The team at Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow supports clients on the full spectrum of employment mandates, with expertise encompassing contracts, disputes, arbitrations and redundancies across the Asia Pacific area, as well as internal investigations and whistleblowing. Celeste Ang focuses on contentious issues, representing employers in courts, arbitrations and mediations in matters including dismissal, investigations, breach of fiduciary duties and enforcement of restrictive covenants. Kelvin Poa covers the non-contentious side of the practice, with experience in drafting, negotiating and advising on employment contracts, separation agreements and termination of employment.
Labour and employment: foreign firms in Singapore
Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
Praxisleiter:
Celeste Ang; Kelvin Poa
Referenzen
‘Our company has worked with various law firms, but Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow stand out with their diverse and very wide network across the region – this is a great benefit to our company especially given the multiple locations we have in APAC. We are able to obtain collaborated employment legal advice for all our locations through one main source of contact which makes things so much more efficient. The lawyers‘ in-depth knowledge and solid expertise are also highly advantageous and helpful to clients.’
‘Practical advice and market knowledge.’
‘The team is pragmatic and thoughtful, always positioning their advice so that their client’s best interests are served (often going beyond the question asked). The Bakers employment practice is strong globally, and their network means that local advice is always given with a global mindset. Bakers utilise AI based on our playbooks, provide innovative spend tracking, and always invest in secondees.’
Highlight-Mandate
- Acting on labour arbitrations commenced in China against the client’s former employees who had misappropriated the client’s confidential information, as part of a global strategy to resist poaching by a competitor.
- Acting on a cross-border investigation arising from a whistleblower report by an employee in respect of alleged breaches of internal policies by their team in respect of financial reporting and procurement.
- Advising a client on an APAC-wide redundancy exercise. The client had plans to downsize in APAC and to sell certain assets to a distributor within the region. All APAC employees were affected by this decision – some were to be made redundant and some were to be rehired by the distributor.
Clifford Chance
Counting financial institutions and corporates as regular clients, the team at Clifford Chance advises on a full spectrum of matters, including investigations; the employment elements of transactions; regulatory issues; and whistleblowing and other litigation. Practice head Kabir Singh focuses on contentious employment issues both in Singapore and overseas, including those arising from termination of employees, restraint of trade clauses and regulatory investigations. Janice Goh specialises in the employment aspects of investigations, including suspension, termination and disciplinary proceedings.
Praxisleiter:
Kabir Singh
Weitere Kernanwälte:
Janice Goh
Referenzen
‚Janice Goh is our go-to partner for litigious employment matters. She is able to advise on our most complex matters, particularly where regulatory elements are involved. She is always available —- her responsiveness and technical advice are impressive.‘
Highlight-Mandate
- Advised Blue Owl on the Singapore law aspects of its takeover of IPI Partners, a digital infrastructure fund manager.
- Advising a global e-commerce company on various matters relating to employee misconduct, such as conflict of interests, breach of confidentiality and misuse of funds.
- Advising a global asset management company in relation to a review of its Singapore-law governed employment contracts.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
The employment team at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP covers work ranging from day-to-day HR support through to employee investigations, risk management of terminations and emergencies, and the employment aspects of restructuring and M&A. Fatim Jumabhoy leads the team, focusing his practice on cross-border and multi-jurisdictional labour law matters and investigations, notably assisting a client roster consisting of technology start-ups, investment banks and state-owned energy companies. Nurul Ayu Fajarani left the practice in June 2025.
Praxisleiter:
Fatim Jumabhoy
Referenzen
‚Herbert Smith Freehills’ employment practice is, in my view, the best in APAC. I have worked with many of the region’s leading firms in this space, and HSF stands out for the depth and breadth of its coverage. The team consistently provides timely, practical, and thoughtful advice. They are highly efficient and collaborate seamlessly across regions, delivering multi-jurisdictional solutions to complex employment issues with ease.‘
‚Fatim Jumabhoy is nothing short of sensational. She combines razor-sharp legal insight with a uniquely practical, solutions-driven approach that clients can always rely on. Her responsiveness is unparalleled — she is the person you want by your side when the stakes are high and the issues complex. Fatim has an extraordinary ability to anticipate challenges before they arise and to provide proactive, commercially-savvy advice that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. She is calm under pressure, yet dynamic and decisive when action is needed. Beyond her technical excellence, Fatim brings warmth, energy, and clarity that inspire confidence at every step. Quite simply, she is a standout leader in the employment law space, not only in APAC but globally.‘
‚Fatim is invaluable as a sounding board on challenging employment questions; her advice is thoughtful, business-oriented, and grounded in real-world application.‘
Linklaters
Linklaters covers the full range of employment and incentives issues, both non-contentious and contentious, including team moves, restructuring and redundancies through to disputes, harassment and investigations. With extensive experience in the area, Laure de Panafieu leads the practice, covering all aspects of advisory, transactional and contentious work such as restraints of trade and bonus claims, non-cash incentivisation, crisis management for high-profile investigations, and disputes.
