Singapore, 24 June 2014 – Leading Singapore law firm, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, today announced that the Taylor Wessing network will open two representative offices in the USA. The offices, in Palo Alto and New York, will both open in September this year. Taylor Wessing is a leader for M&A and inward investment from the US into Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Combined with a market-leading reputation in IP and technology, Taylor Wessing represents many prominent US companies, ranging from early stage business to some of the largest corporations and brands in the world, in particular in the tech, media and communications, life sciences, healthcare and energy sectors. Taylor Wessing has dedicated US client teams in the world's major investor capitals and many of our lawyers spend all of their time serving the needs of US businesses looking to expand, organically or through acquisition, into those economies.  Taylor Wessing will not be practicing US law, but rather using its locations in Palo Alto and New York to support US clients' international growth. The lawyers in the Palo Alto office will be Mark Barron, corporate technology,  currently based in London, Dr. Kai Westerwelle, technology and data protection, currently based in Frankfurt, and Dennis Tan, corporate technology, currently based in Singapore. They will provide on-the-ground access to the firm's teams of highly experienced lawyers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Mike Turner, a corporate technology partner, will be heading the New York office (splitting his time between New York and London) and will be supported by a team of lawyers from Taylor Wessing's international network. Mark Barron comments: "European expansion has long been a part of the growth strategy for successful US businesses, and now we are seeing a growing triangulation between the US, Europe - notably London, Berlin and Paris - and Singapore for tech innovation and investment in particular, with Singapore attracting an increasing level of US investment, especially from businesses on the West Coast. In addition, US businesses have undertaken considerable investment into the CEE region. As such, our US offices, combined with our long-standing presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, mean we are now perfectly placed to advise US businesses on the best way to approach their international expansion, help them navigate all the practical challenges that presents, and provide the full range of services to enable them to continue to grow once they're there." Dr. Kai Westerwelle comments: “With the opening of our new representative offices in Palo Alto and New York we fulfil the increasing need of US companies for competent on-site advice with respect to their target markets in Europe, CEE, and Asia. Furthermore, we support international clients in realising their US strategies. Thus, after the successful expansions in Europe and Asia, this step into the USA is another milestone in the internationalisation of Taylor Wessing.” Tan Chong Huat, Managing Partner, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing comments: “We consider Singapore to be the gateway to Southeast Asia and our ASEAN+ footprint will provide US clients with efficient access to these markets. With this exciting development, we look forward to assisting US companies with a full range of services in Singapore and access to the wider ASEAN+ region.  We are on the cusp of exciting times for tech start-ups and companies and with our legal expertise and international reach, we also hope to contribute to Singapore’s efforts to build a regional start-up and technology hub.”

Beijing Arbitration Commission (BJAC) held their second Annual Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China on 6 June 2014 in London. The Right Honourable Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, CVO, Justice of the UK Supreme Court and Madame Wang Hongsong, Vice-Chair of the BJAC (among others) gave Opening Remarks.  The Honourable Mr Justice Vivian Ramsey and senior lawyers from international law firms spoke on various panels dealing with recent dispute resolution developments in various substantive areas of Chinese law such as international trade and investment, construction and real estate, finance, and energy. Mr Arvin Lee, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing’s Head for China-Related Disputes was invited by the BJAC to chair the finance panel.  Mr Laurence Lieberman, Partner of Taylor Wessing UK gave the Closing Speech with the Honourable Mr Justice William Blair of the UK High Court (Commercial Court). Arvin raised questions and made comments on substantive issues such as a recent Supreme People’s Court of China judgment pertaining to value-adjustment mechanisms in private equity deals; Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on financial issues; and the new Shanghai Free Trade Zone and arbitrability of disputes both by the Shanghai arbitration bodies and the BJAC.  Laurence emphasised the increasingly pro-arbitration stance in China, particularly in recent pronouncements from the Supreme People's Court, and the encouraging statistics evidencing a relatively low level of successful challenges in the Chinese courts to the setting aside of foreign arbitration awards.  Laurence also highlighted the efforts made by the BJAC and other regional arbitral bodies to adapt and evolve their rules to meet accepted international practice particularly around joinder and consolidation, as well as highlighting the importance of arbitration as a means of resolving Chinese financial services disputes.

With the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the 5th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2014) was held in Singapore on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June 2014. Nizam Ismail, Partner, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing took part as the only private sector representative in a Panel discussing the evolving regulatory and legal landscape for Islamic Finance:  Global Developments and Regional and Domestic Implications. During the panel discussion, Nizam suggested the need for Mutual Recognition Arrangements between Singapore and the Middle East, to facilitate more cross-border transactions, especially for products like Shariah-compliant funds, Islamic REITS and Business Trusts. While this is a long-term and complex process, regulatory efforts should commence now. Nizam compared the varying regulatory approaches taken by Singapore and Malaysia to facilitate Islamic Finance to suit the needs for their respective jurisdictions.  Nizam pointed out the need for banks and financial institutions to pay more focus on developing robust Islamic Finance Compliance Frameworks to meet increasing regulatory expectations and cautioned that the risk of non-Shariah compliance not only brings reputational risks, but also legal and statutory criminal risks (for instance, in Malaysia). RHTLaw Taylor Wessing is a proud sponsor of the 5th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference.

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing’s Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Mr Subhas Anandan is set to appear for a high-stakes court case tomorrow after being out of action for six months. In a Straits Times interview yesterday, Mr Subhas added that the medical leave gave him the perfect opportunity to start on his second book. The partners, management and staff at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing are delighted to welcome Mr Subhas back to the office.