SINGAPORE - Each year, new entrants break into the ST-Statista Singapore’s Best Law Firms ranking, excelling in a particular field of legal practice. This year, it’s the turn of boutique law firm Adi Law, which topped the field of investment funds.
The firm says its technical expertise and emphasis on knowledge-building over marketing and expansion helped it stand out against the big-name firms in the fast-paced asset and wealth management landscape.
Adi Law’s managing director, Mr Amit Dhume, said he was “humbled that Adi Law has topped the list for investment funds legal practice in our debut entry”.
Overall, Rajah & Tann remained the gold standard in the annual rankings for a record fourth time, taking top spot in eight fields of legal practice. Allen & Gledhill was next in a close second overall, followed by a resurgent Drew & Napier, which moved up from fourth in the survey in 2023.
This fifth edition of the annual survey by The Straits Times and Munich-based international market researcher Statista identifies Singapore’s 100 best law firms in 18 areas of legal practice. This year, the new field of ESG (environmental, social and governance) was added.
The results were based on more than 12,000 recommendations from a total of 5,966 lawyers, in-house counsel, related professionals and clients.
The American Corporate Counsel Association Singapore Chapter also invited its members to take part in the survey and Statista reported an increase in responses following this.
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Statista analyst Nane Fritz said the survey in 2024 “overall saw again a great amount of participation and recommendations, even surpassing the previous year”.
She said about 75 per cent of the recommendations were made by clients and 25 per cent by lawyers, which was an indication of the very high number of participants overall. “The overall picture therefore shows a really encouraging growth and interest in our survey,” added Ms Fritz.
Adi Law was one of nine law firms that made it to the Best Law Firms list for the first time since the series started in 2020. Among the others were Attorneys Inc, Fortress Law Corporation and Kertar & Sandhu.
“I would of course be the first to say that we are honoured and delighted at this award and would strive to better our service provision to our clients,” said Attorneys Inc managing director Simon Tan, whose firm’s staple is in real estate and litigation.
Adi Law’s Mr Amit said: “Contrary to the popular view that a lawyer needs to associate oneself with a big brand name, I believe that if one is confident of the services that one can provide, and clients have full confidence that their interests will be protected no matter which law firm the counterparty pits against us, being a boutique firm is often beneficial for the lawyers and clients.”
Being a small firm conferred some advantages over bigger practices, he added, as it is able to act quickly, seize opportunities, and avoid wasteful expenditure and red tape.
And with Singapore’s Law Ministry encouraging firms to adopt technology, the use of modern-day practice management software streamlines and automates back-office processes, significantly reducing operating expenses. To draw on the technology, Adi Law took advantage of the Productivity Solutions Grant from Enterprise Singapore.
“Just as Singapore is a little red dot that has always punched above its weight, boutique law firms can be efficient and innovative, and punch above their weight, while still learning from the better practices of Big Law,” Mr Amit said.
The firm’s clients are predominantly Singapore-based fund management companies and multi-family offices. It also acts as investors’ counsel for institutional and corporate investors and single-family offices.
Law firms from small ones such as Adi Law to medium and big-sized ones that placed in the Best 100 list said the recognition would spur them to do better.
Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, who is chief executive officer of Drew & Napier, said: “It is an honour to be a top law firm in the... survey. We are fortunate to have the trust and votes of our clients and the legal industry. This accolade motivates us to continue working hard for our clients.”
Allen & Gledhill’s managing partner Jerry Koh said he was grateful to the firm’s clients “for their faith in us, and for recognising our efforts through this survey”.
“The relationships we have built with them have always been the motivation behind why we go the extra mile to seek the best outcomes for them. We are also thankful to The Straits Times for organising this survey, which has over the years helped shed light on the importance of our legal sector in our economy, as well as showcase the contributions of our legal fraternity to the economy and our community as a whole,” he added.
With Lee & Lee making it to the top 10 firms overall this year, managing partner Kwa Kim Li said: “This achievement is a collective effort and a testament to the dedication and expertise of our lawyers. The affirmation will inspire us to strive to continue delivering top-notch service and strategic guidance to our clients in these practice areas and beyond.”
She added that being named in the Best lists for 12 out of 18 practice areas, as well as recognised for pro bono and charity work, underscored the firm’s commitment to providing comprehensive and exceptional legal services across the board. “This recognition from both legal peers and clients motivates us to continue raising the bar,” she said.
Rajah & Tann’s managing partner Patrick Ang said it was an “incredible honour” to be recognised as Singapore’s top law firm for four consecutive years. He said this recognition highlights “Rajah & Tann’s consistent capability to understand and identify clients’ needs and bring to the table specialised expertise to meet their demands”.
“We are thankful to our clients and peers who have given us the opportunities to support and serve them. This survey is a strong validation and a meaningful acknowledgment of the dedication and hard work of everyone at Rajah & Tann. We are encouraged to keep exceeding expectations in delivering outstanding services to our clients.”
The Singapore’s Best Law Firms lists are based on recommendations by lawyers in peer-to-peer surveys, in-house counsel and clients in 18 different fields of law and two other categories related to pro bono services and charities.
For the first time, this edition also features a list of the top-rated lawyers selected by participants. The sample of lawyers was collected via research conducted by Statista on company websites and publicly available sources.
The American Corporate Counsel Association Singapore Chapter also invited its members to take part in the survey. Invitations were sent via e-mail with a personalised link that could be used only once.
Participants could also use an open link that was announced and made available on The Straits Times’ website. They had to provide a personalised company e-mail address for validation purposes before their answers were included in the evaluation.
Conducted online between May 21 and July 15, the survey drew 5,966 participants. Statista recorded more than 12,000 recommendations for law firms in all fields of law.
Self-recommendations – from one’s own, associated or allied law firm – were prohibited.
All recommendations were analysed and the 100 best law firms were identified and ranked according to their number of recommendations within the different fields of law.
The survey looked into the firms’ areas of expertise. In total, 100 law firms received 292 awards.
The top law firms in each category were derived after a detailed and elaborate process. However, while due diligence was undertaken, the survey does not claim to be exhaustive in terms of scope and criteria used.