[SINGAPORE] Attracting and retaining young lawyers is a key priority for WongPartnership’s (WongP) Chou Sean Yu, who takes over the reins as managing partner at the Singapore Big Four law firm on Tuesday (Jul 1).
“(We are) making sure that we continue to be attractive for young lawyers, because without that core coming in, it is going to be very, very difficult,” said Chou in an exclusive interview with The Business Times.
Having the right talent will be key to ensuring that WongP continues to steer in the right direction for growth, he added.
This also relates to Chou’s next priority, which is to prepare the next crop of the firm’s leaders.
“I want to make sure that this very successful transition over the years will carry on,” he said. “That is what I see (as) my second challenge, because these are very big shoes to get into.”
The law firm has already identified who will be part of this slate, he noted, and so now it is a matter of “making sure the transition is in place”.
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Chou succeeds outgoing managing partner Ng Wai King, who has been at the helm for the past 12 years.
“I am grateful for the trust placed in me by Wai King and my fellow partners in being given this opportunity to lead the firm,” said the 54-year-old.
“This is a proud personal milestone for me, having started in the firm as an associate in 1997 and learning the ropes from luminaries such as Wong Meng Meng, the late Alvin Yeo and Dilhan Pillay.”
But Ng is not stepping away from WongP completely; he will remain as chairman and senior partner.
At 58, Ng is departing from his leadership position two years before WongP’s mandatory retirement age of 60 for partners in leadership roles. The firm has been preparing for this transition since 2022, when Chou was named deputy managing partner.
“I have every confidence in Sean Yu’s leadership and vision,” said Ng. “His ability to forge relations and strategic nous will be invaluable as we look towards future opportunities and challenges, both in Singapore and across Asia.”
Going regional
Chou will remain as head of the litigation and dispute-resolution group, while navigating the law firm through its next stage of growth.
One area of opportunity is regional expansion. This is even as the environment is competitive, with law firms in Asean having regional aspirations or international law firms expanding to Asia, noted Chou.
WongP started its regionalisation journey eight years ago, when it launched WPG – a law network through partnerships with firms in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as in the Middle East.
These plans took a pause during the Covid-19 pandemic, and have since restarted, with the firm looking to deepen its relationships in Thailand and Vietnam.
“We’re doing it this way because we find that our clients obviously need help whenever they do business, and having a one-stop-shop service (by which) we can sort of help them is always going to be preferred,” said Ng.
Having opened an office in Myanmar a decade ago, which was later shut due to the country’s political situation, the firm does not believe that opening offices is the right way for it to grow, said Ng.
“That is not our model,” he noted. “We know that some of our peer firms have done it that way… For us, we think (building regional partnerships) is a better formulation.”
For WongP to succeed, its core Singapore business – split pretty evenly between corporate and litigation – has to remain strong, said Ng. This means that whether it be a major transaction or dispute, the aim is for the law firm to be among the first to get a call from the client.
“That gives us the ability to go out and do similar things in the region,” he added.
Chou’s main practice areas include banking and trade-finance disputes, insolvency and restructuring, corporate fraud, investigations and asset recovery and shareholder litigation.
His accolades include being listed in the 2022 list of Thomson Reuters’ Stand-out Lawyers, an independent global research survey, and achieving recognition as a dispute-resolution star in Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2021.
