Rajah & Tann Asia | Singapore Law Firm - legal services across Asia

23 Nov 2023

Rajah & Tann maintains unrivalled three years streak as overall top law firm in The Straits Times’ Singapore's Best Law Firms 2024 survey

Rajah & Tann Singapore (R&T) has been voted as the top law firm for the third year in a row, according to an extensive survey of lawyers and clients conducted by The Straits Times.

The firm was voted top in all 17 local categories surveyed in The Straits Times’ Singapore’s Best Law Firms 2024. In particular, it received the most endorsements and led the tables as overall top Singapore firm for:

Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
Banking & Finance
Company & Commercial
Employment
Insolvency & Restructuring
Maritime & Shipping
Real Estate
Technology, Media, Telecommunication (TMT)

The firm was also strongly endorsed for its expertise in the following areas:

Charities, Not-for-Profit Associations & Pro Bono
Conveyancing
Criminal Law
Family
Inheritance & Succession, Private Wealth Management
Intellectual Property
Investment Funds
Mergers & Acquisitions
Negligence (Professional, Accidents, Personal Injuries)

The annual survey relies on more than 11,500 endorsements made by lawyers, in-house counsel and clients in 18 different fields. International market researcher Statista partnered The Straits Times in compiling the results.

Patrick Ang, Managing Partner of R&T, said: “Rajah & Tann is deeply honoured and humbled to maintain our position as the leading law firm in Singapore for the third year running. The fact that this is a peer-to-peer as well as a client survey makes it even more meaningful.

“These surveys are absolutely affirming and a great recognition of the hard work and dedication of all my colleagues at Rajah & Tann. They inspire us to continue to surpass expectations in delivering top-quality services to our clients and foster strong relationships with our peers.”

R&T has market-leading corporate and dispute resolution practices. It is a member of Rajah & Tann Asia, one of the region’s most highly regarded law firms with international legal journals and surveys consistently rating the firm and many of its lawyers as among the best in their practice areas.

About Rajah & Tann Asia – https://www.rajahtannasia.com/

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand the Philippines and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capability to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. The network’s geographical reach also includes Singapore-based regional desks focusing on Brunei, Japan and South Asia. With over 970 fee earners, all working together towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage.

27 Sep 2023

Rajah & Tann Asia wins six asialaw awards including Firm of the Year in Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore

Singapore, 27 September 2023 – Rajah & Tann Asia (RTA) has once again reaffirmed its leadership position in the legal industry, sweeping six accolades at the asialaw awards ceremony held on September 26^th. The list includes Cambodia Firm of the Year, Indonesia Firm of the Year, Singapore Firm of the Year, Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year, and two Impact Deal and Case awards.

Rajah & Tann Singapore secured the coveted country award for the fourth consecutive year, and notably won its inaugural regional accolade as the Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year. In Cambodia, R&T Sok & Heng Law Office has received its first country award, while Assegaf Hamzah & Partners retains its title as Indonesia Firm of the Year for an impressive fifth consecutive year.

Two standout cases earned Impact Deal and Case awards for RTA. Lau Kok Keng, Head, Intellectual Property and Sports & Gaming, along with Tng Sheng Rong, Partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore received an Impact Deal and Case award for their work representing Netease Interactive in a significant copyright infringement and passing off dispute within the online games industry. This landmark case marks the first examination and determination of various copyrights in video games, the protectability of video game concepts, and the distinction between ideas and expression in the context of video games in Singapore.

Christopher & Lee Ong also clinched an Impact Deal and Case award for advising Digi.com Berhad in the RM17.75 billion proposed merger of Digi and Celcom Axiata Berhad, forming Malaysia's largest mobile operator through the acquisition of Celcom shares from Axiata and the issuance of Digi shares. This merger elevates industry standards by harnessing the strengths of global telecom giants and local market expertise. The deal was led by Managing Partner Kuok Yew Chen and Partners Yon See Ting, Tracy Wong, Tan Yi Li, Daphne Lam and Looi Zhi Min from the Malaysia office.

Patrick Ang, Managing Partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore and Vice-Chairman of R&T, said: “We are deeply honoured to receive recognition from asialaw, our industry peers and clients. These awards are a testament to the significant impact we consistently deliver for our clients, showcasing the unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence throughout Rajah & Tann Asia.

"I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our valued clients, whose trust and support have been unwavering over the years. I also extend my appreciation to my colleagues for their dedication in serving our clients with the utmost commitment and diligence."

