Meryl Koh Featured in Managing IP’s Women in IP Series

28 Nov 2025

In a recent interview with Managing IP as part of its Women in IP series, our very own Meryl Koh shared insights into her work, her experiences as a female leader in the profession, and her views on the rapidly evolving intellectual property (IP) litigation landscape.

Reflecting on her early years in practice, Meryl shared her observations on the participation of women in IP and litigation. She noted that women have long been well represented in Singapore’s IP sector, with many accomplished female practitioners featured prominently in rankings and publications, many of whom she has encountered in her early career. In litigation and disputes, similarly, there have always been many capable women, she notes. Their presence and leadership made it clear to her from the outset that women hold a strong and enduring place in the field.

Meryl also discussed the growing complexity of IP disputes, particularly those with cross-border and fast-moving technological elements. Having led numerous cross-border litigation and arbitration matters involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement, passing off and breaches of confidential information, she shares that clients today require more than traditional legal advice. “Clients come to us for guidance on matters where precedent is limited, and solutions must be tailored,” she said.

With technology evolving at breakneck speed and IP legislation racing to keep up, handling multi-jurisdictional disputes where legislation or precedent may not provide clear answers can be challenging, she added.

Meryl explained that what differentiates Drew & Napier is the firm’s ability to provide the full spectrum of IP services (from IP identification and commercialisation and protection to enforcement and litigation) that cross legal disciplines and always with the mindset of helping clients expand their business and navigate disputes strategically.

When asked about the most rewarding and challenging aspects of her role, Meryl spoke about the satisfaction of distilling key issues in complex, novel disputes and developing creative yet legally robust strategies that help clients meet their practical and commercial objectives. Equally meaningful to her is witnessing the moment when clients or junior lawyers realise that the rigorous preparation, long hours and hard work were well worth the effort.

You can read her full interview in Managing IP’s Women in IP series here.