Four disputes lawyers have left Singapore Big Four firm Allen & Gledhill to set up a new boutique firm called Chua & Partners. They are led by Chua Kee Loon, former co-deputy head of international arbitration at Allen & Gledhill.

Chua will be managing partner of the new firm, with the other partners being Nicholas Tan, Sheryl Koh, and Ng Si Ming. Both Tan and Ng were partners at A&G, while Koh was a senior associate.

Specialising in international arbitration with a focus on commercial, energy and building disputes across the Southeast Asian region, Chua’s practice experience spans more than two decades. His experience also includes investor-state arbitrations. He joined A&G in 2013 from Rajah & Tann, and previously also worked at Jones Day.

Tan specialises in international arbitration, international litigation, and arbitration-related litigation across industries such as hospitality, technology and media, energy, construction and engineering, private equity and banking and financial institutions. He joined A&G in 2013, and became a partner in 2019. Tan was at Baker McKenzie earlier in his career. 

Ng, who spent a decade at A&G after a short stint at Rajah & Tann, primarily focuses on international arbitration in the infrastructure, construction, and energy sector, as well as in industries such as finance and Web3.

Meanwhile, Koh has experience in international arbitration and litigation across matters like company and shareholder disagreements, construction disputes, defamation, employment issues, insolvency proceedings, investment conflicts, joint venture clashes and Web3 disputes. She had been at A&G since 2014.

The establishment of Chua & Partners provides yet more evidence of the continued vibrancy of Singapore’s legal industry, particularly in the disputes space as the city-state steps up efforts to make itself a regional dispute resolution hub. About two months ago, Rajah & Tann partners Danny Ong and Wern-Jhien Yam left to set up another disputes boutique called Setia Law.