Australia law firm Blake Dawson opens in Singapore

Blake Dawson announced today that it will open an office in Singapore to strengthen its Asian presence and provide a springboard for existing regional work. The new office will ensure that Blake Dawson is well placed to support its offshore clients. The move is a natural extension for the firm's market-leading Hotels, Tourism and Gaming Practice which will lead the firm's expansion into South East Asia. The decision to establish a Singapore base was in response to growing client demands and work flow within the region. The new office is expected to begin operating in January 2009 and will be run by Rhonda Hare, a leading partner within the Hotel and Property team who has extensive regional experience. Commenting on the overseas move, Blake Dawson Managing Partner John Carrington said: "The Singapore office will support our regional strategy of providing high quality advice in specialist areas to leading Australian and international companies as they grow their operations in Asia." "The opening of the Singapore office demonstrates our commitment to support our clients throughout the region," Mr Carrington said. The International Practice Leader of the Hotels, Tourism and Gaming Practice, John Stawyskyj, said: "Blake Dawson was the first law firm in Australia to establish a fully integrated national Hotels, Tourism and Gaming legal practice." "Today, we run an internationally acknowledged practice, which already extends into the region. Opening an office in Singapore was a logical step to ensure we are able to provide on the ground service to our regional clients," Mr Stawyskyj said. Rhonda Hare will initially be joined by two lawyers from the Hotel and Property team, Rhiannon Barnard and Ari Fox.

Australia law firm Blake Dawson opens in Singapore iflr.com Sun, Nov 30, 2008