Family Law

• Divorce
  Divorce law reform in England and Wales – no fault divorce New legislation came into force in April 2022 that will make divorce a simpler and less acrimonious process by removing blame for the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership. This is often important when couples need to maintain connection to share childcare. It will also allow couples to apply for divorce jointly for the first time. You can find more information here to help decide what’s best for you.
• Child Support
  We acted for the mother and child in Hong Kong under the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, achieving for our client the highest award for such child maintenance to date.
• Paternity
• Premarital Agreement
  Deciding to get married is an exciting time in your life, and a prenuptial agreement may be the last thing on your mind. But more and more couples are deciding on this route to bring them peace of mind should the unthinkable happen. Whether you decided to have an agreement or it is at the suggestion of family members, trustees or fellow shareholders, a prenuptial agreement (as with pre-civil partnership and postnuptial agreements) can save a lot of stress, dispute and future legal costs should the relationship break down. We have enormous experience in the drafting and negotiation of these agreements, whether they are multi-jurisdictional in scope or relate just to one country.
• Guardianship

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Who is Withers KhattarWong LLP? In Singapore, Withers KhattarWong is regarded as the leading criminal defence practice. We have one of the largest criminal law practices among international law firms. With a highly skilled and determined team, our clients can be sure of representation from eminent lawyers in their respective fields.
• Sex Crimes
  For example, our team is highly sought after to defend cases that involve sexual offences. As such, we act in many notorious cases of rape and outrage of modesty.
• Robbery
  At Withers KhattarWong LLP in Singapore, our team of expert serious crime lawyers practice in white-collar and serious crime in the High Court and State Courts of Singapore. This includes providing specialist advice on corruption, casino fraud, insider trading, forgery, fraud and market manipulation cases. Our serious crime legal team regularly acts for individuals affected by high-profile and complex cases that involve drugs, extortion, kidnapping, robbery, sexual offences and murder. Shashi Nathan – our partner – specialises in criminal litigation.
• White Collar Crimes
  What next? For any aspect of serious or white-collar crime that you require assistance in, do not hesitate to contact our specialist serious crime lawyers. For proper and non-biased legal advice, our team is ready to support you – either as an individual or as a business entity.
• Theft
• Murder
  Our serious crime lawyers Our team of serious crime lawyers has acted in the largest cheating cases under the Casino Control Act and was appointed by the Court to act in a high-profile double murder case involving an off-duty police officer. In addition, our serious crime legal team has worked on numerous other complex white- and blue-collar crime matters.
• Forgery
  We successfully represented a UK company over a complex and highly litigious dispute arising out of a family business. Spanning over many years, there were findings of professional negligence against our client's former solicitors and findings of forgery against one of the respondents. Various teams across our firm worked on this case including corporate, trusts and litigation to fully service our clients needs under one roof.
• Money Laundering
  Whether you are a tech start-up looking for seed funding, a growing company ready for an IPO, a new owner considering a management buyout or a multinational looking to cut down on your tax bill, we have the financial experience to find a solution. Where we can be of particular assistance is in making you aware of the requirements of the different jurisdictions in which you operate. These include rules on board constitution and operation, compliance with Stock Exchange or UK Listing Authority rules, money-laundering, financial services regulation and communication with investors. Failure to take account of these issues when structuring and running your business can result in personal liability for officers and boards of directors.
• Kidnapping
• Extortion

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  We understand that when trusted relationships break down, it can give rise to stressful and time-consuming disputes. Our team is on hand to provide integrated employment, corporate and litigation advice to businesses and individuals covering all aspects of corporate governance and the working relationship. We will work with you to identify and adopt the best strategy to manage any exit as smoothly as possible.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  In today's competitive global markets, our corporate clients need carefully crafted, bespoke legal advice. Our global team of corporate lawyers has the depth and diversity of knowledge to advise on issues that arise over the entire life cycle of a company, from securing investment, to structuring executive pay, to completing mergers and acquisitions.
• Business Disputes
  We understand the unique legal issues surrounding the deployment of private capital. This can range from investment, structuring and control of cross-border investments to the corporate and personal tax issues created. As a full-service firm, we are able to call on leading colleagues from other areas of business law such as corporate tax, litigation, real estate, immigration and wealth management to handle all your corporate needs under one roof.
• Intellectual Property
  Acted for an international pharmaceutical company in an evaluation project for the licensing of a new drug product as well as intellectual property litigation matters.
• Unfair Competition
  Assisted a company active in the distribution and maintenance of hardware and software systems in an interim measure proceedings before the Court of Treviso, brought by the Italian leader TeamSystem SpA in relation to alleged unfair competition activity.

