Withers Khattarwong, the Singapore outfit of UK-based Withers, has strengthened its real estate team in Asia with the addition of new partner Chau Hwei Lee from Lion City firm Shook Lin & Bok.
Jeremy Wakeham, CEO of Withers’ business division, said: “There are few real estate lawyers in Singapore with Chau Hwei’s depth of experience, and we’re delighted he is joining the firm to support our clients with their real estate investment needs and to welcome his clients to the firm.”
Lee, which has joined Withers along with associate Cheryl Lee from Shook Lin & Bok, has a legal career spanning more than two decades specialising in commercial real estate work. This included advising on acquisitions and disposals of hotels, commercial and industrial buildings as well as hotel management agreements and property joint ventures, among other matters.
He began as an associate in corporate and commercial litigation at Singaporean firm TSMP Law Corporation in 2002. Before his later stints spanning five years as a senior associate in corporate real estate at Singaporean firms Allen & Gledhill and WongPartnership, Lee worked as a deputy public prosecutor and state counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore.
Lee practised as a partner in corporate real estate during his time at Dentons Rodyk, a Singapore-based firm formed via the combination between global firm Dentons and local outfit Rodyk. Between 2015 and 2018, he briefly left private practice to join Singapore-headquartered CDL Hospitality Trusts where he worked as general counsel, before joining Shook Lin & Bok as a corporate real estate partner in 2018.
Lee’s arrival is part of Withers’ latest effort to grow its real estate team across Asia, including the concurrent promotion of counsel Akinari Nakano to partner in the Tokyo office. Nakano, who worked for Japan’s Ministry of Finance for 12 years before becoming a lawyer, specialises in advising on real estate acquisition and financing as well as real estate securitisation and financial regulations, among other sectors.
