K&L Gates has appointed Raja Bose to head its international arbitration practice in Asia. Bose’s appointment is a strategic move to establish a new arbitration practice in the Singapore office, launched in March this year, and build up the Asian arbitration team, which has only two other lawyers who are based in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Earlier in June, K&L Gates launched an office in Dubai, headed by international disputes and arbitration partner, Neal Brendel. Bose was poached from Watson Farley & Williams’ Singapore office where he spent a decade working on cross-border litigation and arbitration matters and serving the oil and gas industries in construction disputes. “The opportunity to introduce my clients to the firm’s global platform and to work with existing clients…as well as the other talented lawyers in the firm’s international arbitration practice, is very exciting,” Bose said.
The appointment comes as Singapore captures more international arbitration cases in its goal to gain the title as Asia’s arbitration hub. Among a number of developments, the city-state will amend its arbitration laws to correspond with international standards. It has also recently signed up with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to build the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre within Maxwell Chambers, the international dispute resolution centre opened in August. Bose is a panel member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, housed within Maxwell Chambers.
“The growth in international arbitration cases in Singapore has in recent years gathered momentum,” said Singapore’s law minister K Shanmugam. “Many lawyers and arbitrators are familiar and comfortable with Singapore as an arbitration venue. Law firms in Singapore have reported a steady growth in international arbitration over the years and they have responded by increasing the number of lawyers handling arbitration work from Singapore.”
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