WWLegal.com :: First Joint Law Ventures And Formal Law Alliances in Singapore

First Joint Law Ventures And Formal Law Alliances in Singapore
Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2000 - 06:00 PM

The Attorney-General’s Chambers announced the first Joint Law Ventures (JLVs) And Formal Law Alliances (FLAs) between Singapore law firms and foreign law firms. With the introduction of the JLV and FLA, foreign law firms have now entered into the Singapore legal market which was solely dominated by Singapore law firms since Singapore’s independence.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers is the issuing body of the JLV and FLA licences. Initially, the Government only wanted to issue five joint venture licenses. This was extended after the Attorney-General’s Chambers received nine applications as at the closing date of 15 July 2000.

When announcing the Singapore law firms which have been granted the JLV, the Attorney-General said the entry of the JLV signaled the beginning of a new era for the legal sector in Singapore, which for the last 30 years, had demarcated foreign law firms from the Singapore ones. He further said that the JLV would be able to provide their clients with a 'one-stop shop' for cross border transactions.

The following firms were granted the JLV status on 10 August 2000:
- Allen & Gledhill and Linklaters & Alliances;
- Drew & Napier and Freshfields;
- Shook Lin & Bok and Allen & Overy;
- Wong Partnership and Clifford Chance;
- Lee & Lee and Lovells;
- Helen Yeo & Partners and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe; and
- Colin Ng & Partners and White & Case.

Alban Tay Mahtani & de Silva and Freehills was awarded a FLA licence.

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