DREW & NAPIER IS NO. 1 LAW FIRM EMPLOYER IN SINGAPORE
- Firm Leads the Pack Among Local and Foreign Firms -
29 January 2008 - In a recently concluded survey of law firms across 11 countries in Asia Pacific, Drew & Napier LLC has emerged as the top law firm employer in Singapore, beating both local and foreign firms, to clinch the Employer of Choice award.
Conducted by regional legal magazine, Asian Legal Business (ALB), this is the first survey of its kind undertaken by the publisher. The survey was sent to 20,000 in-house counsel and practitioners and findings were released at the end of January 2008. To ensure that results were unbiased and fair, ALB also spoke to legal HR professionals and recruitment consultants, after collating the responses that came back from current and ex-employees of the law firms, and third parties.
Firms are scored on 6 categories ranging from financial rewards and advancement opportunities to performance feedback and work-life balance.
“The difficulty of attracting and retaining legal talent and the obstacle to growth that it often constitutes, has been a recurring theme of ALB’s regular dialogues with leading firms right across Asia for some time now. We find it fascinating how the dearth of talent, whether caused by somewhat out-of-date legal training regimes or sheer pace of demand growth, can change the whole shape of the legal services industry in some jurisdictions,” said ALB managing editor George Walmsley. “Given that most firms lack the resources or objectivity to examine the question more closely, we thought a survey of this kind would be invaluable. And judging by the very healthy response rates, it’s certainly an issue that both firms and individual lawyers are keen to get more information on.”
Commenting on the significance of the award, Drew & Napier’s recruitment director, Kelvin Tan, says, “This is all due to the fantastic ideas which our lawyers and staff give us to make the workplace a highly challenging and enjoyable environment. We continue to encourage our employees to share their ideas with us.” He adds, “Our priorities are simple: attracting and retaining talent, keeping everyone at Drew & Napier happy, and giving our lawyers and staff maximum flexibility and personal time.”
An example of Drew & Napier’s proactive approach was the formalization last year, of a “work-from-home” day, the first law firm to do so. The firm also recently introduced paid-sabbaticals for lawyers, another first among firms in Singapore.
Director, Farhana Siddiqui, a mother of two, says, “Drew has always provided me the flexibility of working from home. As a mother of a nine year old and a three year old, being able to work from home allows me the flexibility of being with my children and to devote more time and attention to my kids. By being around them, I have peace of mind and have found that I get even more work done!”
Explaining why he chose Drew & Napier, Chia Voon Jiet, a senior associate who has been with the firm for 5 years, puts it, “The firm’s commitment to developing and nurturing talents makes the difference for me. Seeing the careers of the 7 Senior Counsel, including my supervising director Cavinder Bull SC, who were all trained from within the firm is inspiring. The generational approach to grooming younger lawyers gives clarity to our career paths.”
Echoing similar sentiments is pupil, Vikna Rajah, “In Drew you get the sense that you are working with the very best legal brains, not just in Singapore but in the region. During the brief time here so far, I’ve already had the opportunity to work on numerous high profile cases. Within the first three months of pupillage, I appeared in the Straits Times with my team members and our client.” He continues, “Senior team members always make the effort to take the time off their hectic schedules to share their knowledge and expertise, ensuring that you fulfill your potential and become the best lawyer you can be. It is telling that Drew is the only law firm in Singapore where all the Senior Counsel are ‘home-grown’.”
Drew’s commitment to “happiness” goes beyond the lawyers, Lisa Lim, a professional support staff member says, “Drew has a nurturing environment. The constant support and guidance from mentors who are more than willing to share their skills and knowledge motivates me and furthers my professional development.”
“Open communication and feedback is vital to the success of our initiatives. Programmes should not be implemented in vacuum. We make it a point to seek the views of our lawyers and have regular reviews to keep us on track,” explains Adrian Tan, a director of the firm.
Speaking of the firm’s Ministry of Fun gatherings, Kelvin says, “We are very serious about what we do, but it is equally important that we have the occasions to get together, have a good time and get to know the person sitting 10 floors away better. And that is important to us because when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, complacency has no place in this firm.”
Note to Editors
- Full details of the Employer of Choice Survey will be published in the forthcoming issue 8.1 of ALB magazine (www.asianlegalonline.com)
- Five winners are selected for each country. In Singapore, the top firms were (in order):
a) Drew & Napier
b) Linklaters
c) Allen & Gledhill
d) Baker & McKenzie
e) Clifford Chance / Allen & Overy – joint fifth placing - Firms were scored based on the following 6 factors.
a) Financial rewards
b) Professional development and training
c) Performance feedback and supervision
d) Quality and variety of work
e) Work load / Billable hours target / Work-life balance
f) Career prospects / Advancement or partnership prospects - The 7 Senior Counsel in Drew & Napier are:
a) Joseph Grimberg SC
b) Davinder Singh SC
c) Jimmy Yim SC
d) Indranee Rajah SC
e) Harpreet Singh Nehal SC
f) Hri Kumar SC
g) Cavinder Bull SC
ABOUT DREW & NAPIER LLC
Established in 1889, Drew & Napier LLC is one of Singapore's leading and largest law firms, with over 220 lawyers and fee-earners. Consistently rated top tier in dispute resolution over the years by international ranking organisations such as Asia Pacific Legal 500, Chambers Global, Practical Law Company and Asia Law Profiles, to name but a few, the firm has seven senior counsel, the largest number of any law firm in Singapore. The firm is headed by chief executive officer, Davinder Singh, Senior Counsel. Drew & Napier LLC is also highly rated in Corporate Insolvency & Restructuring, Intellectual Property and Tax, with market leading practices in Banking & Corporate, Competition & Antitrust, Telecommunications, Media & Technology, and Admiralty & Shipping.
For more information please contact:
Verona Huang
Corporate Affairs Manager
Drew & Napier LLC
Tel: +65 6531 2482
Email: verona.huang@drewnapier.com