About

The firm: Drew & Napier was formed in 1889 by the original partners Alfred Henry Drew and Sir Walter John Napier.

A Manchester barrister, Napier achieved many distinctions in his career, including being appointed Attorney-General from 1907 to 1909. Napier was also the driving force behind the Bar Council’s decision in 1892 to begin publishing the Straits Settlements Law Reports, of which he was the first editor.

Drew & Napier’s first Singaporean partner was Joseph Grimberg, who joined the firm in 1957. He rose to become managing partner, and was responsible for accelerating the pace of Asian recruitment to the more senior ranks in the office. In 1987, he sat in the High Court of Singapore as a Judicial Commissioner, but rejoined Drew & Napier as a consultant in 1989.

Drew & Napier has been home to many notable legal and political figures. Over a dozen Senior Counsel practised at Drew at some stage of their careers, more than any other law firm. Five Members of Parliament have called Drew their home. Prominent alumni include former Senior Minister of Singapore Professor S. Jayakumar, former Chief Minister of Singapore David Marshall, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, SC, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah, SC, Judges of Appeal of the Supreme Court Judith Prakash and Steven Chong, Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair, SC, former President of the Law Society of Singapore George Lim, SC, and Chairman of the EW Baker Centre for Law and Business under the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law, Tan Cheng Han, SC.

Drew & Napier has also represented prominent leaders in government and industry, and has been involved in most major litigation and corporate matters for more than a century.

Today, Drew & Napier is housed at 10 Collyer Quay, which was the original address of the firm when it was founded by Alfred Henry Drew and Sir Walter Napier.

Areas of practice: Drew & Napier is a full-service law firm that has been providing exceptional legal service and representation to discerning clients since 1889. It is one of the largest law firms in Singapore.

Clients consistently vote Drew & Napier’s lawyers to the highest ranks of their practice areas, and the firm has been honoured with numerous regional and national awards over the years.

Consistently rated top tier in dispute resolution by prestigious international publications, the firm has three senior counsel.

We are pre-eminent in competition and antitrust, corporate insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property (patents and trade marks), tax and telecommunications, media and technology, and have market leading practices in mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, and capital markets.

Drew & Napier has been named South East Asia Law Firm of the Year in 2017 by Asian Legal Business (ALB). ALB also named Drew & Napier as an Employer of Choice for the past ten years.

Find out more at www.drewnapier.com.

Languages

  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • English
  • Japanese
  • Malay
  • Mandarin and Chinese dialects
  • Tamil

Staffing Figures

  • 256 Number of lawyers