Singapore’s legal sector will see a significant shift as Clifford Chance and Cavenagh Law end their 14-year Formal Law Alliance (FLA), dissolving one of the city-state’s longest-standing collaborations between an international law firm and a local practice. The partnership, originally formed in 2012 under the name Clifford Chance Asia, had enabled the firms to merge their Singapore-based legal services with international expertise—while Cavenagh Law managed local litigation cases. The dissolution process is projected to last between four and five months.
Clifford Chance will keep operating under its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence, which is unchanged. It will advise on international matters, and on Singapore law within the areas the licence permits. Meanwhile, Cavenagh Law will operate as an independent entity, with a renewed focus on contentious work. The firm will be led by Nish Shetty and Paul Sandosham, who will no longer hold concurrent roles at Clifford Chance.
Robert Houck, Clifford Chance’s global head of litigation, confirmed that both firms had agreed to part ways to better align with their evolving strategic goals. He emphasized that Singapore remains a critical market for the firm and assured clients of a seamless transition. Sandosham added that while the alliance had been beneficial, their businesses had grown in directions that now required separate operational paths.
Clifford Chance will keep its Singapore disputes practice intact, covering areas such as international and local arbitration, litigation, investigations, and cross-border disputes. The firm’s partners Kabir Singh, Vasu Muthyala, and Tess Forge will continue their roles, joined by Janice Goh, a 2020 partner at Cavenagh Law. Goh specializes in investigations and regulatory enforcement, further strengthening Clifford Chance’s capabilities in these areas.
This development follows K&L Gates’ decision in May to separate from Straits Law Practice, its Singapore joint venture partner. Both separations coincide with the Ministry of Law’s ongoing review of foreign law firm operations in Singapore. The proposed reforms aim to consolidate the existing joint venture, FLA, and QFLP models into a unified licensing structure. Under the new framework, local partner requirements would increase, while the cap on Singapore-qualified lawyers at QFLPs would drop from 80% to 50%. Existing QFLP licenses, including Clifford Chance’s, have been extended until 2027 as the review progresses.
Clifford Chance has stated that the regulatory review did not influence its decision to dissolve the alliance, insisting it has no plans to pursue another partnership. The rise of independent arbitration boutiques in Singapore could also be a contributing factor. Sreenivasan Narayanan SC, a prominent figure in the K&L Gates-Straits Law merger, left in August 2024 to establish his own boutique, Sreenivasan Chambers.
