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CMS formalises law alliance with Holborn Law in Singapore

01/09/2017

International law firm CMS is pleased to announce a formal law alliance (FLA) between its Singapore office and Singapore law practice Holborn Law LLC. The FLA, which has received approval from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority of Singapore, will be effective from 1 September and will operate under the name CMS Holborn Asia. Through the FLA, CMS will now be continuing to build Singapore legal expertise in its key sectors of Energy, Financial Services, Lifesciences, Projects & Infrastructure, Real Estate and Technology, Media & Telecoms.

This is the latest of several steps taken by the firm to grow their Asia Pacific presence, following the recent ground-breaking three-way merger the firm undertook this year, with the integration of CMS Cameron McKenna, Olswang and Nabarro to form the sixth largest law firm globally. Within APAC, the firm now has offices located in four key commercial hubs of the region, namely Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. CMS has been advising clients in Asia-Pacific for more than 30 years.

Holborn Law LLC is a Singapore law firm with expertise in the full spectrum of dispute resolution, ranging from civil litigation to mediation and international arbitration. Holborn also has expertise in commercial, corporate and M&A transactions. Holborn was founded by Managing Director Lakshanthi Fernando, who has significant expertise as lead counsel in complex, multi-jurisdictional arbitration and Supreme Court litigation over a broad range of dispute types and sectors which mirror the focus of the global CMS platform.

Andrew Stott, Managing Partner of CMS Singapore commented: “We are delighted with our development in Singapore since we opened in early 2012; the FLA broadens our offering to our clients based here and/or with operations in Singapore and takes the number of lawyers operating in Singapore to 30 from an initial team of three 5 years ago. That growth has been driven by client support for our sector-aligned model across our practice groups. It also cements our investment in, and commitment to, contributing to the growth of the nation as a hub for local and global businesses operating in the region.”

Lakshanthi Fernando, Managing Director of Holborn Law, added: “This FLA progressed from our association in June 2015 with (legacy) Olswang Asia, and is a natural evolution of our desire to offer international expertise across a wider range of sectors to our existing clients. I am very pleased to be able to work with CMS in Singapore and globally.”

The combined firm is in the process of moving into new premises in Marina One in Singapore.