Mayer Brown launches Joint Law Venture with PK Wong & Nair LLC and outlines investment plans in Singapore

Singapore, 3 January 2023 – Mayer Brown officially launched its joint law venture (“JLV”) with Singapore law firm PK Wong & Nair LLC (“PK Wong & Nair”) on 1 January 2023 to become the first JLV established in Singapore since November 2016.

The JLV, known as Mayer Brown PK Wong & Nair Pte. Ltd (“Mayer Brown”), is led by Mark Wong, Co-Managing Director of PK Wong & Nair and a partner at Mayer Brown, along with Yu Jin Tay, Mayer Brown’s Singapore Office Managing Partner. The JLV currently has over 30 lawyers including 17 partners, with plans to double headcount over the next two years. 

“Since obtaining approval for the JLV, the response from our global client base and the broader market has been overwhelmingly positive. This reaction has further highlighted the importance of Singapore as a regional hub for global business across Southeast Asia and the increasing prominence of Singapore law as a preferred governing law in the region.  We plan significant investment in the JLV over the next two years to further bolster our commitment to Singapore and the legal services we can provide our clients across the region,” said Yu Jin Tay, Mayer Brown’s Singapore Office Managing Partner.

Mayer Brown and PK Wong & Nair received formal approval from the Singapore Legal Services Regulatory Authority to form the JLV in October 2022. The JLV offers clients an integrated service, offering seamless advice on international and Singapore law, with all Singapore court litigation and related advice provided through PK Wong & Nair.  The JLV lawyers, which include 6 Directors from PK Wong & Nair, will be working together from the same office while PK Wong & Nair will retain a separate operation in order to undertake the areas of work the JLV is restricted from practising in Singapore.

"The past three months have been an exciting time for our firm as we have worked closely with Mayer Brown in preparing to launch the JLV. This is an important development for the broader legal services market in Southeast Asia and for the legal community in Singapore of which we are a long standing and proud member. The JLV provides an excellent platform for our lawyers to further develop and gain greater exposure to international work as Singapore continues to reinforce its status as a leading global financial and legal services hub,” said Mark Wong, Co-Managing Director of PK Wong & Nair and a Partner at Mayer Brown.

For Reference: October 2022 JLV approval announcement