HSF misses out on Singapore local licence, W&C gets conditional permit
Herbert Smith Freehills will not practice local law in Singapore from October this year after not renewing its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence. The UK firm was one of six outfits originally permitted to practice local law in 2008 and understood to have been in discussions with the authorities about renewing its licence along with the other firms.
February 27, 2014 at 10:20 PM
3 minute read
Herbert Smith Freehills will not practice local law in Singapore from October this year after not renewing its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence.
The UK firm was one of six outfits originally permitted to practice local law in 2008 and understood to have been in discussions with the authorities about renewing its licence along with the other firms.
But in a statement, the Singapore Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said that HSF had "decided not to pursue the renewal" and would cease its operations as a QFLP within six months of the licence expiry date, which is 30 April.
It said the firm had recently gone through a merger and "indicated its preference not to commit to specific growth plans as part of the QFLP licence."
Commenting, the firm's South East Asia managing partner Michael Walter said: "Our practice in Singapore is primarily international, working with our clients on significant cross border matters.
"We do not believe that operating under our own licence is the only way to service our clients' Singapore law requirements. The Singapore Ministry of Law has granted us a six month extension to the end of October after which the firm will have new arrangements in place to support our ambitions and those of our clients in Singapore and the wider region."
As for the other firms, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose Fulbright have all had their local Singapore licences renewed for a further five years.
However, White & Case has been given a one-year conditional licence, which MinLaw said would be extended for a further four years subject to the firm meeting certain targets.
It added that in determining which firms would have their licences renewed it took into account each firm's quantitative and qualitative performance during the five-year licence period relative to its earlier commitments.
It also considered the firm's proposals for the next five years in terms of the value of work that the Singapore office would generate, the number of lawyers who would be based in Singapore office, the strength of the practice areas that the Singapore office would offer and the extent to which the Singapore office would function as the firm's headquarters for the region.
The QFLP scheme was introduced in 2008 in a bid to open up Singapore's legal market to foreign outfits.
The authorities have since handed out four additional licences to Linklaters, Jones Day, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Sidley Austin.
Related: A&O, CC among firms asked to reapply for Singapore local law licences
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