Drew & Napier

Drew & Napier LLC is one of Singapore’s leading law firms. Founded in 1889, the firm has more than 500 employees. It is regarded as one of the “Big Four” law firms in Singapore.[1]

Drew & Napier LLC
HeadquartersSingapore
No. of offices3
No. of employees500+
Major practice areasFull service firm
Key people
  • Jimmy Yim, SC (Chairman; Managing Director, Dispute Resolution)
  • Cavinder Bull, SC (CEO)
  • Sushil Nair (Deputy CEO)
  • Tony Yeo (Managing Director, IP)
  • Randolph Khoo (Deputy Managing Director, Dispute Resolution)
  • Lim Chong Kin (Managing Director, Corporate & Finance; Head, TMT; Co-Head, Competition Law & Regulatory Practice)
  • Ong Sim Ho (Managing Director, Corporate & Finance)
Date founded1889
FounderAlfred Henry Drew; Sir Walter John Napier
Company typeLimited liability company
Websitewww.drewnapier.com

Drew & Napier regularly advises governments, government institutions, regulatory authorities, financial institutions, local and multi-national corporations, including Fortune 500 and blue-chip companies, conglomerates, educational and non-profit organizations, and high-profile individuals.

In Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, the lawyers of Drew & Napier are particularly known for their expertise in litigation, international arbitration, insolvency, intellectual property, competition law, telecommunications, media & information technology, and tax matters. The firm has market-leading practices in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, employment and real estate & construction law.[2] [3] [4]

The chairman and chief executive officer of the firm are Senior Counsel (similar to a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom) Jimmy Yim, and Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull.[5] The firm has an additional Senior Counsel, Siraj Omar.[6]

In 2020, Drew & Napier LLC initiated alliances with other influential legal firms to launch a regional network of blue-chip firms. On 2 March 2020, Drew & Napier LLC from Singapore, Shearn Delamore & Co. from Malaysia, and Makarim & Taira S. from Indonesia came together to form Drew Network Asia (DNA).

History

The firm was founded in 1889 when Manchester barrister Walter John Napier joined English solicitor Alfred Henry Drew.[7]

Walter John Napier

In 2000, Drew & Napier formed into a limited liability company. The firm in 2011 moved to its current location at Ocean Financial Centre, Collyer Quay, Singapore.

Notable lawyers

Government

  • David Marshall – Singapore's first Chief Minister
  • Hri Kumar Nair, SC - Deputy Attorney-General
  • Indranee Rajah, SC – Minister, Prime Minister's Office; Second Minister for Finance and Education
  • Joseph Grimberg, SC - Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court, Singapore (1987-1989); first to be appointed Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice in January 1997 when this category was introduced
  • Judge of Appeal Judith Prakash – Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Singapore
  • Lucien Wong, SC – Attorney-General of Singapore
  • Judge of Appeal Steven Chong – Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Singapore
  • Professor S. Jayakumar - Former Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Law and Labour, and former Coordinating Minister for National Security

Legal

  • Tan Cheng Han, SC – Chairman, EW Barker Centre for Law & Business at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore; Chairman, Singapore Exchange Regulation Co
  • Davinder Singh, SC – Chairman, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

Awards and accolades
  • Named Singapore Litigation Law Firm of the Year at the Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia Law Awards 2019 for 15 years.[8]
  • Singapore Litigation Law Firm of the Year, Regional Litigation Law Firm of the Year, Debt Market Deal of the Year (Premium) and M&A Deal of the Year (Premium) at the Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia Law Awards 2018.[9]
  • Regional Litigation Law Firm of the Year and Singapore Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year at the Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia Law Awards 2019.[8]
  • Named Employer of Choice 2020 by Asian Legal Business for 11 years.[10]
  • Ranked Band 1 by Chambers and Partners 2020 for Litigation, Intellectual Property, Restructuring & Insolvency, Telecommunications, Media & Technology (TMT), and Competition / Antitrust.[2]
  • Ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000 2020 for Restructuring & Insolvency. Capital Markets, Banking & Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions and Project Development are leading practices.[3]
  • Ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2020 for Dispute Resolution, Employment, Competition / Antitrust, Private Wealth, Intellectual Property, and Restructuring & Insolvency.[4]
  • Ranked Tier 1 by Asian Legal Business 2020 IP Rankings in the areas of Patents and Trademarks / Copyrights for 8 years.[11]
  • Recognised as one of the world's top 100 international arbitration practices in 2020 by the Global Arbitration Review for 11 years.[12]
  • Recognised as one of the world's top 20 international restructuring practices in 2019 by the Global Restructuring Review for 2 years.[13]
  • Named Singapore Firm of the Year at the Asialaw Regional Awards 2019.[14]
  • Named Commercial & Transactions Firm of the Year at the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2019.[15]
  • Recipient of TMT Deal of the Year Award at the Asia Legal Awards 2019.  Previous recipient of Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency & Restructuring and M&A Deal of the Year: Southeast Asia at the Asia Legal Awards 2018.[16]
  • The first Singapore-based law firm to win India Practice, Asian Law Firm of the Year at the inaugural Asian Legal Business India Law Awards 2019.[17]
  • Named winner of the inaugural China practice, Asian Law Firm of the Year Award at the Asian Legal Business China Law Awards 2019.[18]
  • Named Singapore Firm of the Year award for Patent at the Asia IP Awards 2019.[19] Double winner at the 2018 Asia IP Awards: Singapore Trade Mark Firm of the Year; Singapore Patent Firm of the Year.[20] Previous recipient of the Singapore Trade Mark Firm of the Year award in 2016 for 5 consecutive years.[21]
  • Named Singapore Trade Mark Prosecution Firm of the Year at the inaugural Managing Intellectual Property Asia Pacific Awards 2019.[22]  Previous winner of the 2018 Prosecution IP Firm of the Year award at the inaugural Managing Intellectual Property Asia Pacific Awards.[23] Previously recipient of the Singapore Contentious Intellectual Property Firm of the Year 2017 by Managing Intellectual Property for 5 years.[24]
  • Named National Law Firm of the Year – Singapore at the Asialaw & Benchmark Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2018.[25]
  • Named Regional and Specialist firm for India work by the India Business Law Journal in 2018 for 5 consecutive years.[26]
  • Named Southeast Asia Law Firm of the Year and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year at the Year at the Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia Law Awards 2017.[27]
  • Recipient of Matter of the Year at the Asialaw Litigation Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2017.[28]
  • Named a Top 10 firm in Asia in Asian Legal Business’ Innovative List 2016.[29]
  • Recipient of Restructuring Deal of the Year Awards at the IFLR Asia Awards 2016.[30]
  • Named Best Domestic Arbitration Firm of the Year at the Asialaw Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2015.[31]
  • Recipient of M&A Deal of the Year Awards at the IFLR Asia Awards 2014.[32]

