Dentons Rodyk

Dispute Resolution, Civil and Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation, High Net Worth & Family Office, High Net Worth & Family Office

Kia Meng is a Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk and its Chief Operating Officer. He sits on Dentons’ Global Advisory Committee and Dentons ASEAN’s Advisory Committee, comprising the board of various Dentons offices.

A veteran lawyer with two decades of experience, Kia Meng’s practice straddles contentious and non-contentious matters. Kia Meng Co-Heads the following practices in the firm:

• Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation Practice – Kia Meng is well-regarded in the industry and ranked in various legal directories in the Private Client and Private Wealth categories for both contentious and non-contentious matters.
  • On the advisory front, Kia Meng’s advice is sought-after by clients both institutional and individual. He works closely with various private banks, family offices, trust companies and real estate houses to advise wealthy families and high-net-worth-individuals on a spectrum of issues. Kia Meng advises private clients on wealth preservation, family business structuring, investment immigration, family succession, legacy and estate planning
  • On contentious matters, Kia Meng has advised and represented wealthy families, high-net-worth-individuals and private trust companies on a wide range of matters, involving contested wills and probate, trusts, mental capacity issues under the Mental Capacity Act, testamentary capacity disputes, allegations of undue influence, defamation, asset/property allocation disputes and  estate administration. Kia Meng has been able to deploy effective strategies to achieve successful outcomes for contentious matters.
• High Net Worth & Family Office – Kia Meng advises wealthy families and individuals on the establishment and structure of family offices. He assists family office clients on their fund structures and applications to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Section 13O and 13U Enhanced Tier Fund Tax Incentive schemes under the Income Tax Act. Kia Meng also advises on investor immigration under the Global Investor Programme administered by the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB). He has an established reputation in the family office space in representing and advising Mandarin-speaking clients and clients from the Chinese diaspora.
• Public Inquiries, White-Collar Investigations & Crime – Having been involved in several high-profile public/government inquiries and investigations, Kia Meng is familiar with the processes and requirements involved in these proceedings. In the private sector, Kia Meng represents and advises clients in internal investigations involving whistle-blowing incidents, corruption, employee fraud, workplace harassment and corporate espionage cases.
• Regional Practice – Kia Meng leads a team of regional lawyers in developing cross-border work within the ASEAN regions and across Asia and Australasia countries. In this role, he functions as a director of Dentons Myanmar and advises the firm’s various Country Desks and Country Collaboration Groups.

Kia Meng is an affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Planners (STEP). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He is appointed to the panel of arbitrators with the Thailand Arbitration Centre (THAC) and to the panel of Specialist Mediators with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC).

In his role as COO, Kia Meng leads all business support functions of the firm, including Academy, Finance, Human Resource, Innovation, Information Technology, Marketing and Risk & Compliance. He has a particular interest in law firm management and operations, legal technology and innovation and legal career development.

Chief Operating Officer and Senior Partner, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP (formerly Rodyk & Davidson LLP), 2004 to present

English, Mandarin

Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

Member, Panel of Arbitrators, Thailand Arbitration Centre (THAC)

Member, Panel of Specialist Mediators, Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC)

Affiliate Member, The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

Member, The Law Society of Singapore

Member, Singapore Academy of Law

Member, International Bar Association

Member, Singapore Institute of Directors

Wealth Management Institute, 2021, Family Office Advisors for Greater China Markets

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2020, Asia Pacific Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration

INSEAD, 2018, SAL-INSEAD Law Firm Leadership Programme

National University of Singapore, 2002, LLB (Hons)