Date Published: 18 January 2021
Key contacts: Lisa Theng and Pradeep Kumar Singh.
Lawyers ranked: Pradeep Kumar Singh, Tan Min-Li, Quek Li Fei, Bill Jamieson, See Tow Soo Ling, Ken Chia, Amit Dhume, and Wong Pei-Ling.
CNPLaw LLP (CNP) is pleased to announce that seven of our practices and eight of our lawyers have been “Recommended by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021”.
CNPLaw’s Managing Partner, Ms Lisa Theng has this to comment about the firm’s rankings: “We are glad to start the year with another accomplishment. For 2021, not only is the firm recognised by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific, we are also ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific, IFLR1000 and Asialaw Profiles. The eight lawyers recommended by the Legal 500 are leading experts in their various fields of practice and we celebrate their achievements. We are grateful to our clients and supporters. Our team of talented lawyers and staff continue to be committed to serve our clients with excellence.”
The practices recommended and the reviews provided by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021:
Banking and Finance: Tier 4
CNPLaw LLP has an impressive history in transactional and regulatory matters in the banking and finance segment. This includes Singapore and cross-border financings under Singapore law. The firm is making headway in fintech and the digital asset space. Quek Li Fei and Bill Jamieson are senior practitioners with extensive banking and finance expertise, while Wong Pei-Ling was elected to the partnership in January 2020.
Capital Markets – Debt and Equity: Tier 3
CNPLaw LLP has an impressive range of Singapore and foreign issuer clients. It is routinely engaged in mid-market equity offerings on the Singapore and Hong Kong exchanges. The firm has also operated as a Singapore listing agent to a number of international corporates on their debt offerings. Tan Min-Li leads the corporate finance team and has a formidable record in mid-market issuances.
One client shared: “The strength of this firm is their knowledge and expertise in commercial laws especially pertaining to M&A transactions, corporate finance matters, and compliance with the MAS and SGX listing rules in Singapore.”
Another source notes: “Tan Min-Li is technically very competent, knowledgeable, and hands-on in completing the assignment. She has a personalised approach to handling the assignment.”
Corporate and M&A: Tier 3
CNPLaw LLP has further evolved its practice to include a greater share of cross-border and ASEAN deals, including Indonesia, Myanmar, and Laos. It continues to expand its portfolio of Chinese clients and is building its name in the start-up and venture capital segment. Ken Chia leads the department, which includes experienced and versatile practitioners Bill Jamieson and Amit Dhume.
Clients have shared the following testimonials relating to the practice: “small, fast, and consistently reliable” and “attention to detail and coverage of all eventualities”.
Dispute Resolution: Tier 4
With a strong focus on construction disputes, CNPLaw LLP is instructed by developers and main contractors on engineering disputes. Key contact Soo Ling See Tow’s varied practice also spans commercial disputes, property litigation, and claims involving IP and family law and probate.
Financial Services Regulatory: Tier 3
CNPLaw LLP has maintained its emphasis on payment services, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital token offerings. The firm represents a wide range of new economy businesses, including fintech businesses and digital platform developers. Quek Li Fei has built an impressive recent record in digital token and payment services matters.
Investment Funds: Tier 3
CNPLaw LLP’s investment funds practice is co-headed by Bill Jamieson, a well-rounded expert in corporate, banking, and securities laws, and Amit Dhume. As an experienced foreign lawyer, Bill assists foreign clients in investment flows through Singapore, in activities such as investment fund set-up and venture capital and private equity transactions. Amit works with fund managers in setting up funds in Singapore and across various jurisdictions, primarily in the areas of private equity and wealth management.
Key clients of the firm include Taikun Capital Pte Ltd, Centrum International Services Pte. Ltd., Hera Capital Partners Holdings V Pte. Ltd., White Oak Capital Partners Pte. Ltd., Smith Tan Asia Phoenix Fund, and Hera Capital Partners Holdings IV Pte. Ltd.
One client shared: “The partners we work with come across as solid professionals with thorough domain knowledge. Not even once, have we got the impression that the advice rendered is not from a position of strength and robust domain knowledge.”
Another source notes: “Amit is a master at his trade with robust domain knowledge. The advice that we see coming from Amit is always in the best interest of the client and we can trust him with looking after the client’s interest in full.”
Labour and Employment: Tier 3
At CNPLaw LLP, Pradeep Kumar Singh assists local and international businesses across the whole spectrum of employment law issues from the onset of the employment relationship to its termination as well as immigration issues. Bill Jamieson is the other key partner, handling primarily corporate restructuring and employment aspects of cross-border transactions.
