Aparna Sai

The 16th annual Japan Law Awards, a virtual event held on Sept. 24, was a resounding success, honouring the who’s who of the country’s legal industry, including in-house counsel, law firms and private practice lawyers.

Richard Crump, global senior partner at HFW, talks about how the firm has expanded and transformed itself under his watch, the need to adapt to the desires of different generations of lawyers, and why firms need to understand not just their clients, but also their industries.

Slaughter and May has advised British insurer Aviva on the S$2.7 billion ($1.98 billion) sale of majority shares in its Singapore business to a consortium led by Singapore Life (Singlife). Allen & Gledhill advised on the Singapore law aspects of the transaction.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Global Law Office Shanghai have advised Chinese courier ZTO Express on its $1.55 billion secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and JunHe counselling the sponsor and the underwriters.

Davis Polk & Wardwell, Zhong Lun Law Firm and have advised Chinese biopharmaceutical company Zai Lab’s on its $761 million secondary listing on the mainboard of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Commerce & Finance Law Offices advising the underwriters.

Marina Bay Sands (MBS), the Singapore casino owned by Las Vegas Sands, has hired law firm Davinder Singh Chambers to investigate the alleged transfers by employees of more than $1 billion of gamblers’ money to third parties, a media report has said.

Partner Anu Tiwari has left AZB & Partners to rejoin Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai.

Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy has advised Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhya and Standard Chartered on the Kingdom of Thailand’s 30-billion-baht ($965 million) dual-tranche sustainability bond issuance.

Singapore law firm Oon & Bazul has added corporate specialist Ng Yi Wayn as a partner from local rival RHTLaw.

UK firm Mishcon de Reya has hired disputes specialist Gavin Margetson as a partner in its recently opened Singapore office. He joins from local boutique Sharpe & Jagger.