RAJAH & Tann Singapore deputy managing partner, Patrick Ang, is taking over from Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng as managing partner, effective March 31, 2019, the law firm announced on Friday.

Mr Lee will remain as senior partner and chairman of Rajah & Tann Asia. Mr Ang will also take on the role of vice-chairman of Rajah & Tann Asia from his previous designation as chief executive officer. 

In his new role at Rajah & Tann Singapore, Mr Ang will prioritise training and mentoring young partners in their 40s to allow them to take on leadership roles in the company, Mr Lee said in a media release.

Mr Ang will also oversee the firm's move to a new office at Marina One at the end of the year.

"This won't just be a physical move but a shift in mindset," Mr Ang said, adding that the new office will adopt a more open concept. This will allow equity partners to better share resources and collaborative spaces, having previously worked in enclosed rooms, said the firm. It will also use more technology tools to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Through the move, the firm looks to promote a "less hierarchical organisation, enhance optimisation in planning and organising resources", he added.

As deputy managing director, Mr Ang was involved in the day-to-day management of one of Singapore's "Big Four" law firms, and the driving force behind many of its key projects and initiatives. This is while building his professional reputation as an eminent insolvency and restructuring lawyer globally, said Mr Lee.

Mr Ang was the first Singaporean and the fourth lawyer from Asia to be inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy, a global organisation for leading bankruptcy and insolvency practitioners. He has acted for financial institutions and companies in many major restructuring and insolvency cases like Lehman Brothers, Sogo Department Store, Nortel Networks, China Aviation Oil, Asia Pulp & Paper, and Swiber Holdings.

Mr Lee first took on the role of sole managing partner in October 2010 after being appointed joint managing partner in March 2010. During his tenure, he spearheaded the law firm's regional efforts in South-east Asia. The firm said this raised the number of fee earners by nearly 30 per cent from 591 to 762 today. In the region, Rajah & Tann Asia has over 1,250 fee earners and employees.

Regional-sourced business also now comprises more than half of the firm's Singapore revenue.

Mr Ang said: "Under Eng Beng's leadership, Rajah & Tann has transformed from a Singapore-centric firm to one that is regional in scope and scale. The success of Rajah & Tann Asia is testament to his vision and his ability to catalyse cooperation among lawyers from diverse backgrounds and regulatory environments."

Mr Lee added: "Rajah & Tann has a culture of embracing change and having each generation of partners investing in and building up the firm for the next generation. We believe that at this time when various market forces and the advent of technology will drive significant changes in the way legal services are delivered, this is critical for the firm to evolve and flourish."