Eversheds‘ Singapore best friend Khattar Wong & Partners (KWP) has this week lost a partner and an associate, the latest in a string of defections over the past few months.
Coudert Brothers has taken on shipping litigation partner Sin Lye Kuen to bolster the arbitration and litigation department. Also defecting to Couderts is fellow litigator Candice Kwok, who joins as an associate.
Last week, The Lawyer reported that a team of three lawyers left the firm to return to their old home Colin Ng & Partners. Leading the team was Tan Min-Li, who joined Colin Ng as co-head of the corporate finance department. Of the original eight-lawyer team that joined KWP from Colin Ng, the rest remain at KWP.
Insolvency partner Lionel Tay also left KWP earlier this year with a team of assistants to join Rajah & Tann
Co-managing partner Rajan Menon denied that the departures were significant, saying that none of the partners had been senior lawyers. He did admit that the firm had downsized its property and conveyancing department due to market conditions.
At the same time, a former litigation partner of the firm, Caleb Ezekiel, was last week charged in a district court in relation to S$130,000 (£45,600) which allegedly went missing from the firm’s client account. Menon denied Ezekiel had stolen the money.
