London-based international law firm RPC has elected Hong Kong-based Asia managing partner, Antony Sassi, as its new global head, with the appointment underscoring its continued commitment to Asia, the firm has told Asia Business Law Journal.
Sassi, a Hong Kong and England and Wales-admitted litigator, is set to succeed London-based global managing partner and insurance practice veteran James Miller on 1 May 2025 for a four-year term, and will relocate to London to serve in his new role.
Sassi told Asia Business Law Journal, that having spent more than a decade helping to build RPC’s platform in Asia, he was acutely aware of the opportunities and challenges the markets and this region presented.
“Our disputes and regulatory practices across the Hong Kong and Singapore offices remains extremely busy, driven by a diverse caseload. A significant portion of our activity in Hong Kong are professional indemnity cases, which remain particularly active in the region.”
As the current Asia managing partner, Sassi emphasised the integral part of the global strategy played by his firm’s international desks, including Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. He said RPC was not tied to any formal alliances or representative offices, calling it a rigid approach that seldom delivered the best solution for either the client or the firm with expertise not often being the best fit for the matter in hand.
“With a significant investment from the firm, we have enjoyed great success to date in the development of our international desks. This is an area where we are highly ambitious, and we continue to explore opportunities with the right partners and in the right places,” he said.
Under his upcoming global leadership, Sassi said his priority would be ensuring the Asia practice remained fully integrated with the firm’s global platform and growth strategy, while continuing to strengthen its international presence in core areas of expertise such as disputes, regulatory, insurance and reinsurance, and corporate and commercial.
“Our pipeline for disputes work in Hong Kong and Singapore remains robust, with key drivers includng regulatory changes and enforcement, market volatility driven by economic uncertainties, and professional negligence claims,” he added.
RPC has been active in deepening the partner bench of its Asia offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, which is operated under a joint law venture with local Singaporean law firm Premier Law. In June last year, the UK firm hired M&A specialist Kiat Wee Lau, a former partner at one of Singapore’s largest firms WongPartnership, to boost its corporate practice in the Lion City. In Hong Kong, RPC strengthened its commercial disputes practice by adding partner Ivan Chang, who was previously a partner at Addleshaw Goddard, to the bench in the city in September 2023 to bolster general dispute resolution and contentious regulatory work.
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