Commercial barristers see a growing opportunity for senior advocates in key Asia hub. Ben Lewis reports

In 1991, a quarter of a century after winning independence from British rule, Singapore finally abolished one of the last vestiges of colonialism – the powdered wigs worn by barristers appearing in local courts.

The wigs may be gone, but the barristers who originally brought them are back. Two of London's top barristers' chambers have opened offices in Singapore in recent years, and others are eyeing the city-state as the prime Asian destination to pitch their skills.

singaporeHowever, they are mostly looking outside the courtroom. Even though the Singapore Government recently passed regulations that make it easier for senior barristers from abroad to practise in Singapore courts, most of those barristers are focusing on arbitration.

"A vast proportion of our work [in Singapore] is in the field of arbitration," says David Joseph QC (pictured above), a senior barrister at Essex Court Chambers, which opened a Singapore office two years ago. "There's been a huge explosion of work in the region."

Singapore has been aggressively promoting itself as a regional hub for arbitration. At the beginning of 2010, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre opened Maxwell Chambers, a purpose-built, state-of-the-art arbitration facility where both Essex Court and 20 Essex Street have their offices. The volume of arbitration in Singapore doubled between 2008 and 2010, and is expected to grow further.

The opportunities for work in the region spring in large part from the business conflicts of senior Singaporean barristers. Unlike in England, many of Singapore's 41 high-ranking advocates (known as senior counsel) work at large law firms, which do not wish to be adverse to major companies and banks. That's often where barristers from abroad come in.

Essex Court rotates barristers in and out of its Singapore office, but Simon Milnes of 20 Essex Street has been based full-time in Singapore since the chambers opened there in 2010, and a second barrister, Ben Olbourne, arrived from London in recent weeks. Milnes says the chambers has been inundated with work. "The costs of opening and manning an office have long since paid for themselves – and more," he says.

Those chambers without a presence say Singapore is the place to be. "The English Bar is increasingly looking to export its services," says Alex Taylor, the director of clerking for Fountain Court Chambers. "For us, it really is mainly Singapore."

Though Fountain Court has no plans to open an office there, Taylor says its barristers make regular visits to Singapore. Meanwhile, a joint senior clerk at 7 King's Bench Walk, Bernie Hyatt, says a Singapore office is "something we have been talking about in the clerking room," though no decision has been made. Likewise, a clerk at One Essex Court says having a presence in Singapore is under discussion. "If the market is there for it, we'll do it," he says.

However, not everyone is thrilled with Singapore's embrace of foreign litigators. Hri Kumar SC, a dispute resolution partner at Drew & Napier and a member of the Singaporean parliament, notes that Singapore was previously open to foreign practitioners but threw up barriers in 1991 over fears that the preponderance of foreign lawyers was stifling the development of the local Bar. He fears that Singapore may be heading down that road again if the barriers are lifted too readily.

"There may be a temptation [on the part of clients] to go to a foreign QC even when a local senior counsel is available," says Kumar. "There is also a message about whether we think local lawyers are good enough."

But he understands why they're coming. "They're coming here because, in a nutshell, the region is where the work is, and where the work will continue to be," says Kumar. "It's an inevitable move. I'm sure there'll be more coming."

This article first appeared in The Asian Lawyer, an affiliate title of Legal Week.