Singapore is a financial and legal hub for Asia Pacific. My own legal practice for the last 18 years has revolved around international arbitration work and cross border commercial disputes involving ASEAN regional economies, South Asia and even the UK and Europe. Personally, I was fortunate as I started working in large local firms, followed by international firms when the market opened up in Singapore, including the world’s largest firm. This meant that I had golden opportunities to network with and learn from colleagues in other offices and other regional firms and work on cases involving foreign laws and legal systems. The work I did also allowed me to be part of networks of law firms such as IPBA and more recently LawAsia, again allowing for thought leadership opportunities at international conferences.
After I left Big Law in 2021 and moved to a boutique disputes firm in Singapore, I was intentional about maintaining and strengthening my international practice and client base. I signed up for Lawyers Go Global Missions to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi in 2022 and 2023 respectively, and attended and spoke at arbitration and disputes weeks in ASEAN, South and North Asia.
In my first year of SC LLC, I was focussed on building up the team and client work. However, in our 2nd year, I intentionally and keenly focussed on conferences and disputes weeks circuit, covering 6 countries from August to December 2025, while still running a heavy case load and intense and complex hearings at least twice a month. These efforts have certainly borne fruit as I have expanded our Firm’s footprint in a number of ASEAN countries and South Asia. The contacts new and old made in London with the Lawyers Go Global trip in November 2025 were rejuvenating and keep me focussed on the global platform that we are trying to build at SC LLC.
As we wrap up 2025, I look back with pride at how much ground we have covered (literally) and the impact we have made on our clients all over the world but also God’s providence for us to fly our flag abroad and make new friends and visit with old ones.
Regionalising your practice is a topic close to my heart and I would encourage all my dear friends who run their own boutique law firms (small and mid-sized) to focus their efforts not just on Singapore (which is an amazing domestic market) but on the region and beyond. In the disputes world at least, the global boutiques have come to play a strong and significant role and I strongly believe that this trend will only carry on in the next 5 – 10 years. Technology is an amazing leveller, and strong cross-border relationships can go very far in building a platform for collaboration on complex matters.
#CrossBorder #Regionalisation #SCinSesh #InternationalWork #TheSCLLC #PrideAndJoy #GlobalBoutiques #TheJourneyof1000milesStartsWithOneStep