best women lawyers are Singaporean, a new Asian awards event in business law hosted in Hong Kong has shown say s a report on Singapore law watch after the inaugural Euromoney “Asia Women Business Law Awards”
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Among others, Stamford Law’s Mrs Lee Suet Fern was named top mergers and acquisitions lawyer, while Allen & Gledhill’s Ms Vivian Ang snagged the top spot for shipping practice, fending off challengers from big international law firms in the region.
These firms included China’s King & Wood, Japan’s Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and international heavyweights such as Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie.
The inaugural awards were given out by leading international monthly financial magazine Euromoney, following its success in similar awards in Europe.
The Asia Women Business Law Awards is intended to recognise leading female business lawyers.
In addition, Singapore firm WongPartnership beat law firms from 14 other countries, including Australia, India and China, to pick up the award for best national firm for women in business law last Thursday at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Industry players said the wins and the Singapore nominees shortlisted for the various categories underline the talent and ability of many women lawyers here.
‘What I find particularly awesome is the talent, ability and drive of so many of the young women lawyers entering the job market today,’ said Mrs Lee, noting that more than half the law school graduates today are women.
The winners are assessed on their professional accomplishments over the past 12 months, including their advocacy and influence. The research covered 19 practice areas in 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific, including China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
Some 50 individual and group awards were given, of which Singapore lawyers bagged five awards. Of significance is that Singapore firms won two of only three group awards, ahead of the national law firms of all 14 countries.
Shortlisted Singapore nominees in various categories included Senior Counsel Deborah Barker and senior lawyers Arfat Selvam and Susan de Silva.
Ms Lucy McNulty, the Asia editor of the International Financial Law Review, a monthly magazine in the Euromoney stable, said that ‘being shortlisted for any of these awards is a considerable achievement. In many cases, competition is fierce and choosing a winner is hard’.
Ms McNulty, who was involved in the selection, stressed that the process was rigorous and independent, and involved months of research.
Mr Stephen Mulrenan, who is managing editor of AsiaLaw magazine, part of the Euromoney group, said: ‘Singapore firms did extremely well in the awards and are among the most sophisticated and forward-thinking in the region when it comes to the advancement of women in the legal profession.’
WongPartnership’s managing partner, Ms Rachel Eng, said: ‘For us, a Singapore law firm, to beat other firms in relatively advanced jurisdictions like Australia is no mean feat and should bring some cheer to Singapore.
‘It has always been the firm’s focus to attract and retain the best talent, whether men or women.’
Mrs Lee said yesterday: ‘Clearly, winning the mergers and acquisitions award was very thrilling, as it is possibly one of the most prestigious sectors in the professional legal market, and one that is traditionally very dominated by men.’
Besides billion-dollar deals, she worked last year with KS Energy, a leading energy services provider to global oil, gas, marine and petrochemical industries, to consolidate its distribution business worth $320 million. This involved the complex merger of three companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
‘It was great for Singapore and our region to have a win, especially when people always think of India and China when they think of Asia,’ she said.
‘I think it is in part a reflection of the increasing regional and global involvement and influence of Singapore, and as a corollary, Singapore lawyers.’
Mr Mulrenan added: ‘One clear message from the awards was that, rather than simply being something morally desirable or politically correct, there is actually a very clear business case to be made for those firms that embrace diversity in the workplace and are proactive when it comes to programmes and initiatives.’
