U.S. law firm O'Melveny has rebuilt its presence in Singapore with the addition of Stephanie Keen (L) and Sylvia Taslim as partners from Hogan Lovells. They become O’Melveny’s first resident partners in the city-state in some years.

Both lawyers specialise in M&A and private equity, with Keen being a former head of Hogan Lovells' Asia-Pacific private equity and corporate and finance practices.

With nearly three decades of experience, she has advised corporations, lenders, and mid-market private equity sponsors on leveraged buy-outs, cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, equity offerings, and corporate restructurings in multiple jurisdictions. Keen, who spent 18 years at Hogan Lovells, including a stint as Singapore managing partner, also worked at Fried Frank and Ashurst earlier in her career.

Meanwhile, Taslim has nearly two decades of experience advising clients on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, public takeovers, private equity transactions, and venture capital investing. She has particular expertise in energy M&A transactions. Taslim had been at Hogan Lovells since 2021, prior to which she worked at King & Spalding, Clifford Chance, and Allen & Gledhill.

“Many of our clients have a significant—and growing—presence in Singapore, and the rise in South and Southeast Asia transactional activity has led to greater demand for sophisticated advisors of Stephanie and Sylvia’s calibre,” said Bradley J. Butwin, O’Melveny's chair, in a statement. "Our clients will immediately benefit from their deep experience and exceptional talent."

The statement added that the firm had hired 23 lateral partners globally since 2023, including 14 corporate partners.

The departures of Keen and Taslim leaves Hogan Lovells with seven partners in Singapore, including head of infrastructure Matt Bubb, who joined in September last year.