About Rajah & Tann Asia – https://www.rajahtannasia.com/

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capability to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. With 970 fee earners, all working towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage

11 Sep 2023

Rajah & Tann Asia remains at the forefront in Southeast Asia, reaffirmed by its dominant position in asialaw Leading Lawyers’ 2024 rankings

Rajah & Tann Asia (RTA) has once again demonstrated excellence in the latest rankings released by asialaw Profiles and Leading Lawyers. As a collective, the network has achieved an impressive tally of 103 practice rankings, with 73 legal professionals being recognised as leading lawyers across Southeast Asia.

This year, RTA’s rankings have showcased a further elevation of the network’s standings. Notably, nine Partners have been newly recognised as Leading Lawyers. Among them are Prom Savada from R&T Sok & Heng; Brian Ng, Favian Tan, Joshua Seet, Ng Sey Ming, Raymond Tong, Terence Quek and Tracy Ang from Rajah & Tann Singapore; and Vu Thi Que from Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers.

We are honoured to have received commendation that “the team at Rajah & Tann is always highly responsive, consistently delivers expert and quality legal advice and, most importantly, constant assurance that they are professionals who have the backs of their clients on all transactions”. Another client also applauded, “Over the years, Rajah & Tann have become increasingly progressive as a law firm. They have been focusing on talent development, which has resulted in motivated lawyers who are able to apply technical legal knowledge to their clients' businesses, to render highly valuable advice.” We extend our gratitude to both our clients and peers for their unwavering support.

The asialaw 2024 edition serves as a comprehensive guide, offering endorsements for law firms and detailed analytical assessments of crucial practice areas and industry domains. These assessments are founded on substantiated case records, client input, and feedback from peers.

Click here to view the full rankings: https://www.rajahtannasia.com/accolades/2024-accolades/asialaw-profiles

About Rajah & Tann Asia – https://www.rajahtannasia.com/

02 Aug 2023

Rajah & Tann pioneers automated anti-money laundering platform for property developers to comply with new AML rules

Rajah & Tann has launched an anti-money laundering (AML) legal-tech solution for Singapore property developers grappling with the latest AML rules. The platform enables speedy due diligence of property buyers in real time and on an ongoing basis.

Under the new AML guidelines, developers are required to identify, assess and understand the money laundering and terrorism financing risks relating to their business and implement policies, procedures and control approved by the senior management to minimise the exposure to such risks. They are required to document the risk analysis and provide such risk analysis and policies to the Controller of Housing when asked.

They will also have to conduct customer due diligence checks on purchasers and, amongst others, file a Suspicious Transaction Report with the relevant authorities if and when they find a potential purchaser or purchaser to be on a watchlist or have suspicious links, without tipping off such a potential purchaser or purchaser. The customer due diligence checks are also applicable to ongoing projects launched before 28 June 2023 when the new AML rules kicked in.

Gazalle Mok, Partner at Rajah & Tann’s Corporate Real Estate practice, said: “This is potentially a three-to-five-year period of exposure, and it’s not a numbers game: a single hit would be extremely detrimental to a developer. Without technology, it becomes very intensive and complex to monitor every purchaser for the entire period.”

The platform, a combined effort of Rajah & Tann lawyers and their tech colleagues at Rajah & Tann Technologies (RTTech), addresses this requirement by including screening, ongoing monitoring, and reporting capabilities, automating much of what would otherwise be a very tedious, cumbersome set of checks.

“It is a comprehensive platform that minimises AML and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compliance risks for developers managing the public launch of large-scale real estate projects,” said Mr Raymond Lum, Group Chief Executive Officer of RTTech.

The customer due diligence, for example, is a scan that takes just seconds to complete the necessary background AML/CFT checks on a prospective purchaser during a property launch, such as the screening against international watchlists and checking against additional data sources such as country-specific risk factors and known associates.

“Often when transacting properties, time is of the essence – any slowdown in the sales process especially when the market is hot, could result in a buyer walking away,” added Mr Norman Ho, Senior Partner of Rajah & Tann’s Corporate Real Estate practice.

The need to conduct ongoing monitoring on purchasers until legal completion is another requirement that, while important, is currently a point of concern for developers.

For example, it’s not uncommon for criminals to purchase properties using a nominee purchaser with no apparent links to criminal organisations.

Money laundering and terrorism financing also tend to happen in stages, and a property purchase holds multiple transactional opportunities. What if, after having exercised the Option to Purchase, the nominee purchaser turns up on an Interpol watchlist a year later?

The steps afterwards are less clear: developers may be risking potential legal liability to rescind such a sale and purchase agreement, and in the meantime, they cannot reveal the real reason for backing out of the agreement as it may be considered tipping off.

About Rajah & Tann Asia – https://www.rajahtannasia.com/