UK law firm Simmons & Simmons has beefed up its partner strength in Asia by hiring Terence Seah in Singapore from Stephenson Harwood and Jeffrey Friedenberg as the head of its private funds practice in Hong Kong, and also relocating disputes partner Steven Kaye to Singapore from London.
Seah will bring more than two decades of experience to Simmons. He advises international corporations and financial institutions on arbitration and litigation. Seah joined Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance as a partner in 2015 from Shook Lin & Bok. He earlier worked at WongPartnership and Drew & Napier.
With 15 years of experience, Kaye specialises in the construction sector and advises on construction disputes, including defending professional negligence claims against design and build contractors, architects, engineers, surveyors and project managers. Having started his career at Kennedys in 2009, Kaye joined Simmons in 2018 as a managing associate in London and became a partner in 2022.
These arrivals have doubled the number of Simmons Singapore disputes partners to four. Emily Monastiriotis, international head of dispute resolution at Simmons, said in a statement that the duo make “a bold statement from the firm about its commitment to investing in Singapore and the wider region.”
Meanwhile, Friedenberg joins in Hong Kong from alternative investment company Angelo Gordon, where he was the head of legal and compliance. Friedenberg has roughly 25 years of experience and advises asset managers, financial institutions, family offices, and institutional investors on asset management and investment funds, including fund formation, capital raising, portfolio investments and fund-related compliance.
At Angelo Gordon, Friedenberg provided transactional, advisory, and regulatory counsel to its private equity real estate, private credit, and client partnership groups. Prior to that, he worked in in-house roles at Blackstone and Pathway Capital Management, and at law firms Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis.
Eva Chan, head of the Hong Kong office of Simmons, commented in a statement that the new arrival is “invaluable as we continue to expand our presence in the Asia Pacific and Greater China region.”
Last year, Simmons recorded at least three lateral partner hires in Asia. Trade finance specialist Angelia Chia moved from Mayer Brown Singapore in June, while the former co-chair of U.S. firm Latham & Watkins’ oil and gas industry group, David Blumental, joined in Hong Kong in May. In February, employment lawyer Wendy Wong returned to the firm in Hong Kong following a 14-month stint at DLA Piper.
