Global law firm Greenberg Traurig expanded in Singapore, adding Ashok Lalwani, a renowned corporate lawyer who has built a top capital markets and corporate practice across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and an international practice in India, and Chi Pan, a corporate lawyer who has long served as a bridge for clients between the Asia-Pacific region and the West. Both join as shareholders.
Lalwani spent the past 25 years leading Baker McKenzie’s India practice and growing its international capital markets practice in APAC, specializing in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), capital markets and corporate advisory matters. Pan joins from Goodwin, where she was a partner in its private equity practice and a key member of its Asia expansion. Over her 16-year career, she has advised some of the region’s most active investors on cross-border M&A and minority investments, numbering hundreds of deals that connect APAC and the Western world.
“The strategy of being one unified firm, without mergers and not a verein, following wealth, innovation, funds and finance and practices and industries such as real estate, hospitality, energy, infrastructure, restructuring, media, sports and entertainment, as well as disputes worldwide, has naturally led to our expansion across the U.S. and around the world,” Richard A. Rosenbaum, executive chairman of Greenberg Traurig, said. “That is why leading lawyers are attracted to this unique platform and uniquely empowering, respectful and trusting culture, so different than the politics, the bureaucracy and the money culture so abundant in Big Law today, and which leads to sophisticated, business-minded and collaborative solutions for our clients. The growing drivers for complex, cross-border work are accelerating the connectivity among the Americas, London and Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and Singapore has become a key hub. Ashok and Chi are prime examples of such lawyers, and we are excited to welcome them to the GT family.”
The hirings are the latest in a string of high-profile additions throughout Asia, where Greenberg Traurig has been following a blueprint of recruiting local talent.
“Ashok has built an unmatched India practice and established himself as a capital markets leader throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Chi has become a critical connection between East and West, guiding her clients through complex, multinational transactions,” Richard A. Edlin, vice chair of Greenberg Traurig, said. “These hires reflect Greenberg Traurig’s belief in Asia as a key driver of global economic growth, which has led to increased demand for our services from clients.”
Lalwani represents multinational corporations, financial institutions and state entities across Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on cross-border transactions involving India, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. He advises clients in industries including energy, real estate, hospitality, retail, technology and financial services.
Lalwani joined Greenberg Traurig because he sees vast opportunities to expand his practice to the United States and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region through mergers and acquisitions originating from and going to South and Southeast Asia. He said Greenberg Traurig’s unified, collaborative approach will allow clients to tap into the talent and networks of lawyers operating across the globe.
“Indian companies are operating and investing in more locations around the world; India is a key investment destination for most multinationals. Greenberg Traurig’s global geographic footprint, in particular 35 offices in the U.S. and 10 in EMEA, will enable us to provide end-to-end service in these most active corridors for work,” Lalwani said. “I am very excited about working together with my new colleagues to build and grow our India and Asia Pacific practices.”
Singapore will be Pan’s sixth country to call home. Having grown up in Taiwan and the United Kingdom and having studied at Yale Law School and being dual-qualified in the U.S. and Hong Kong, Pan brings a distinct, multicultural perspective to her clients. Being a fluent Mandarin and English speaker, Pan built out her practice in New York for 10 years, and subsequently returned to Asia with the goal of connecting investors and companies between Asia-Pacific and the United States.
Pan has intentionally left her practice broad — spanning early-stage ventures, M&A, roll-ups and divestitures, and exit transactions — which allows clients to benefit from her holistic understanding of the investment lifecycle. Pan is particularly focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the global economy and the practice of law. She is eager to join forces with Greenberg Traurig, with its global platform and its focus on megatrends in key markets, including the rapidly evolving field of AI, and assist clients in navigating these foundational shifts.
“Greenberg Traurig attracted me with its strategic commitment to APAC and its culture of responsiveness, collaboration and local empowerment — values that hand back power to clients at the local level,” Pan said. “Our clients will benefit from GT’s business vision for APAC, its focus on megatrends such as AI-related industries and a platform that empowers lawyers from the ground up. I’m excited to be joining this team of highly talented lawyers and look forward to collaborating with them across our 51 offices.”
