Senior counsel Davinder Singh to leave Drew & Napier to start own law firm
Prominent lawyer Davinder Singh will be leaving Drew & Napier to start his own firm after 37 years of service.
The 61-year-old senior counsel, who is currently executive chairman, will be leaving with two Drew & Napier directors Jaikanth Shankar and Pardeep Singh Khosa, the firm announced on Thursday (24 January). His last day would be at the end of this quarter, according to a Drew & Napier spokesperson.
When asked about Singh’s new firm, the spokesperson said that it would focus on dispute resolution and international arbitration. Singh also plans to train young lawyers at his new firm.
In an announcement on the website, Drew & Napier said that senior counsel Jimmy Yim will assume the role of Chairman of the Board while senior counsel Cavinder Bull, who was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO) by Singh in August 2017, will continue in his current role.
Singh said in the announcement, “Renewal in the commercial world cannot meaningfully take place under a shadow. If you train the young to take over, you must trust them to do so.
“I have overseen the transition and am convinced that the new team is ready and the firm is in capable hands. I therefore believe that it is the right thing to do to move on. I am also very blessed to be able to do that at a time of my choosing.”
Called to the Bar in 1983, Singh has practised across criminal litigation, dispute resolution and intellectual property.
Singh, who was CEO of Drew & Napier from 1997 to 2017, has appeared in a number of high-profile cases.
In 2015, Singh acted for PM Lee in a defamation suit against blogger Roy Ngerng.
The former MP from Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC represented Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the ongoing defamation case against blogger Leong Sze Hian. Leong is being sued by Lee for sharing an article which claimed that the PM helped former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to launder funds.
More recently, Singh represented Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council in the ongoing civil lawsuit against three Workers’ Party Members of Parliament and two other Aljunied-Hougang town councillors for their alleged breach of fiduciary duties.
