Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has hired arbitration lawyer Paul Tan from Clifford Chance’s Singapore ally Cavenagh Law to beef up its regional disputes coverage.

Tan joins as a partner and will head up the firm’s international arbitration practice in Asia. His practice focuses on commercial and investor-state international arbitration and litigation related to disputes across the region and in a range of industries, including telecoms, natural resources, media, technology and banking, among others. He advises global organisations, insurers, financial institutions and Asian governments.

Barbara Becker, chair and managing partner of Gibson Dunn, said: “Paul has excellent credentials, and his addition will help us expand our international arbitration practice in Asia, especially given the increasing importance of Singapore as a hub for the resolution of international disputes.”

Tan spent just over two years at Clifford Chance’s Singapore business Cavenagh Law where he was a partner and head of litigation for Southeast Asia. Prior to that he spent almost eight years at Rajah & Tann, where he was a partner in its appeals and issues practice, his second spell at the firm. He previously spent three years at Rajah & Tann before completing a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford University on a Chevening scholarship, after which he spent just over a year as an intern at Essex Court Chambers.

Elaine Chao, partner-in-charge of Gibson Dunn’s Singapore office, said: “Paul is a highly-regarded international arbitration lawyer. His deep experience advising on investor-state disputes and complex issues of public and private international law makes him an ideal candidate to continue building our international arbitration practice in the region.”

In October, Gibson Dunn announced it was hiring former European Court of Human Rights president Judge Robert Spano, who will join the firm in London at the start of January. The Los Angeles giant also bolstered its Middle East coverage with the arrival of senior corporate partner Marwan Elaraby in Dubai from Shearman & Sterling.

A number of international firms have been busy opening in Singapore in recent weeks. At the end of October, Charles Russell Speechlys said it plans to open in the city state in the first half of next year. That followed Spanish firm Pérez-Llorca’s announcement in October that it plans to open an Asia Pacific hub in Singapore in the first quarter of 2023. Mayer Brown also said it is opening in Singapore through a joint venture with local firm PK Wong & Nair.