The lawyers recommended by the publication:
- Mr Pradeep Kumar Singh for Labour and Employment
- Ms Tan Min-Li for Capital Markets
- Mr Quek Li Fei for Banking and Finance, and Financial Services Regulatory
- Mr Bill Jamieson for Banking and Finance, Corporate and M&A, Investment Funds, and Labour and Employment
- Ms See Tow Soo Ling for Dispute Resolution
- Mr Ken Chia for Corporate and M&A
- Mr Amit Dhume for Corporate and M&A, and Investment Funds
- Ms Wong Pei-Ling for Banking and Finance
About the Legal 500 Asia Pacific
The Legal 500 ranks law firms based on client feedback, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers. In doing so, the Legal 500 provides a guide to the world’s leading law firms and lawyers.
The lawyers from the Banking & Finance Practice Group (BFPG) have always taken pride in providing a comprehensive range of banking and finance services to our clients, including domestic and foreign international banks, other financial institutions as well as non-bank lenders and borrowers, and foreign legal firms acting for parties outside Singapore.
Our banking & finance practice covers the whole spectrum of domestic and international banking & financing work, including restructurings, financings and financial institutions advisory work. We can draw upon a broad base of partners, senior, mid-level and junior associates, all with strong and varied banking & finance product line and country experience.
Our reach is further widened and enhanced by our ability to draw upon the resources of our network of correspondent firms in the region and globally.
We have a particular passion and interest in blockchain technology applications, cryptocurrencies and ICOs. We currently advise issuers of tokens, ICO advisors, venture capital firms and entrepreneurs involved in this space on Singapore legal issues and regulatory compliance for a range of planned business activities, ranging from utilization of blockchain to enable business applications in diverse fields (including money remittance, solar energy, consumer rewards, structured social interaction; music and entertainment industry; holiday & leisure industry; employment marketplace, consumer rewards, crypto asset security applications); to setting up cryptocurrency exchanges and issue of tokens on proprietary platforms.
Being a corporate lawyer is more than just translating legalese and churning out documents based on clients’ instructions. Our corporate lawyers understand that their role extends far beyond what is commonly expected. We seek to explore the spectrum of options with our clients and tailor an approach to suit each client’s personality and commercial needs. This is why our corporate lawyers are always keen to learn more than just a client’s business and industry; we want to understand the character of the business through its story and the parties involved in building it.
At CNPLaw, we aim to forge relationships beyond one-time transactions. We are committed to helping our clients grow their businesses, and play a part in its success.
Having handled transactions for numerous local and foreign companies across Asia, extending across a wide range of businesses and industries, we have accumulated significant experience advising on an extensive range of corporate finance transactions.
This includes Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Right issues, Private placements, Convertible bonds issues, Warrants issues, Capitalisation issues, Privatisations, Takeovers and reverse takeovers, Share buybacks, Interested person transactions, Employee share option schemes and performance share schemes, Compliance with the requirements of the Singapore Exchange.
With globalisation providing not only a myriad of opportunities but also increased challenges in dealing with the various stakeholders, disputes are bound to arise in the normal course of businesses and transactions.
At CNPLaw, our dispute resolution lawyers seek to provide support to our clients through the lifecycle of transactions. At the very beginning, we seek to mitigate risk and avoid disputes. However, should it transpire to the latter, our lawyers work closely with our clients to either resolve the matter through alternative dispute resolution matters like arbitration and mediation, or through litigating the matter, either in the civil or criminal courts. We have extensive legal experience at every level of the Singapore courts of justice, and our lawyers have appeared in a number of cases reported in the Singapore Law Reports.
Employment issues are of fundamental concern to both individuals and corporations alike. This is especially so given the growing emphasis on human capital development across the world. Such issues involve an intricate interplay between commercial objectives and normative considerations. Here at CNPLaw, our lawyers strive to help our clients find the balance required to nurture a positive working environment. We advise both employers and employees (whether local or foreign) on the areas below.
We provide legal advisory services to fund managers, investors and investee companies in relation to both open-end funds and closed-end funds that deal with a variety of asset classes and employ different investment strategies including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, mutual funds, commodity funds and exchange traded funds.
Each M&A deal entails the confluence of multiple legal disciplines. That is why we take great care when assembling a team for each deal, ensuring that there is an optimal mix of specialisation in the clients’ identified areas of concern, such as tax, employment and intellectual property, and necessary industry-specific experience.
We provide support to our clients at every stage of the deal. We will be there at the beginning of the process, helping to facilitate the negotiations between the parties and advising on the structure of the transaction. Once the parties have reached a consensus, we meticulously prepare the necessary documentation. Recognising that M&A deals are often the first page of a new chapter for the parties involved, we also provide post-transaction support to ensure a smooth transition such as the preparation of shareholder agreements, employment agreements, and other relevant commercial documentation.
Practice Areas:
Banking and Finance, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and ICOs, Capital Markets – Debt and Equity, Corporate and M&A, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Investment Funds