Editor’s note: This announcement was picked up by the Business Times on 18 September 2019 under the headline “TSMP Law expands on several fronts”

SINGAPORE, 16 September 2019

Top boutique law firm TSMP Law Corporation (TSMP) is pleased to announce major moves that will strengthen its capabilities on several fronts.

Former Deputy Solicitor-General Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck, SC has joined the dispute resolution team, adding another senior counsel to the practice. He will focus on white-collar crime, regulatory investigations, medical negligence and investment disputes.

In the financial services space, TSMP has beefed up its regulatory practice with a new desk.  Company and securities law specialist Professor Hans Tjio has joined TSMP as a consultant, along with Mark A Jacobsen, who practises in regulatory and compliance for financial institutions, and in funds.

Concurrently, the firm’s partners have established compliance consulting firm Integrium Pte. Ltd. to service the ongoing compliance and reporting requirements of its financial institutions clients.

New senior director Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck, SC

As a senior director at TSMP, Jeffrey is well poised to start his second career as a practising member of the Bar after nearly half a century in the Singapore Legal Service. His practice at TSMP encompasses white-collar criminal law, regulatory investigations, medico-legal issues, as well as commercial and investment disputes. He will be applying his experience honed from service in the Singapore Government, at the United Nations and at other national and international organisations. Being a senior counsel (he was appointed in 2008), he will continue to focus on advocacy.

Jeffrey was the first Chief of Staff of the Singapore Legal Service. In 2018, he left the Attorney-General’s Chambers – its longest-serving officer at that time – as a Principal Senior Consultant, having previously served as its Deputy Solicitor-General. As a litigator, he represented the Government in civil and criminal cases, including appearing for the Attorney-General in matters concerning the legal profession.

Among his long list of appointments are his roles as the chair of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNITRAL) and a number of UNITRAL’s working groups; the chief negotiator for various treaty negotiations; and the president of the Medico-Legal Society of Singapore.

Jeffrey was the secretary of the working group that led to the establishment of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and is a Principal Mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre. Since January, he has been teaching International Humanitarian Law at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law as an adjunct professor.

Said Jeffrey: “At this pivotal point in my legal career, I hope to use my experience and skills gained from many years of practice to develop TSMP’s practice in a wide range of areas, particularly in dispute resolution.”

Said TSMP Joint Managing Partner Thio Shen Yi, SC: “Jeffrey has spent 46 years in the legal service and has represented the Government in a wide variety of court cases. He has overseen the Government’s legal needs ranging from contracts, regulation and emergency planning. The wealth of experience Jeffrey brings to the table at TSMP will allow us to better serve a niche clientele with unique needs.”

New consultant Professor Hans Tjio

Highly sought after for his unparalleled know-how, Professor Hans has joined TSMP as a consultant – having previously performed the same role at international and domestic law firms – and will work with Joint Managing Partner and Head of Corporate Stefanie Yuen Thio to develop the firm’s regulatory practice. He advises on issues ranging from securities law compliance to cryptocurrency and cutting-edge issues in company law.

The expert in company, securities and trust law literally wrote the books, among them are legal bibles such as Corporate Law; Principles and Practice of Securities Regulations in Singapore; Financial Services Law and Regulation; and The International Encyclopedia of Laws, Property and Trust Law in Singapore.

The life-long academic’s expertise in these areas was honed over the decades he had spent in research and teaching at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law. Since 1990, he has lectured in company law, securities regulation, trusts and equity as the university’s CJ Koh Professor of Law, and as visiting professor and scholar at top institutions in Taiwan, New Zealand, China, the US and Australia.

Hans also brings with him a wealth of experience in regulation and governance in the corporate world, having been seconded to the Monetary Authority of Singapore in the Securities & Futures department. He presently serves on the Securities Industry Council, which administers the country’s take-over code.

New director Mark A Jacobsen

Teaming up with Stefanie, Mark adds depth to a strong bench of practitioners in the corporate practice focused on financial institutions and services.

Having worked in five jurisdictions and four financial capitals, including the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, Mark has an extensive breadth of experience to draw upon. His work is primarily concentrated in financial institutions, and regulatory and compliance advisory where he has represented clients in applications and submissions to most of the major financial regulatory organisations globally, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

In addition, he possesses keen experience advising funds on transactions, having served as both legal counsel and business consultant to a number of them. This is an increasingly relevant skill as private equity and venture capital funds are now taking over a large chunk of the role traditionally played by stock exchanges in raising money.

Prior to joining TSMP, Mark practised with a Singapore law firm with international affiliations, and foreign firms Winston & Strawn, Hogan Lovells, and Dewey LeBouef. Mark graduated from Stanford Law School after obtaining his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Purdue University and has studied advanced Mandarin at Peking University.

Mark brings with him a unique ability to understand the financial products clients are offering in Asia. His capabilities are well married to Stefanie’s long history with regulations in Singapore corporate governance.

Stefanie was appointed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to the Corporate Governance Council to review the Code of Corporate Governance in February 2017. She was also a member of the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) Advisory Panel between June 2016 and May 2018. She continues to be a sought-after speaker and panellist for corporate governance conferences, and is an avid observer and writer on the topic.

The Singapore financial institutions ecosystem

These forward-looking steps are poised to meet the need in the financial institutions ecosystem for deep expertise in structuring, licensing and regulatory regimes, and cross-border activities. These are especially relevant as Singapore continues its push in its Smart Financial Centre strategy, it is looking at virtual banking licences, regulation of payment services intermediaries and an expansion of the types of exchanges operating locally, among other things.

Said Stefanie: “We recognise that the world is changing and becoming more decentralised. The centre of gravity is shifting from brick-and-mortar institutions to activities in cyberspace. Regulations, the law and compliance have to keep up with these developments. At the same time, we need lawyers who can understand the products sold by their clients so that we can help them navigate the legal framework, while remaining nimble and commercial. I am excited to be able to work with Hans and Mark in boosting TSMP’s capabilities in this area.”

New compliance consulting firm Integrium Pte. Ltd.

Set up as a separate entity from TSMP Law Corporation, Integrium Pte. Ltd. is a compliance consulting firm offering a full suite of integrated services based in Singapore. A vital cog in the partnership’s drive towards fulfilling the compliance needs of the entire financial regulatory ecosystem, it delivers quality advice from financial regulatory consultants specialising in new and innovative business concepts.

About TSMP Law Corporation

TSMP Law Corporation is one of Singapore’s leading law firms and Southeast Asia’s top boutique law firm. Named the Boutique Law Firm of the Year 2016, Transactional Boutique Law Firm of the Year 2017 and Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year 2018 and 2019 at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards, it is a corporate and commercial law firm with niche capabilities in handling complex transactions, as well as complex and challenging litigation and arbitration cases. It also prides itself on its pro bono and community engagement, for which it has won the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) in the Small and Medium Enterprises Category in 2018 after having been recognised by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) as a Champion of Good for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018.