Praxisleiter:
Laure de Panafieu
Referenzen
‘Despite being an extremely busy practice, the team is always able to assist quickly and able to meet tight timeframes for urgent matters. They work together well – even when someone who is handling a matter is absent other members of the team can step in without any disruption to the client. What sets the team apart is their ability to listen to what the client wants to achieve and strategically assist in reaching that outcome.’
‘Laure leads an excellent team of strong advisers. She provides strategic advice and I have been impressed with her style in handling negotiations and dispute matters.‘
‘We regularly enlist the Linklaters employment team to assist with employment-related enquiries around the region, particularly in Singapore.‘
Ashurst ADTLaw
Ashurst ADTLaw‘s employment practice provides support across a range of contentious and non-contentious matters, including international employee mobility, restructurings and redundancies, the employment aspects of M&A transactions, leave entitlements and benefits, disciplinary issues and dismissals, and collective bargaining. Clarence Ding, who joined from Simmons & Simmons in May 2025, heads a team taking on cross-border work, with Karen Mitra covering restructurings and transactions as well as dismissals for international clients.
Praxisleiter:
Clarence Ding
Weitere Kernanwälte:
Karen Mitra
Referenzen
‘Ashurst Singapore’s employment practice is highly recommended for expert employment advice. The team is led by a very strong partner, Clarence Ding, who has provided expert advice across a broad range of employment matters. The advice is always well considered for commercial practicalities and tailored to our unique business needs.’
‘Clarence Ding is a strong and much valued partner, who has supported us on sensitive matters including navigating communications with the authorities in Singapore. We are very appreciative of his responsiveness and ability to support urgent matters.’
‘Clarence Ding from Ashurst has a deep understanding of the industry we operate in and is therefore able to provide best practice advice to us on employment matters. He is always responsive and available and has been a real pleasure to work with.’
Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore
As well as handling employee contracts and regulatory issues such as anti-harassment, data protection and compliance with international laws, Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore also deals with niche specialised contracts, trade union matters, internal investigations and transactional mandates. Thomas Choo frequently advises on non-contentious employment and immigration matters, including employment and service agreements, severance packages, complex incentivisation schemes and restrictive covenants.
Praxisleiter:
Thomas Choo
Referenzen
‘The Clyde & Co Clasis employment law team understands that legal advice must support business outcomes. They are collaborative, pragmatic, and always willing to go the extra mile; often anticipating challenges before they arise and helping us manage risks with confidence and foresight. They are not only technically strong, but also deeply attuned to the needs of businesses operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. Their combination of professionalism, approachability, and business-savvy legal advice makes them an invaluable partner to us.’
‘We strongly recommend Thomas Choo.’
‘The team of Clyde & Co Clasis is great and shows exceptional knowledge in the area of employment law. We really like working with them and they always go beyond the extra mile. They put themselves in the place of the company and the business and provide advice that is an huge added value to our business. We cannot say this enough, but this is what lacks in many law firms, but our lawyers at Clyde & Co Clasis make the difference!’
CMS
CMS handles a range of contentious and non-contentious employment matters. The team is regularly instructed on multi-jurisdictional projects, coordinating cross-border advice and acting as sole international counsel for clients in the region. Lakshanthi Fernando leads the team, with expertise across jurisdictions and a specialism in contentious issues, such as breach of restrictive covenants, employee wrongdoing, internal investigations, contentious hires and dismissals, and complex retrenchment.
