Withers has promoted 12 lawyers to partner across the US, the UK and Singapore, strengthening its private client, family and disputes capabilities in three of its key markets.
The appointments, effective from 1 July 2026, comprised five US partners, four in London, and three in Singapore, with elevations within Withers KhattarWong remaining subject to regulatory approvals.
In her first promotions round since being appointed as Withers’ CEO, Ceri Vokes said: “It’s a real pleasure, as one of my first duties as CEO, to congratulate our new cohort of partners. Many of them qualified with the firm and have worked their way up to partnership, and all have distinguished themselves through their legal excellence and dedication to delivering an outstanding client experience.”
Vokes added that the new partners, drawn from the firm’s US, European and Asian practices, reflected “the strength of our talent pipeline, the quality of our legal expertise and the scale of our ambition for the future”.
While the 2026 round is four partners smaller than last year, the firm maintained a 50% gender ratio of female appointments for the second year in a row.
In the US, the promotions were concentrated in tax, trusts and estate planning, as well as litigation, with two in New Haven and three in California. New Haven-based Di Fu advises international clients, including entrepreneurs, family offices and trust companies on succession planning and tax- and immigration-related issues. Andrea Zakko, also in New Haven, advises on international tax, foreign trusts with US beneficiaries, US tax reporting and private foundations.
In San Francisco, Marsha Levinson advises founders, senior executives, fund managers and closely held business owners on estate, gift and income tax planning. San Diego-based Sara Pike advises on estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration and charitable vehicles. Los Angeles litigator Vahe Mesropyan handles commercial and civil disputes in court, arbitration and regulatory proceedings, as well as unfair competition and confidential information matters.
The London round was disputes-led, with only one promotion in private client, that of Sarfraz Ali, who advises on family finance, high-conflict children matters, nuptial agreements and domestic abuse cases.
Daniel Gore, who joined the firm in 2021, focuses on cross-border civil fraud, asset recovery, corporate disputes, regulatory matters and sports disputes. Writing on LinkedIn, he said: “I am grateful to everyone in the team at Withers who have welcomed me warmly and helped me look like I, broadly, know what I am doing.”
Perveen Hill advises on criminal, white-collar and investigative matters, including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and bribery. Caroline Thompson works across commercial litigation, professional negligence and media law, including privacy-related disputes.
In Singapore, family lawyer Shaun Ho advises on divorce, financial matters, pre-nuptial agreements and surrogacy arrangements, with a focus on complex financial and international children matters. Tom McElligott advises high-net-worth individuals, families and intermediaries on international private wealth work, including tax, trusts, succession planning and pre-immigration planning.
Jonathan Tan, meanwhile, is a commercial litigator and arbitrator focused on shareholder and commercial disputes, reflecting the firm’s past investment in such matters.
Shashi Nathan, joint managing partner and head of white-collar defence and investigations at Withers KhattarWong, said: “We are delighted to welcome Shaun, Tom and Jonathan to the partnership. Their promotions reflect the strength of our Singapore team and the calibre of talent we continue to develop within the firm.”
The Singapore office has also promoted Joyce Lee and Claire Tian to special counsel.
The promotions follow a 2025 round in which Withers appointed 16 partners, including 10 in the US, after previously making two notable hires: international arbitration partner Mohammed Reza and art advisory head Mari-Claudia Jiménez, who arrived in New York and now leads the firm’s team there, which expanded late last year.
Withers also launched a two-partner, three-lawyer New York City employment law team, joining from Outten & Golden in January, while the firm’s clean energy and projects team received a boost in Tokyo and Singapore with further partner hires from Baker McKenzie and Morrison & Foerster that same month, led by Ean MacPherson.
It also grew the firm’s international employment team with Felda Yeung in Hong Kong, who joined in March from Gall Solicitors, where she co-headed the employment team.
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