BIG Four law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore (R&T) on Thursday (Feb 27) announced that its managing partner, Patrick Ang, will step down from his post on Apr 1, after six years at the helm.
Taking over the role is Ng Kim Beng, 53, one of two deputy managing partners at the firm. Ang will remain the vice-chairman of Rajah & Tann Asia.
An experienced counsel in international arbitration and construction, Ng has been deputy managing partner since 2022. He was selected as successor after being nominated by the firm’s executive committee (exco) and elected by its equity partners, said R&T in a statement.
Senior counsel Kelvin Poon, who heads the firm’s international arbitration practice, will continue as deputy managing partner.
Ng has been with R&T for 24 years and advises on cross-border investments and projects in construction, renewables, power, oil and gas, as well as petrochemicals.
He was also the founding chairman of the Law Society of Singapore’s Building and Construction Law Committee. He is currently a member of the Singapore Mediation Centre’s Construction Adjudicators Accreditation Committee, and a board member at Mount Alvernia Hospital.
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At a press conference announcing the succession, Ang said the decision to hand the reins over to Ng was not made recently – it was part of wider succession planning that began before Ang himself was appointed managing partner.
Succession planning was one of the first tasks former R&T managing partner Lee Eng Beng gave to Ang during his final term.
“But at that time, we felt that the next generation was still busy building their practice, and therefore the priority should be given for them to build their practice and not take over management,” said Ang.
“The strong message that I want to send to the market and to clients and everyone who deals with us is that this is a very smooth transition, it is a planned transition, and it’s very well-accepted and received by the partners and the firm.”
He also noted that Ng and Poon are “very ready” to take over leadership of the firm, given that they were part of the exco during the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the “worst periods of history for businesses”.
Continuity
On his priorities as incoming managing director, Ng said his immediate plans are to continue Ang’s work in improving R&T in three areas: people, processes and practice.
In terms of practice, the firm is actively looking for opportunities to grow its presence regionally. In 2024, it opened a second office in Shenzhen to cater to the rise in trade and investments between China and South-east Asia, and to tap clients’ demand for regional firms with cross-jurisdictional capabilities.
As for processes, the Big Four law firm wants to explore utilising generative artificial intelligence and technology to enhance its value proposition to clients.
As part of the change in leadership, R&T is also looking at making new appointments to its exco and department heads. These changes are still being contemplated, and the final slate will be announced soon, said Ng.
“What we are hoping to signal in some of these appointments is succession planning,” he said.
“We recognise that, in as much as we want to give as many opportunities as possible for the younger ones to step forward and fulfil their potential, it’s also just as important, or perhaps even more important, that we maintain that continuity.”
He added: “The appointments that we’ve been discussing for the various roles and designations are to reflect these criteria. We want to maintain continuity. We want to ensure that there are leaders in place who are leading active practices with good engagement in the market… but also with some of the younger appointments, (we want to) start to introduce them into leadership and management positions.”
