Rodyks secures merger deal with Orricks' Singapore ally
Singapore's oldest firm Rodyks merges with Helen Yeo & Partners to form 98-lawyer practice
August 07, 2002 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
Singapore's oldest law firm, Rodyk & Davidson, has merged with local rival Helen Yeo & Partners, the formal joint venture partner of US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.
The firms will officially merge at the beginning of November and will operate under the name Rodyk & Davidson.
The deal, which will create a 98-lawyer practice, is the largest merger between Singapore firms in recent years. The combined practice will rank as the jurisdiction's sixth-largest firm.
"Growing the firm organically would have taken us forever," said Helen Yeo, the name partner of Helen Yeo & Partners.
Yeo will become managing partner of the new firm, with Rodyks' senior partner, Lee Ai Ming, taking the role of deputy managing partner.
Seventeen-partner Rodyks is best known for its aviation, shipping and IP practices, while Helen Yeo & Partners focuses on banking and finance, construction and real estate. Helen Yeo & Partners has four Chinese-qualified lawyers and was the first Singapore firm to open an office in Shanghai.
The merger will boost its joint venture with San Francisco-based Orricks.
The move is the latest shake-up in the Singapore legal market, which has been hit by a downturn in work and criticism of the joint venture (JV) that was launched two years ago to allow international firms to work with local practices.
Rodyks had been in merger talks with Norton Rose earlier his year to form a joint venture. However, talks were called off in June with the City firm doubting the necessity for such close ties.
Meanwhile, last week also saw the formal break-up of the joint venture between Shearman & Sterling and local firm Stamford after months of wrangling. It is the second joint venture to break up this year after White & Case abandoned its tie-up with Colin Ng & Partners.
New York-based Shearmans has said that it will not seek another JV partner, instead servicing the market through its Singapore practice.
The two firms forged the JV in 2001 in a move led by high profile Singapore lawyer Lee Suet Fern, who had quit Clifford Chance's former JV partner, the Wong Partnership.
First reported on www.legalweek.net (2 August).
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Ashurst Beijing Chief Representative Leaves for New York Boutique Sterlington
Baker McKenzie, Norton Rose & Other Top Litigators Foresee Rise in AI, Data & ESG Disputes
Axiom-Ince: SFO Charges Five, Including Former Head, Following Investigation
3 minute read
SDT Upholds SLAPP Claim Against Osborne Clarke Partner Advising Nadhim Zahawi
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
