The Singapore office of international law firm Hill Dickinson has joined forces with Singapore law firm PDLegal in a formal law alliance.
The alliance received approval from the Singapore Legal Services Regulatory Authority and was effective from the start of August, Hill Dickinson revealed this week.
Such alliances have become commonplace in the Asian city-state as it provides a pathway for international law firms to serve clients at a local level with lawyers who are licensed to practise law under Singapore’s legal system.
This latest alliance will operate under the name Hill Dickinson PDLegal Alliance, although both firms remain separate entities.
Andrew Lee, managing partner of Hill Dickinson’s Singapore office, said that the decision to partner with a local law firm came at the “right time” and was in direct response to client needs.
Using the resources of both firms, the alliance can accept instructions on both Singapore law and foreign law matters, which allows them to advise and assist their clients jointly.
“In the 15 years since we opened in Singapore, the key to our success has been to work closely with our clients, really listen to what they want and evolve our service offering to accommodate that,” he said.
Peter Doraisamy, managing partner of PDLegal, said: “We are excited to join forces with them. This demonstrates our commitment to growing our capabilities in this globalised world. Being allied with a larger international law firm allows us to provide our clients with the holistic support needed to navigate the complexities of international law while ensuring compliance with local regulations.”
“The alliance allows us to simplify the legal process for our clients by giving them a single point of contact for all their legal matters, whether subject to local or international law,” Lee added while noting that clients can directly access Singapore law advice through Hill Dickinson, not only in respect of arbitration matters but in many more areas.
Hill Dickinson opened in Singapore in 2009 and claims to offer one of the largest maritime and trade teams in the country, providing commercial arbitration and shipping-related transactional work and commercial advisory services.
Singapore-headquartered PDLegal was set up by Doraisamy in 2017 and advertises itself as being one of the country’s leading full-service regional law firms. Over the years, it has expanded its presence to Malaysia, India, China and Vietnam.
