Withers has hired aviation specialist Paul Jebely (L) and hotels and hospitality expert Koh Tien Gui as partners in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively.
The hires of Jebely and Koh continue Withers’ recent lateral hiring streak in both in Singapore and Hong Kong. In the Lion City, Withers KhattarWong has made key hires to its private wealth and banking and finance practices in recent months, while in Hong Kong, the firm has expanded its disputes offering with additions from Bird & Bird and Simmons & Simmons.
Jebely was most recently at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, helping that firm launch its Hong Kong office in 2016. Jebely joined Pillsbury from Clyde & Co, where he was the global head of the aviation finance practice; he was earlier Ashurst’s head of aviation in Hong Kong. With Jebely’s departure, Pillsbury now has just one full-time lawyer in Hong Kong: Senior associate Luca Denora.
At Withers, Jebely will advise ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their business enterprises on all aspects of private aviation. So far, he has served as a counsel on more than $20 billion in transactions and has handled numerous restructuring and contentious matters.
Meanwhile, Koh joins Withers KhattarWong from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). He moved to the newly merged BCLP in 2018 as a partner from Rajah & Tann, and was earlier with Australian boutique Ryan Lawyers. Koh focuses on hotel management, franchise and leasing agreements, joint ventures and real-property acquisitions.
With these two recent additions, Withers now has 16 partners in Hong Kong and 30 partners in Singapore.
