Cooley has hired a partner from Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, as the firm plans further Asian expansion with a fourth office in Singapore.

Ferish Patel joins Cooley as a partner and will first join its recently opened Hong Kong office before moving back to Singapore. The official launch of the office is subject to regulatory approvals.

Patel, who is qualified in the U.S. and Hong Kong, is a corporate lawyer advising Asia-based high-growth technology companies on venture capital and private equity investments, initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He specialises in deals in southeast Asia and India.

In February, Patel represented Singapore-based fashion startup Zilingo Pte. Ltd. on a $226 million Series-D funding round by investors, including U.S. venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. Last year, he was part of the Gunderson Dettmer team that advised regular client Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart Group on the sale of a majority stake in the company to U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc. for $16 billion, one of the largest e-commerce deals.

He leaves Gunderson Dettmer after almost four years with the firm, joining in 2015 as a partner and head of its India and southeast Asia practice. In 2016, Patel helped launch the Silicon Valley-based firm's Singapore office, which he led with corporate partner Jonathan Pentzien. Pentzien is currently Gunderson Dettmer's sole partner in Singapore.

Previously, Patel was counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell in Hong Kong and an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York and Hong Kong. He also seconded at two top Indian firms—legacy Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co., and AZB & Partners—both in 2009.

Mike Lincoln, Cooley's Virginia-based chairman of its global business department, said in a statement that Patel's practice is “synergistic with our deep commitment to the region and [builds] on our momentum”.

Singapore will be the third new office in Asia that Cooley has opened in less than two years. In March, the Palo Alto-based firm recruited Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner Will Cai and launched an office in Hong Kong; Sidley Austin counsel Michael Yu joined the Hong Kong office earlier this month as a second partner. The firm opened a Beijing office in January 2018; it first entered Asia in 2011 with a Shanghai office.

Cooley has 30 lawyers across Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, including nine partners.

|

Related Stories:

Cooley to Open Hong Kong Office With Skadden Partner Hire