Date Published: 17 February 2022
Key contacts: Lisa Theng and Pradeep Kumar Singh.
Lawyers ranked: Lisa Theng, Pradeep Kumar Singh, Tan Min-Li, Quek Li Fei, Bill Jamieson, See Tow Soo Ling, Subramanian Pillai, Ken Chia, Amit Dhume, Wong Pei-Ling, Low Wee Siong and Kenn Lim.
CNPLaw LLP (CNP) is pleased to announce that seven of our practices and twelve of our lawyers have been “Recommended by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022”.
CNPLaw’s Managing Partner, Ms Lisa Theng commented on the firm’s rankings:“We are delighted that our various teams have been recognised by Legal 500 Asia Pacific. This recognition is a testament to the commitment and drive of our people to provide practical and quality advice to our clients. The twelve lawyers recognised by Legal 500 are leading experts in their various fields of practice and we celebrate their achievements. We are grateful to our clients for the trust given to us over the years. Special thanks also to Legal 500 Asia Pacific for this recognition. Our team of talented lawyers and staff are encouraged and will continue to serve our clients with excellence.”
The practices recommended and the reviews provided by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022:
Banking and Finance:
CNPLaw LLP‘s team is focused on advising banks, financial institutions and investment funds, as well as corporate borrowers, on domestic and cross-border financing transactions. The group’s experience covers acquisition and leveraged finance, asset and asset-backed financing, debt restructuring and insolvency. Real estate-related finance is a forte for the firm, which is also active in the TMT and shipping arenas. Quek Li Fei heads the department with varied experience pertaining to secured and unsecured lending in Singapore and across borders and a particular specialism in project finance. English-qualified Bill Jamieson is able to provide expertise in financial services regulations. Kenn Lim and Wong Pei-Ling are also lawyers of note. In January 2021, the team was joined by Low Wee Siong from Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC.
Capital Markets – Debt and Equity:
CNPLaw LLP‘s corporate finance group, valued for its ‘knowledge and integrity‘, is highly involved in domestic capital markets, advising issuers and underwriters on their debt and equity transactions. The group is able to draw on other strong practices within the firm, that regularly assist with dispute resolution, intellectual property and real estate issues arising from capital markets work. In January 2021, the group was boosted by the arrival of Low Wee Siong from Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC, who brought with him expertise in transactions involving Hong Kong-listed companies. Pradeep Kumar Singh is a veteran of the space, often handling IPOs and debt securities issuances. The team is led by Tan Min-Li, praised by clients as ‘an extremely reliable, attentive, innovative and solution driven lawyer‘.
One client shared: ‘I’ve been working with Min-Li on a number of transactions over the past few years. She is extremely reliable, attentive, innovative and solution driven lawyer. She has demonstrated a unique ability to understand the capital markets deeply and provide thoughtful legal, risk, strategic and structural analysis and advice for a transaction. Her values run deeper than a transaction and the fees. She is respected by the bankers and the other party and its counsel. Her ability to lead and steer the discussion in her client’s favour and yet leave a win-win position on the table is well appreciated.‘
Another source notes: “Knowledge, integrity, solution-driven, multi-faceted, commercial, reasonableness, win-win situation.”
Corporate and M&A:
A ‘very proactive, consumer-focused’ team, CNPLaw LLP is active across the ASEAN region, especially in Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, with an ever-increasing roster of Chinese clients. Lisa Theng is the go-to for corporate governance and compliance affairs while Ken Chia hones his focus on M&A, joint ventures, restructuring and private equity affairs. The team counts manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, logistics, e-commerce, technology and retail as its key pillars. Bill Jamieson, who is dual-qualified in Singapore and England, specialises in supporting overseas clients who are looking to tap into Asian markets.
Clients have shared the following testimonials relating to the practice:
“They are very customer focussed and could pre-empt pitfalls. Very proactive.”
“Firm is big enough to have access to competent legal counsel /platform in most areas of law while being small enough to still have an efficient overlap/interaction between departments and skillsets.”
“Bill Jamieson is very consistent in giving timely and accurate advice as well as drafting, delivering or turning around of papers which are of high quality, with a first time right approach.”
“Lisa Theng and her team are quick witted, authentic and willing to solve any problems.”
Dispute Resolution:
The disputes team at CNPLaw LLP specialises in disputes related to construction and engineering, in which the team acts for developers, main contractors, and specialised sub-contractors. See Tow Soo Ling and Subramanian Pillai co-lead the diverse practice which also handles IP,, family, commercial disputes, and property litigation.
One client shared: ‘Good client management skills and prompt delivery of work.’
Financial Services Regulatory:
CNPLaw LLP’s financial regulatory lawyers have a strong focus on emerging financial technologies, advising on issues relating to payment services, blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital token offerings. The practice is headed by Mr Quek Li Fei.
One client shared: ‘Strong relationship orientation. Ability to apply traditional knowledge as well as adaptability to help progress more cutting edge disruptive areas of legal practice. Very responsive to working within identified time frames.’
Investment Funds:
CNPLaw LLP has an established record in open-end and closed-end funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds and mutual funds. The team is also noted for its funds formation and regulatory expertise, and the firm is increasingly active in the open-ended VCC space. Rounded lawyer Bill Jamieson is a specialist in Singapore and international law matters, with extensive expertise in cross-border matters. Mr Amit Dhume provides further specialism in funds formation and regulatory issues.
Key clients of the firm include Dios Asset Management Pte Ltd, Impact Capital Asset Management Pte Ltd, Blue Ashva Global VCC, Hera Capital Partners Pte Ltd, Hera Capital Partners Holdings V Pte Ltd and NAV Fund Services (Singapore) Private Limited
Labour and Employment:
CNPLaw LLP fields a team of multi-skilled and versatile lawyers, noted mainly for its non-contentious and transaction-related expertise. It represents a number of Singapore-based and regional businesses. Lead partners Bill Jamieson and Pradeep Kumar Singh have broad corporate and commercial experience, and they are also able to advise on employment law issues.
Key clients of the firm include Innovatrics s.r.o., Merx Aviation Singapore Pte Ltd, MSIG Holdings (Asia) Pte Ltd, Tech Data (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Tech Data Corporation and True Partner Technology Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Hong Kong listed True Partner Capital Holding Limited.
One client shared: ‘Very good solid legal advice. Always well thought through and covers all the points required.’
The lawyers recommended by the publication:
- Ms Lisa Theng for Banking and Finance and Corporate and M&A
- Mr Pradeep Kumar Singh for Capital Markets and 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 Subramanian Pillai for Dispute Resolution
- Mr Ken Chia for Corporate and M&A
- Mr Amit Dhume for Investment Funds
- Ms Wong Pei-Ling for Banking and Finance and Capital Markets
- Mr Low Wee Siong for Banking and Finance and Capital Markets
- Mr Kenn Lim 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.
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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