Pinsent Masons has lost a partner in Hong Kong, with construction disputes specialist Paul Teo set to relocate to Singapore to join Lovells.

Teo joins the top 10 UK law firm later this month, where he will be part of the infrastructure and construction group and the office's arbitration practice.

Teo, who joins Lovells as a consultant rather than a partner, is a Singapore native but has been based in Pinsents' Hong Kong office. He joined Pinsents in October 2000 and was promoted to partner last year.

At Pinsents, Teo's practice concentrated on projects litigation in the Greater China region. At Lovells he will focus on arbitration, as foreign law firms are not allowed to practise litigation in Singapore. He will work closely with Lovells Asia project finance head and Singapore managing partner James Harris, as well as senior arbitration consultant Richard Tan.

Commenting on the hire, Lovells Asia managing partner Crispin Rapinet said: "Developing our disputes practice in Singapore is a key focus for us and adding Paul Teo to the team will hand us that. We currently have projects-focused disputes capacity in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but not previously in Singapore, so this hire makes a lot of sense for us."

Lovells most recently added to its Singapore office with the relocation of London-based partner Stephanie Keen, who is launching a local private equity practice in the office this month. She is the first private equity partner for the firm outside of China and the fourth partner in Lovells' Singapore office.

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