From Singapore and Hong Kong to Gurgaon and Tokyo, four firms have moved on the same day to deepen their benches in the practice areas now driving the region’s work, international arbitration, regulatory disputes, energy transition, and cross-border compliance.
Four announcements landing together offer a useful snapshot of where legal demand in Asia-Pacific is concentrated. Drew & Napier has elevated four senior practitioners in Singapore; Sidley Austin has recruited a disputes partner in Hong Kong; Sagus Legal has opened a new office in Gurgaon under a former in-house leader; and Orrick has added an energy partner in Tokyo. The moves span different markets and models, but share a common thread: firms are investing in the talent that handles complex, cross-border, and increasingly technology-adjacent matters.
Singapore: Drew & Napier Promotes Four to Managing Director
Drew & Napier has named four new managing directors from its dispute resolution and intellectual property practices. Yuet Min Foo and Mahesh Rai step up from the disputes team, while Yvonne Tang and Siau Wen Lim take leadership roles in IP. All four also join the firm’s management committee, which oversees its strategic direction.
Hong Kong: Sidley Recruits Ashurst’s Former Disputes Head
Sidley Austin has strengthened its Hong Kong disputes practice by hiring James Comber, formerly head of dispute resolution at Ashurst in Hong Kong, as a partner. Comber brings more than 20 years of experience, including nearly 13 years at Ashurst.
Comber focuses on contentious regulatory, financial and commercial disputes, acting for financial institutions, asset managers and brokerages. He has handled investigations before the Securities and Futures Commission, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the Commercial Crime Bureau, as well as high-value commercial litigation and arbitration across Asia.
India: Sagus Legal Expands in Gurgaon
Sagus Legal has opened a new office at Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon. It has appointed Aashima Shrivastava as a partner and head of the Gurgaon office within its corporate, commercial, and compliance practice. The office complements the firm’s existing presence in Gurgaon and its New Delhi headquarters.
Japan: Orrick Builds Out Tokyo Energy Team
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has added Andrew Duncalf as a partner in its Tokyo energy and infrastructure team, joining from A&O Shearman, where he was a senior associate. Duncalf advises on cross-border investment in renewables, liquefied natural gas, and traditional energy projects, and will work with Orrick’s Tokyo and Singapore teams to advise Japanese companies, export credit agencies, development banks, trading houses, and other sponsors and lenders on deals across Southeast Asia.
The Throughline
Taken together, the four moves track the matters that keep regional practices busy: arbitration and regulatory disputes in Singapore and Hong Kong, the energy transition flowing through Japanese capital, and an Indian market layering AI, data, and digital-regulation capabilities onto traditional corporate and compliance work. Whether through internal promotion, lateral hiring, or new offices, the firms are positioning for cross-border demand and, increasingly, for the technology questions now woven through it.
