New partners Ashok Kumar and Darius Tay will lead Bird & Bird’s recently established restructuring and insolvency (R&I) group effective on 1 August, strengthening its capabilities amid Singapore’s emergence as a hub for managing international businesses across Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.
“R&I will become an increasingly integral part of our firm’s operations not only as a standalone practice but also as a complementary extension of our existing corporate and commercial offerings,” Bird & Bird’s managing partner Jeremy Tan told Asia Business Law Journal.
Kumar and Tay have joined the firm along with a team of lawyers from BlackOak, a boutique firm they founded in Singapore in 2016. Ashok brings 30 years of experience in corporate restructuring and insolvency, while Tay has been in practice in the same areas for 13 years. They handle both the contentious and non-contentious areas of restructuring and insolvency, including the banking and finance aspects, and M&As in special situations, for both domestic and cross-border transactions.
They also represent various fund managers, international firms and financial institutions, advising on compliance, regulatory matters, investment issues and collaborations with debtor companies.
The firm had already acted for a wide range of holding companies, venture capital firms and tech enterprises with portfolio companies and group structures across Southeast Asia, said Tan. He added that these clients frequently encountered restructuring scenarios, whether due to market shifts, investment cycles, or regulatory developments.
He also stressed that with the addition of the R&I practice, the firm would be able to support these clients more holistically, from early stage distress signals to formal insolvency proceedings.
