King & Spalding announced Wednesday that it has opened an office in Singapore after having received the necessary approvals from the Singapore government. The office will serve as a hub for the firm’s work in energy and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This is King & Spalding’s eighth office outside the United States.
“Singapore’s establishment as a key international arbitration center, coupled with a steady increase in energy and infrastructure investment throughout the region, make it a compelling location for the continued expansion of our energy and arbitration practices–two of the firm’s particular strengths,” said Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of King & Spalding.
King & Spalding initiated its plans for establishing an office in Singapore this past August, when it announced the hiring of international arbitration partner John Savage, the former vice chair of international arbitration and head of the Asia disputes practice at Shearman & Sterling.
As previously announced, the new office will be managed by Philip R. Weems, who will also continue as co-head of King & Spalding’s global energy practice from his new Singapore base.
The Singapore team’s arbitration docket currently includes a large arbitration for a U.S. multinational corporation against a Middle Eastern partner, a dispute between a major oil company and an Asian state, an ad hoc arbitration in the shipping sector and an arbitration for a private equity house against Pakistani parties.
The new King & Spalding office is located at One Raffles Place in Singapore’s central business district.
King & Spalding is ranked among the leading international arbitration and energy practices in the world. The firm has more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington D.C.