Duane Morris Opens Singapore Office; Vietnam Offices to Follow

    SINGAPORE, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Duane Morris LLP announced today the
 opening of an office in Singapore.
     The Singapore office will be led by Duane Morris partner and former
 Mexican Ambassador to Singapore Eduardo Ramos-Gomez, who served from 1998
 to 2001. Well known in Singapore's business and government sectors, Eduardo
 has been a New York-based Duane Morris partner since 2004. Joining Eduardo
 is a group of five distinguished partners currently practicing in
 Singapore: Rudy Lim, former partner at DLA Piper; Lian Yok Tan, former
 associate at White & Case; Chris Muessel, currently a special counsel at
 Baker & McKenzie (joining February 1); Sandor Schick, former counsel at
 Shearman & Sterling; and Adam Summerly, former counsel at Jones Day.
     It is anticipated that three to four associates will join the Singapore
 office in the coming weeks.
     In addition, Duane Morris will open two offices in Vietnam, one in
 Hanoi and the other in Ho Chi Minh City, in the spring of 2007.
     The Singapore office will focus on the areas of corporate finance,
 project finance, energy, cross-border transactions, restructuring, mergers
 and acquisitions, real estate and telecommunications.
     Douglas Woloshin, who was instrumental in helping to establish the
 Asian presence, will continue to maintain a liaison function with the
 offices in Singapore and Vietnam. Toward this end, Doug will also lead the
 firm's Project Finance Practice Group, which is expected to be a key
 component of the firm's Asian practice. Doug will bring his valuable skills
 and experience to the office as he concentrates his practice in the areas
 of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and corporate and
 project finance.
     "We understand our Singapore office will place us among the top five
 U.S. firms in Singapore and at the time we open our Vietnam offices, we
 will be only one of two U.S.-based firms in Vietnam," said Sheldon
 Bonovitz, Chairman of Duane Morris. "Our move into Asia by way of
 Singapore, an established center of business, will firmly launch Duane
 Morris as a significant factor in this fast-growing part of the world
 economy," he said. Bonovitz commented that Vietnam is one of the
 faster-growing economies in the world, with a heavy investment
 concentration in that country from Singapore and other countries in Asia,
 as well as the United States. The Singapore partners will service clients
 in, or with interests in, Cambodia, China and Taiwan, India, Indonesia,
 Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
 The office and staff are fluent in most of the languages of the countries
 in which the firm services clients.
     "I am pleased and honored to be returning to the country I called home
 for three years as the Mexican Ambassador," said Eduardo. "Singapore is a
 place of great economic vitality and I look forward to serving our clients'
 legal needs in the region."
     Singapore boasts a thriving free-market economy with a per capita gross
 domestic product equal to that of the leading Western European countries.
 The country has seen rapid growth in recent years, reporting a real growth
 rate of 6.4 percent in 2005, due in large part to government efforts to
 establish the country as a Southeast Asia financial center.
     Vietnam has also emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in
 Southeast Asia, with a gross domestic product growth rate second only in
 the region to China in 2005. The manufacturing, information technology and
 high- tech sectors in Vietnam have experienced significant economic growth
 during the past decade.
     Ambassador Eduardo Ramos-Gomez heads the Singapore office. An
 international and corporate lawyer for more than 20 years, he advises
 multinational and foreign companies in Asia, North America, Europe and
 Latin America on cross-border direct foreign investment, project
 development and project finance. His practice encompasses a broad range of
 international investments, mergers and acquisitions, securities, financing,
 joint ventures, licensing, venture capital formation and investments,
 privatization, infrastructure projects, and other corporate transactions in
 the United States, Latin America and Asia.
     Eduardo formerly served as Mexico's Ambassador to Singapore, Negara
 Brunei Darussalam and the Union of Myanmar. He is commissioner of the
 Commission on Globalization World Forum, president of the U.S.-Mexico
 Chamber of Commerce, vice chair of the Mexican Law Committee of the Section
 of International Law and Practice for the American Bar Association, and
 chapter chair of the International Division of International Law and
 Practice Section of the New York Bar Association. Eduardo will also head
 the Latin America desk in the Singapore office. He is a graduate of the
 Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City and a graduate of the University of
 Virginia (LL.M.).
     Rudy Lim, former partner at DLA Piper, practices in the areas of
 project development and finance, and has worked on numerous power and
 infrastructure projects across Asia. He has also successfully counseled
 clients on matters involving cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint
 ventures, venture capital investments, debt restructuring, and certain
 aspects of international trade laws and WTO regulations.
     Chris Muessel, currently serving as special counsel at Baker &
 McKenzie, focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, oil and gas
 law, project finance, general corporate, and venture capital/private equity
 matters. He also has advised on transactional law for middle market
 corporations. In addition, Chris is the current chair of the American
 Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. He will also play an integral role in the
 development of the firm's presence in Vietnam upon his February 1 arrival.
     Sandor Schick, former counsel at Shearman & Sterling LLP, focuses his
 practice on mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. He earned his
 J.D. from Columbia University Law School in 1985. Sandor graduated from
 Harvard University with a Ph.D. in 1982 and an M.A. in 1979. Sandor is a
 member of the International Insolvency Institute, an organization of some
 of the leading insolvency practitioners in the world, and has represented
 creditors' committees and debtors in the largest restructurings in Asia.
     Adam Summerly, former counsel at Jones Day, focuses his practice on
 mergers and acquisitions, energy delivery and power, energy utilities,
 private equity, and lending/structured finance and deliveries. In 1991, he
 completed his Law Society Finals from The College of Law in Guildford,
 England. Adam earned his B.A. from the University of Nottingham in 1990.
     Lian Yok Tan, former associate at White & Case, focuses her practice in
 the areas of energy, infrastructure and project finance. She was involved
 in the development of coal-fired power plant projects in Thailand; the
 construction, operation and maintenance contracts for oil fields in
 Indonesia; and the development of wind farm projects in India. Lian earned
 her LL.B. from the University of Wales in 1993.
     Douglas Woloshin serves on the firm's Partners' Board and heads the
 Project Finance Practice Group, in addition to his work in Singapore. Doug
 concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate law, mergers and
 acquisitions, real estate, and corporate and project finance. He also has
 accumulated experience in cross-border transactions, venture
 capital/private equity financing, distressed asset transactions, and
 international joint venture formation as well as being a tax accountant. A
 member of the American Bar Association, Douglas is a 1973 graduate of
 Georgetown University Law Center and a graduate of Villanova University.
     About Duane Morris
     Duane Morris LLP, among the 100 largest law firms in the world, is a
 full- service firm of more than 600 lawyers. In addition to legal services,
 Duane Morris has independent affiliates employing approximately 100
 professionals engaged in other disciplines. With offices in major markets,
 and as part of an international network of independent law firms, Duane
 Morris represents clients across the United States and around the world.
 
 

SOURCE Duane Morris LLP