A technology focused law firm is set to open its doors in Singapore in 2017. The company is hoping to expand on the services they already provide to their Southeast Asian clients.
Auckland based firm Simmonds Stewart is now licensed as foreign lawyer by the Singapore Legal Services Regulatory Authority and will open an office in Singapore in February 2017.
The boutique firm has a fast growing practice advising Southeast Asian tech companies and investors on Venture Capital (VC) and Mergers and Acquisition transactions throughout the region.
The new Southeast Asia team will be led by partner Lee Bagshaw. The current Southeast Asian team in Auckland includes Sarah Yen (pictured) and Chris Wilson, however it is not clear if the pair will be joining Bagshaw in Singapore. Simmonds Stewart have one of the leading VC legal advisory teams in Southeast Asia and have been working with companies and investors across the region on all types of capital raising, including seed and angel rounds, venture capital financing and private equity investments, and pre-Initial Public Offering (IPO) rounds.
They expect to help close between 10-15 series A and B deals in 2016, along with several seed investments.
As Singapore continues to grow into one of the leading global fintech hubs, innovators and start ups based in the Lion-City require more sophisticated cross border legal support and advice. Simmonds Stewart also expect that the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem may face a shake-out in 2017 following a lot of VC investment in the last 5 years.
