Ashurst Boosts Asia Disputes With Herbert Smith Hires

Ashurst has added two new partners from Herbert Smith Freehills to its disputes practice in Asia. Robert Palmer specializes in international arbitration work related to energy and infrastructure sectors; he will join Ashurst's Singapore office. Christopher Bailey will become Ashurst's first disputes partner in Tokyo.

Jessica Seah

The Asian Lawyer

2012-12-10 12:00:00 AM

Ashurst has added two new partners to its disputes practice in Asia.

Robert Palmer and Christopher Bailey are both joining Ashurst from Herbert Smith Freehills, where they were respectively an of counsel in Singapore and a consultant in Bangkok.

The two will both join the firm's Singapore office initially, though Bailey will later relocate to Tokyo.

Palmer specializes in international arbitration work related to energy and infrastructure sectors. Bailey, who will become Ashurst's first disputes partner in Tokyo, will focus on advising Japanese clients on their overseas disputes. Before transferring to Bangkok last year, Bailey had worked in Herbert Smith's Tokyo office for five years, including a period of secondment to a Japanese trading house.

According to its website, London-based Ashurst has 19 lawyers in its Tokyo office and 16 lawyers in Singapore. With its merger earlier this year with Australia's Blake Dawson, Ashurst has more than 1,700 lawyers worldwide.