Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow, which is a member firm of Baker McKenzie in Singapore, announced the upcoming addition of a team led by principals Shirin Tang and Ang Lip Kian in Singapore. This team joins from Morrison Foerster, where Shirin served as managing partner of the Singapore office and on the firm’s global executive committee, and other leadership roles.
Shirin will be joining as co-head of the Singapore M&A practice, jointly with Boo Bee Chun. And Shirin brings over 20 years of experience in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions across Asia and the US, focusing on complex and innovative transactions, including capital raising platforms, joint ventures and club deals, portfolio restructuring, and exits. Plus, her practice spans the institutional real estate, technology/e-commerce, life sciences, and consumer sectors. In the past few years, Shirin has led transactions worth over $35 billion in aggregate.
Lip Kian represents international funds, multinational corporations, and financial institutions in large cross-border private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and fund transactions. His work spans various sectors, such as real estate, fintech, life sciences, technology, and consumer goods. And Lip Kian has significant experience in executing transactions involving cutting-edge technologies and assisting clients in entering new strategies. He also maintains an active pro bono practice, interested in sustainability, education, and refugee protection.
With 1,300 M&A lawyers globally, Baker McKenzie has the broadest M&A footprint of any law firm, offering clients unmatched experience in complex transactions and cross-border deals. Shirin and Lip Kian’s arrival adds further depth to the firm’s global M&A/private equity offering and transactional platform, which over the past 18 months has seen the addition of more than 50 partners in key financial centers.
In April, the firm welcomed a transactional team in Los Angeles and, in October last year, launched a historic joint venture with leading Korean law firm KL Partners in Seoul, spanning key practices including Transactional/M&A. And the firm also recently welcomed M&A/Private Equity partners Colleen Lee (Palo Alto); Tobias Knapp (New York); Colin Bowes-Carlson (Chicago); Eric Schwartzman (San Francisco); Erika López (Chicago); Hannah Luqmani (London); and Theodore Heng (Singapore).
Shirin is admitted to practice in New York. Before joining Morrison Foerster as a partner in 2014, she spent 10 years at Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman) in the New York and Singapore offices. Shirin holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and an LL.B. from the National University of Singapore.
Lip Kian – who is qualified in England & Wales – holds an M.B.A. and an LL.B. from the National University of Singapore.
With over 2,500 lawyers in 45 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65% of our deals are multijurisdictional. Baker McKenzie has been consistently recognized as one of the top three firms in cross-border M&A by volume over the past decade.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are thrilled to welcome Shirin, Lip Kian and team to our M&A/Private Equity team, to which they will add further depth. With dealmaking and growth potential strong in Singapore and Southeast Asia, the wealth of experience and deep sector expertise that they bring will be of significant value to our clients. I look forward to collaborating with them to support our clients on their most complex, cross-border deals.”
- Boo Bee Chun, Principal and co-head of the Singapore M&A Practice, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
“This team brings stellar experience and credentials in private equity, cross-border M&A and restructuring transactions to the Firm. Their joining is further evidence of our commitment to further expanding our bench strength in Singapore, whose status as a leading global financial and business hub is expected to continue to grow significantly in coming years. We are excited to welcome Shirin, Lip Kian and team to the Singapore office.”
- James Huang, Managing Principal, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
“The market reputation, calibre and experience that Shirin, Lip Kian and team bring to Baker McKenzie complement our regional offering perfectly. This team hire underscores our commitment to further strengthening our M&A/private equity capabilities across key money markets in Asia and cements our position as the transactional firm of choice in the region. We are thrilled to have them onboard.”
- Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie’s Asia Chief Executive
“I am excited to be joining the Baker McKenzie team. The Firm’s depth in Asia, including its strong and diverse practices in Singapore and other key markets, combined with its truly international platform were major draws for me. I look forward to working with my new colleagues in Singapore and around the globe to bring the Firm’s full-service offering to clients with complex transactional needs in Singapore and beyond.”
- Shirin Tang
“Baker McKenzie’s reputation in Asia is second to none and I am delighted and privileged to be joining a powerhouse global M&A/Private Equity practice which leading corporates and financial sponsors consistently look to for their most complex deals. I look forward to working with my new colleagues and the team to deliver exceptional service to our clients.”
- Lip Kian
