Rajah & Tann Singapore has added Paras Lalwani and Reka Mohan as partners in its Commercial Litigation practice. Lalwani is recognised for his expertise in commercial disputes, international arbitration and regulatory investigations. He regularly appears before the Singapore courts and arbitral tribunals in both institutional and ad hoc proceedings. Dual qualified in Singapore and New York, Paras is a qualified arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He is empanelled as an arbitrator with SIAC, KCAB, HKIAC and THAC, among others. Mohan has a wide-ranging practice that spans banking and finance disputes, corporate and commercial litigation, domestic and international arbitration, restructuring and insolvency, and shareholder disputes. She acts for a diverse portfolio of high-profile clients, including listed companies, multinational corporations, regional and international banks, and high net worth individuals, in complex high value, multijurisdictional matters. Mohan regularly appears before all levels of the Singapore courts and arbitral tribunals in both institutional and ad-hoc arbitrations, including investor-state arbitrations, further supporting the firm’s dispute resolution abilities. She is bilingual in English and Tamil, adding to the firm’s multilingual...

In a further strategic expansion of its leading Hospitality Practice, Greenberg Traurig has added industry veteran Elias J. Hayek as co-chair of the firm’s Middle East and European Hospitality Group, working from its UAE and KSA offices. Hayek joins from an international law firm, where he led its global Hospitality Leisure Group for close to a decade. In addition to Dubai and Riyadh, Hayek also plans to spend time in London. He represents major clients in the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries, helping them navigate complex commercial transactions, including M&A, JV, management agreements, licensing and franchising, hotel project leasing, mixed-use and branded residential developments, and sale-leaseback deals. With three decades of cross-jurisdictional experience, he has closed more than 500 transactions in more than 45 cities across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Earlier in his career, Hayek spent 17 years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in Brussels, where he served as vice-president of legal for the Europe, Africa and Middle East division, responsible for the regional legal affairs of the company and over 300 hotels. His experience includes representing a UAE government entity in creating a joint venture agreement with a leading global gaming and hospitality company to develop a multi-billion-dollar gaming resort in the region. He has advised subsidiaries of Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund on the development, subdivision and branding agreements for several multi-billion dollar “giga project” developments. He has also represented European private equity fund subsidiaries on the acquisition, development and operational agreements for multiple high-end luxury and upscale properties across Europe. Hayek received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) Global Board of Directors, and is...

K&L Gates has added Rodolphe Ruffié-Farrugia as a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. He joins the firm’s Perth office from Clifford Chance, and will work with the International Arbitration practice group across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Ruffié-Farrugia focuses his practice on international commercial arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement and public international law, advising parties involved in high-stakes cross-border disputes and projects across the Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Europe and North America. His clients operate across key industry sectors, primarily resources, energy, infrastructure, as well as emerging sectors, including space, esports and video gaming. Having acted as counsel, arbitrator, mediator and negotiator in both common and civil law jurisdictions, he provides clients with valuable multicultural dispute prevention and resolution insights and multijurisdictional advisory strategies. He also has experience handling international trade disputes before the World Trade Organization, and award enforcement and execution proceedings, including in relation to sovereign states. Ruffié-Farrugia is admitted to practice in Western Australia, New Zealand and the US (New York, Texas, Washington and Washington DC). He also holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in French and English Laws (Paris Nanterre), a Master’s degree in International Arbitration (Paris-Saclay), and an LLM in International Business and Economic Law (Georgetown). In addition to being a native French speaker, he is fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin), as well as conversant in Japanese and...

Johnson Stokes & Master has welcomed Joe Choy as a partner and co-head of the Employment & Benefits team. The firm’s first partner hire since the 160-year-old-partnership reverted to being the pre-eminent independent law firm in Hong Kong, Choy rejoins the practice from Eversheds Sutherland, where he led its Asia Employment, Labour and Pensions team. Choy is trilingual, with extensive experience gained from more than a decade acting as a trusted advisor to clients across a range of industries on all aspects of employment-related matters. He also advises on occupational retirement scheme matters, and is regularly involved in employment and retirement scheme issues arising from M&A transactions. As a seasoned litigator, Choy has conducted employment proceedings at all levels of the Hong Kong courts. He is qualified to practise Chinese law in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), having passed the GBA Legal Professional Examination for Hong Kong lawyers to practise in the...

Yoon & Yang has further strengthened its corporate capabilities with the addition of Myong-Hyon (Brandon) Ryu, a leading expert in cross-border mergers and acquisitions who is admitted in New York, USA, as a Senior Foreign Attorney. His vast experience and global perspective, shaped by his extensive work on major cross-border M&A transactions, are expected to significantly broaden the firm’s client base in the corporate and M&A sectors. Ryu brings 24 years of experience in cross-border deals spanning over 50 countries across North America, Europe and Asia. He has led complex, high-profile transactions in M&A, private equity, venture capital and joint venture, as well as corporate internal investigations and anti-corruption due diligence, including matters related to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He received his BA in Political Science and International Relations from Sogang University in Korea, and earned his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School in Tennessee, USA in 2001. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2002. From 2001 to 2004, he practiced at Yoon & Partners, the predecessor to Yoon & Yang. From 2008 until recently, he served as a Senior Foreign Attorney at Shin & Kim, where he was involved in numerous significant transactions. He has successfully advised major Korean corporations on high-profile outbound M&A transactions, including Hanwha Chemical’s acquisition of SolarOne (currently Hanwha Qcells), KCC consortium’s acquisition of a US-listed Momentive, CJ CheilJedang’s acquisition of US-based Schwan’s, Lotte Duty Free’s acquisition of JR Duty Free in Australia, and SD Biosensor’s acquisition of US-listed Meridian Bioscience. He has also closed inbound transactions involving foreign funds and corporations, including GIC’s acquisition of a stake in...