Lovells is moving London partner Stephanie Keen to Singapore where we learn she will be launching a local private equity practice for the firm.
The pres release tells us that Keen will be responsible for setting up Lovells’ Singapore private equity practice when she moves in September, with the relocation making her the firm’s first private equity partner in Asia outside of China.
She will be the fourth partner in Lovells’ Singapore office, joining projects head James Harris, banking partner Ken Hawkes and energy and projects partner Brad Roach. No associates are expected to follow her in the immediate future.
Keen joined Lovells as a partner in 2006 from the London office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson as part of Lovells’ efforts to rebuild its London private equity practice in the wake of a team defection to Weil, Gotshal & Manges led by Marco Compagnoni. Her departure leaves the London office with two dedicated private equity partners — Alan Greenough and Tom Whelan.
Asia regional managing partner Crispin Rapinet said: “We have been looking to build up our corporate practice in Singapore for some time now and we believe that it is going to be an active market for us and one of the first areas to see an uptick.”
