Davinder Singh to leave Drew & Napier and set up own practice

LEGAL bigwig Davinder Singh is leaving Drew & Napier after 37 years to start his own legal practice to "train young lawyers".

Mr Singh, 61, who was among the inaugural batch of senior counsel appointed in 1997, is executive chairman of Drew & Napier.

He was the chief executive officer of the Drew & Napier, one of Singapore's leading law firms, for 20 years, from 1997 to 2017, before taking up the post of executive chairman.

Drew & Napier in a media statement issued on Thursday said that Mr Singh, when he was CEO two years ago, had initiated management renewal process in the firm, and appointed a successor - Cavinder Bull.

Mr Singh said in the statement: "Renewal in the commercial world cannot meaningfully take place under a shadow. If you train the young to take over, you must trust them to do so. I have overseen the transition and am convinced that the new team is ready and the firm is in capable hands. I therefore believe that it is the right thing to do to move on. I am also very blessed to be able to do that at a time of my choosing."

Cavinder Bull expressed the firm's gratitude  for all that Mr Singh has done for Drew & Napier. 

With Mr Singh's departure, Jimmy Yim will assume the role of chairman of the board whilst continuing as the managing director of the dispute resolution department of the firm.  

Mr Bull, who Davinder appointed as CEO in August 2017, will continue as the firm's chief executive, assisted by deputy CEO Sushil Nair.