An esteemed lawyer with one of Singapore’s most prestigious law firms, Mr Wong has more than 30 years’ experience advising clients in the banking, corporate and financial services sectors. He joined Allan & Gledhill in 1987 and was named as the firm’s managing partner in 1998. In 2012, he took on the newly created role of chairman and senior partner at the firm. Under his leadership, Allan & Gledhill has grown from a firm with around 30 lawyers in the 1980s to a current 350-strong team with offices in Singapore, Laos and Myanmar. It is credited as one of the top firms in Singapore for corporate mergers and acquisitions and finance transactions work.

Women duo take the helm

Mr Wong will be stepping down from the helm of Allan & Gledhill on 18 December and will take over from incumbent Singapore Attorney General Vijaya Kumar Rajah when he retires on 14 January. Allan & Gledhill financial services head Christina Ong and real estate head Penny Goh, both longstanding partners at the firm, will ascend to become co-chairs and senior partners of the firm following Mr Wong’s departure. Allan & Gledhill is the second-largest law firm in Singapore by headcount and is ranked 39^th across the Asia Pacific.

A fresh perspective

As Attorney General, Mr Wong will be the first lawyer to hold the post who has not previously spent time as a judge of at the Attorney General’s Chambers. Speaking with The Straits Times, lawyers said that they hoped Mr Wong’s unconventional background in corporate private practice would bring ‘a fresh perspective’ to the Attorney General role, which in Singapore serves as both the country’s public prosecutor and the government’s legal counsel. Law Society of Singapore president Thio Shen Yi commented: ‘In a fast-changing world in which legal services are going to be disrupted, [Mr Wong’s] quality of vision and understanding of the cutting edge will be extremely relevant.’

Sources: Australasian Lawyer; The American Lawyer; The Lawyer; The Straits Times