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
  Max Mara is a renowned luxury Italian fashion house with stores around the globe, including across the United States. The group approached Withers for help with its employment needs, advising on the implementation of employee policies and risk management strategies. We were also pleased to suggest and develop store manager training sessions, and we successfully assisted in defending the company against wrongful termination claims.
• Employment Discrimination
• Employment Contract
  There is a lot to think about when agreeing a new employment contract. Our lawyers have experience across a range of sectors, and will make sure the document puts you in a strong position – whether in regard to employee benefits or post-termination restrictions.
• Employment Litigation
  Our client list ranges from global manufacturing businesses, PR companies, recruitment firms, hedge funds and hospitality companies, to non-profit entities, luxury and consumer brands and retailers. Many have or are developing global operations. For example, we recently assisted an IT infrastructure company on its employment issues in the UK, the US and Singapore as well as putting it in touch with trusted lawyers in other jurisdictions.
• Severance Agreement
• Sexual Harassment
  Represented the client in conducting an independent investigation into complaints of sexual harassment raised by two employees against a manager. This involved reviewing all circumstantial evidence and conducting extensive interviews with both the individual complainants and the accused, as well as with more than 5 other employees who worked closely with the individuals in question.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  We advised Syracuse University (USA) on its London Program which involved the acquisition of premises for use for educational purposes; employment advice in relation to urgent dismissal for gross misconduct; governance arrangements, including appointment of an interim director and new trustees; conflicts of interest in connection with the Programme's relationship with the University; advice and assistance in relation to sub-licenses for occupation of premises by other educational organisations, including in relation to real estate matters and tax treatment of revenues. The work represents a mature study abroad programme operating in the UK and in Europe, raising a variety of operational issues.
• Construction Litigation
  With more than 100 charity and nonprofit clients, we often advise these organizations on secured lending relating to property and facilities. Recently, we represented a major donor for a new public museum in New York State, helping with joint venture financing and construction agreements with public and private participants. And we structured funding for the redevelopment of London's Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.
• Real Estate Transactions
  From supporting successful people as they evolve their property portfolios, to helping notable companies to build a presence around the world, we have extensive experience in structuring and project-managing all kinds of real estate transaction.

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization
• Green Cards
• Work Visas
  Our immigration attorneys work across all categories of the Points Based System and will deliver expert guidance to all our clients, whether they are applying for work visas, study visas or visas for dependents. Our attorneys will take instructions and provide expert immigration advice, which can be given in person, over the phone or in writing. Our lawyers will devise a strategy, keep you informed of any relevant timeframes as well as request and analyse the documents needed to support your application.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Withers worked to successfully dismiss an action filed in California against a Japanese citizen in the United States. The action mistakenly named the citizen in a U.S. personal injury matter, although the intended party was a person of the same name.
• Disability Discrimination
  Acting for SSAFA over several decades. We were on hand to advise when the charity went through a redundancy exercise and TUPE transfer in Germany. We successfully negotiated when two senior executive roles were terminated, alongside more junior members of staff, one of whom brought a disability discrimination claim. We also advised an Employment Tribunal in the UK over whether the charity could be held liable for an allegedly discriminatory decision taken by the MOD, securing a ruling in our client's favour.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  We offer an integrated service that focuses on each individual's needs and plans. That may entail advising on pensions and estate planning; looking at how your savings could be affected by the tax laws of different jurisdictions; pensions in the context of a divorce settlement; or, managing a change in employment.
• Wills
• Trusts

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  With multinational teams across the world, we offer integrated securities advice on international capital markets. Our lawyers offer innovative solutions in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex regulatory and economic landscape. We have acted for shareholders, in household-name companies, on IPOs and other public offerings. We can help with everything from corporate and personal tax planning, to concert party agreements and governance.