Praxisleiter:
Lakshanthi Fernando
Referenzen
‘Lakshanthi Fernando – Always a pleasure to work with Lakshanthi. She is very professional and able to deliver top-quality work with a good turnaround time.’
Kernmandanten
A+E Networks
Acciona
Air Liquide
Astrea Bioseparations
Baillie Gifford
Birkenstock
Cegal
Cendyn
Delivery Hero
ISG
Kingspan PLC
Mondi Plc
Montran Corporation
NCR
NomuPay
Nuvei
Panoptyc Inc
Sanofi
u-blox AG
Voestalpine AG
Highlight-Mandate
- Advising a leading manufacturing company and its Singapore subsidiary on a sophisticated fraud involving deepfake impersonations of senior executives and a complex scam which resulted in unauthorised fund transfers by a senior employee from Singapore to Hong Kong, coordinating a cross-border investigation and internal disciplinary action.
- Supporting reinsurance brokers based in Singapore and London, in a complex cross-border investigation into suspected premium inflation by senior employees involving Indonesian and Thai insurance policies with clients, advising on local regulatory obligations, employment termination/disciplinary issues involving senior management executives, and complex forensic financial analysis.
- Advising a large South Korean conglomerate following a high-profile takeover and dismissal of C-suite executives, advising the company on risks of wrongful dismissal claims and multimillion-dollar claims relating to salaries and bonuses.
DLA Piper
The DLA Piper team supports clients on a full range of domestic and cross-border contentious and non-contentious employment matters, across areas such as senior executive terminations, litigation and employee data privacy issues as well as immigration matters and Ministry of Manpower investigations. David Smail leads the team, handling complex HR and employee relations issues and representing clients in cases covering terminations, discrimination and harassment, bonuses and incentives, and wage and benefit practices.
Praxisleiter:
David Smail
Referenzen
‘Excellent and responsive ’
‘David Smail is unbelievably helpful, responsive, and makes himself available.’
K&L Gates Straits Law LLC
K&L Gates Straits Law LLC provides a management-side employment practice, focusing almost exclusively on representing employers. The team assists employers with workplace relations strategies, contracts and compliance, as well as advising on the employment aspects of M&A and divestments across Asia. Christopher Tan heads the team, representing clients from sectors including technology, manufacturing, hospitality and financial services in Singapore and across Southeast Asia.
Praxisleiter:
Christopher Tan
Kernmandanten
GN Store Nord A/S (OneGN-Singapore)
Centuria Capital Limited
Vanderlande Industries Singapore Pte. Ltd.
John Deere Asia (Singapore) Private Limited
Since Holding AB
Celanese Corporation
Elliott Company
CEPSA Trading Asia Private Limited
Colliers International (Singapore)Pte. Ltd.
Highlight-Mandate
- Assisted a Singapore-based wealth and asset management firm with a review of its Singapore employment agreement template for full-time employees, and preparation and development of a Singapore template for commission-based employees and Singapore independent contractor template for consultants.
- Advised a leading freight and logistics provider on the transfer of employees from another company, and worked alongside local counsel to advise the client on the movement of employees from various subsidiaries to the client entities, as a result of an acquisition of the freight forwarding business of a group of companies which involved various jurisdictions.
- Assisting a global freight company with the review of its global employee handbook to ensure compliance with Singapore law.
Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson specialises in representing employers in labour and employment law. The firm advises on all phases of the employment life cycle, from implementing HR strategies to corporate restructuring and investigations. Practice head Trent Sutton handles matters including global expansion and mobility, restructuring, HR training and cross-border investigations.
Praxisleiter:
Trent Sutton
Kernmandanten
Lincoln Electric Company
Kohler & Co.
Ethos Technologies
Assurant Solutions
Skyscanner
The Trade Desk
Global Payments
Roku Inc.
Acuity Brands
Stanley1913
Squire Patton Boggs
Squire Patton Boggs has strong cross-border capabilities across a range of ASEAN countries such as India, Sri Lanka, China and Japan. The team handles matters such as employee relations and crisis management, mobility and immigration, and employee mis-classifications. Practice head Julia Yeo fields a practice which covers complex matters across the employment life cycle.
Praxisleiter:
Julia Yeo
Referenzen
‘Promptness in providing support and knowledge.’
‘Julia Yeo has been very prompt in extending her support. ’