Several international firms have made key lateral hires in Singapore in the past week.

Bird & Bird has bolstered its technology and communications practice with partner Jeremy Tan, who joins from CMS to head up the practice in Singapore. Tan advises multinationals in Singapore on cybersecurity, data privacy, communications and distributed ledger technology and artificial intelligence matters. He specializes in sourcing and outsourcing arrangements and technology tenders.

Tan led a similar practice at CMS in Singapore. He joined CMS's Singapore alliance firm Holborn Law in 2016 and became a partner with CMS in 2017 after the two firms formed an alliance. Before that, he practiced with Norton Rose Fulbright for five years and worked at Rodyk & Davidson earlier in his career.

Alongside Tan, Bird & Bird also hired senior consultant Gigi Cheah, an experienced technology lawyer. Cheah was until 2018 a consultant with Norton Rose Fulbright; she had been a partner with the firm between 2010 and 2014. She led the Asia intellectual property and technology practice for DLA Piper before that. Earlier in her career, she practiced with Perkins Coie, Baker McKenzie, and Australia's Gilbert & Tobin and Mallesons Stephen Jaques.

Meanwhile, Watson Farley & Williams has hired corporate partner Damian Adams in Singapore from Simmons & Simmons where he was a partner based in the city-state. Adams advises venture capital funds, private equity firms, infrastructure investors and family offices on investment, especially in the maritime, energy and natural resources sectors. In 2018, he acted for Singapore-based venture capital firm NSI Ventures and U.K.-based Aviva Ventures on a $5 million Series A investment in Singaporean health-tech company Biofourmis Pte. Ltd.

Adams returned to Watson Farley after spending six years with Simmons & Simmons. He started his career with Watson Farley as a trainee in London in 1997; he moved to Singapore in 2001 and became a partner with the firm in 2008.

In November, Watson Farley hired corporate partner and head of China desk Ivy Liu in Singapore. The firm operates in formal law alliance with Singaporean law firm Wong Tan & Molly Lim.

Also in Singapore, Kennedys has hired disputes partner Glenn Cheng from K&L Gates Straits Law where he was also a partner. Cheng specializes in engineering and construction law including contracts, operations and disputes matters for onshore and offshore buildings, infrastructure and oil and gas projects.

Cheng joined K&L Gates in Singapore in 2016 from legacy Nabarro and stayed through the U.S. firm's merger with Singapore's Straits Law in early 2019. He joined Nabarro in 2010 when the English firm first opened in Singapore; before that he practiced with Norton Rose Fulbright's legacy firm Deacons Australia.

Kennedys hired insurance partners Patrick Yeo and Hui Ying Lim in Singapore last year.