Top 20 US firm Greenberg Traurig has added an M&A lawyer from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) to co-lead the Singapore office it launched last year.

Jake Robson has joined the 2,800-lawyer firm after four years at KWM, where he developed and led the South and Southeast Asia corporate and M&A practices. Earlier he built the Singapore M&A team at Morrison Foerster and was also a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.  

Robson brings almost 20 years of experience advising clients on complex cross-border transactions throughout the region and alongside M&A advises on venture capital fundraisings and financial services distribution transactions. His practice covers sectors including TMT, infrastructure, financial services, fintech, real estate and logistics.

“Jake is a welcome addition to our global M&A practice and strengthens the capabilities of our burgeoning Singapore office,” said Greenberg Traurig executive chairman, Richard Rosenbaum.  

“His record of building M&A practices from scratch for two global law firms in Singapore makes him a fantastic fit for our office there and his addition is the latest step in realising our vision to widen the presence of our M&A and private equity practices; legal areas expected to experience dramatic growth in the coming years.”

Robson will also serve as head of the South and Southeast Asia M&A practice at Greenberg. He will co-lead the Singapore team with Joseph Kim, who opened the office last April. Kim joined Greenberg the year before from Hogan Lovells to launch its Asia energy and infrastructure team, as the firm sought to tap into a potential $210bn-a-year spending spree by Southeast Asian countries to meet their climate goals.  

Robson will be the Singapore office’s fourth shareholder after Kim and energy and infrastructure project duo Jared Raleigh and William Wu, who joined Greenberg alongside Kim from Acciona Construction Australia and Hogan Lovells respectively.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Joe to help expand Greenberg Traurig’s presence in Southeast Asia,” Robson said. “The firm has begun to build a fantastic brand here in energy and infrastructure, real estate, and project finance. My goal is to take that brand forward in M&A.”  

Greenberg’s Singapore office is its fourth in Asia after its bases in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. The firm also expanded its international network in the Middle East last year, adding a pair of real estate partners from BCLP to open in Dubai in September and debuting in Saudi Arabia in March after forming an affiliation with Squire Patton Boggs’ former local ally, Khalid Al-Thebity Law Firm.