Singapore Awards Licenses to US law firm

Latham & Watkins and White & Case were the only U.S. firms awarded licenses to practice local law in Singapore on Friday.
Sibling publication Legal Week reports that the two were joined by U.K. firms Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, and Norton Rose.
The American Lawyer reported in April that Singapore's decision to change the status quo became more acute when large international financial institutions began turning to the island nation's powerful sovereign wealth funds like Temasek Holdings for investments to offset billion-dollar writedowns.
"There was a clear feeling that there wasn't sufficient depth at the top end of the market in Singapore," said Vijaya Rajah, a judge on the Supreme Court of Singapore, who lobbied for the change. "I think it's in our national interest that we have some of the top international firms locating some of their best lawyers in Singapore."
Firms granted licenses will have six months to hire local lawyers and set up Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) schemes, which allow firms to practice in all areas of local law except domestic litigation, criminal, family, and administrative law. Prior to the QFLP, foreign firms could only practice in Singapore through joint ventures with local shops.
The Singapore government commissioned a select committee headed by Rajah to analyze the merits of the QFLP scheme and to establish criteria for selecting potential applicants. The committee began accepting applications in August and closed the process in October.
Legal Week reports that as many as 20 firms are thought to have applied for the QFLP license, which is good for five years. Linklaters and Lovells did not apply for licenses, choosing instead to stick with their joint ventures.
Applications by Ashurst and DLA Piper were not approved.