Corporate social responsibility

As part of the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility & Pro Bono Legal Services programme, Drew & Napier lawyers offer complimentary legal advice at legal clinics, assist charities and non-profit organization with their registration procedures, agreements, and other legal matters, and also act on legal matters for accused individuals without means.

In 2019, Drew & Napier was conferred “The Contributor of the Year” award by The Singapore Law Society, which recognizes law firms that have made a significant monetary contribution to the Law Society through sponsorships and donations.[33]

Drew also received the ‘Impact Award’ at Trustlaw Awards 2014,[34] and the “Best Contribution from Law Firm Award” by the Legal Aid Bureau in 2012, 2014, and 2016.[35][36][37]

The firm was the only law firm to receive an award in the ‘Large-Firm’ category in the Legal Aid Bureau Best Contribution from Law Firm Award 2012 (Large Firm – Silver Award) by the Ministry of Law in recognition of its Pro Bono contribution.[38]

References
  1. Grace So (4 February 2016). "Big Four continue to sweep top law rankings". The Business Times. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. "Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific > Drew & Napier LLC". Chambers and Partners. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  3. "IFLR 1000 > Drew & Napier LLC". International Financial Law Review (IFLR) 1000. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  4. "The Legal 500 > Drew & Napier LLC". The Legal 500. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  5. "Our Senior Counsel". Drew & Napier LLC. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. "D&N Directors: Siraj Omar, SC". www.drewnapier.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  7. Ilsa Sharp, (1990). The History of Drew & Napier, 1889-1989. Singapore: International Press Co (Pte) Ltd, Drew & Napier
  8. "ALB Southeast Asia Law Awards 2019". Asian Legal Business. 8 June 2020.
  9. "ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2018 | Asian Legal Business". 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  10. "ALB Employer of Choice 2020". Asian Legal Business. 8 June 2020.
  11. "ALB IP Rankings 2020". Asian Legal Business. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  12. Global Arbitration Review. "GAR 100 - 13th Edition". Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  13. GRR 100 - 3rd Edition, Global Restructuring Review, 26 June 2019
  14. Asialaw (30 May 2019). "Asialaw Regional Awards 2019 – Winners Announced". Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  15. Benchmark Litigation (20 September 2019). "Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2019 – Winners revealed". Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  16. "Asia Legal Awards 2018 Winners". The Asian Lawyer. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  17. "India Law Awards 2019". Asian Legal Business. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  18. "ALB China Law Awards 2019".
  19. Asia IP (14 January 2020). "Asia IP Awards 2019: Toasting the winners".
  20. "Asia IP Awards 2018". Asia Intellectual Property. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  21. "Asia IP Awards 2016". Asia Intellectual Property. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  22. Managing IP (21 March 2019). "Managing IP Asia Awards 2019 winners".
  23. "Managing IP Asia Awards 2018". Managing Intellectual Property. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  24. "Managing IP Global Awards 2017". Managing Intellectual Property. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  25. "Asialaw & Benchmark Litigation Dispute Resolution Awards 2018". Asialaw. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  26. "India Regional Specialist Firms 2018". India Business Law Journal. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  27. "ALB Southeast Asia Law Awards 2017". Asian Legal Business. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  28. "Asialaw Asia Pacific Litigation Dispute Resolution Awards 2017". Asialaw. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  29. ALB Innovation List 2016, Asian Legal Business, 24 March 2016.
  30. IFLR Asia Awards 2016, International Financial Law Review (IFLR). Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  31. Asialaw Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2015, Asialaw. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  32. "IFLR Asia Awards 2014". International Financial Law Review (IFLR). 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  33. Law Gazette, Law Society of Singapore (9 January 2020). "Law Society Annual Dinner 2019".
  34. "TrustLaw Awards 2014". Thomson Reuters Foundation News. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  35. Minister for Law. "Legal Aid Bureau Best Contribution from Law Firm Award 2012" (PDF).
  36. Minister for Law. "Legal Aid Bureau Best Contribution from Law Firm Award 2014" (PDF).
  37. Minister for Law. "Legal Aid Bureau Best Contribution from Law Firm Award 2016" (PDF).
  38. Legal Aid Bureau Best Contribution from Law Firm Award, Ministry of Law, Singapore, 18 October 2012.
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