Headquarters Singapore No. of lawyers over 500 Date founded 1954 | No. of offices 9 Major practice areas General Practice Founded 1954 | |
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Key people Eng Beng Lee, SC, PBM (Managing Partner); Patrick Ang (Deputy Managing Partner) Founders Tann Wee Tiong, Thampore T Rajah Profiles | ||
Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP is a transnational law firm headquartered in Singapore with offices in Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Founded in 1954, it is the largest law firm in Southeast Asia with over 300 lawyers and fee-earners. The firm is incorporated as a limited liability partnership in Singapore. It has practices in banking, competition, corporate governance, corporate finance, dispute resolution, information technology, infrastructure, insolvency, insurance, mergers and acquisitions, shipping, telecommunications and trade. The firm is additionally known for its China, Japan and South Asia specific practice groups.
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Rajah & Tann's clientele ranges from multinational and Fortune 500 corporations to emerging high-tech enterprises and start-ups. The firm's well known alumni include V.K. Rajah, Steven Chong and Sundaresh Menon. Eng Beng Lee has been the managing partner since 2010.
History
In 1954, Rajah & Tann was founded by Tamphore T Rajah and Tann Wee Tiong. Thampore Rajah and Tann Wee Tiong were also the founding members of People's Action Party. At that time, Rajah & Tann was the only law firm founded and run by Singaporeans.
T. T. Rajah's son V. K. was appointed as the managing partner in 1987. He oversaw the growth of the firm from 6 lawyers to more than 160 lawyers and 200 staff. Steven Chong was appointed as the joint managing partner in 1998.
In 2004, Steven Chong was appointed as sole managing partner when V. K. Rajah was elevated to the bench as a Judicial Commissioner.
On 1 January 2008, the partnership law firm of Rajah & Tann converted to a limited liability partnership.
In 2009, S.R. Nathan, former President of Singapore, appointed Steven Chong and deputy managing partner, Quentin Loh to the bench. Subsequently, Sundaresh Menon and Eng Beng Lee were appointed as managing and deputy managing partners respectively.
In October 2010, Eng Beng Lee took over as the managing partner when Sundaresh Menon was appointed as the Attorney-General of Singapore.
Reputation
Rajah & Tann is regarded as a part of the Singapore Big Four, and is the largest law firm in Southeast Asia. The other three law firms in the Big Four are Allen & Gledhill LLP, WongPartnership LLP and Drew & Napier LLC. The firm established a representative office in Shanghai in 2003. Kuala Lumpur based Kamilah & Chong (currently known as Christopher & Lee Ong) is an associate law firm since November 2007.
In 2011, Rajah & Tann set up offices in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Vientiane as a part of its strategy for regional expansion. The firm began its operations in Phnom Penh and Yangon in January 2013. There are plans for further expansion to Indonesia. The firm earns up to 25 percent of its total revenues from regional and international work, and aims to grow the proportion of turnover derived overseas to 50 percent in the next five years.
The firm was ranked in the top tiers of the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2011-2012 edition. The ranked practices were banking, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring and insolvency. It was also voted as the "Most Responsive Domestic Firm of the Year" in Singapore by the 2011 Asia-MENA Counsel Firms of the Year survey.
At the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Southeast Asia Law Awards ceremony held in May 2011, Rajah & Tann won the IPP Financial Advisers Award, Singapore M&A Deal of the Year Award and the Singapore Deal of the Year Award. The firm was also jointly recognized as the International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year 2011.
In a survey conducted by the Global Arbitration Review, Rajah & Tann was ranked among the world's top 30 law firms in international arbitration for three years running. The firm is ranked 24th in a list of 30, based on cases handled, size of claims and other qualitative and quantitative data. According to the survey, the value of the total arbitration portfolio is USD 7.4 billion. Dispute resolution consists of 55 to 60 percent of the work at the firm.
In July 2011, the board of directors at Lex Mundi, a professional legal services network, voted unanimously to admit Rajah & Tann as the exclusive member firm from Singapore.
Charitable activities
The Rajah & Tann Foundation was set up in early 2011 to give a portion of the firm's earnings annually to social causes. The firm has committed to an annual contribution of at least SGD 200,000. There are plans for expansion of the program for charitable causes in Southeast Asia. The Foundation is administered by the Community Foundation of Singapore.