Dentons has become the first global law firm to combine with a law firm in India, as it finalised its tie-up with full-service firm Link Legal in October.
Link Legal has five offices across India in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, as well as an existing New York office, which it launched in February 2022. It is ranked across nine practice areas in The Legal 500’s Asia-Pacific guide, with top-tier rankings in aviation and projects and energy.
As foreign lawyers are prohibited from practising in India, Link Legal will represent clients inside India, while Dentons lawyers will represent Link Legal’s clients elsewhere. Despite the regulatory restrictions, the combination, based on a Swiss Verein structure, mirrors the set up with its offices globally. Says global chair Joe Andrew (pictured): ‘They will be full complete members of Dentons; there is no difference between their relationship to the firm than that in London or Paris or New York or anywhere else. It’s a full combination. And that’s what’s unique about it, it just has never been done before, not anything close. Everyone else has had these attenuated relationships and they have tried to do something that’s different, to be able to manage either their own perceptions of the regulatory market or their fears about the regulatory market.’
‘There are key markets that it’s very hard to argue do not help the financial centres in the world, and India is a clear example.’ Joe Andrew, Dentons
The global giant now has 215 offices across 83 countries and sees India as a key market to support the growth of its global corporate and finance practices. Andrew adds: ‘There are key markets that it’s very hard to argue do not help the financial centres in the world, and India is a clear example. Being the only global firm offering in India gives us a giant boost in the capital markets practices and in the larger elite corporate and M&A practices in London and in New York and other markets like that.’
Meanwhile, Goodwin became the latest US firm to launch in Singapore with the relocation of a team from Hong Kong. The team, which includes funds partner Greg Barclay, private equity partner Abhishek Krishnan and counsel Ananth Lakshman, will initially focus on private equity, technology and M&A.
Barclay, who relocated to Hong Kong from London in 2018, will chair the office. He says: ‘We see Singapore as fitting right in the middle of the firm’s global strategy in terms of our core focuses on private equity, technology, life sciences, financial services and real estate. If you look at where our clients are looking for the best opportunities to invest and to raise and structure capital, Singapore is increasingly seen as a hub.’
The Boston-bred firm first launched in Asia in late 2008 with two lawyers in Hong Kong. The firm now has more than 30 lawyers in the region, with recent additions including private equity partner Daniel Dusek in June 2022 from Kirkland & Ellis and Elyn Xing who joined in October last year from Debevoise & Plimpton.
Goodwin’s launch coincides with a recent pivot by several firms away from Hong Kong. This has seen the relocation of Hong Kong partners as firms invest in the city state, while Addleshaw Goddard last month shut its Hong Kong office completely.
But for Goodwin, its investment in Singapore does not mean a departure from Hong Kong, confirms Barclay: ‘We continue to see China as an incredibly important part of our overall Asia strategy and most of our clients in the private equity investment sphere continue to see the importance of China and North Asia generally, but clients are also certainly taking advantage of the opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia, which is fast growing in terms of tech and crypto, in particular. The region also continues to strengthen on the real estate side.’
As for its plans for the Singapore office, it’s a case of watch this space as the firm marks its intention of deploying a characteristically ambitious recruitment strategy: ‘We’re here not just with a small group from Hong Kong, we have aspirations to grow and we certainly will be adding more people in the coming months.’