Malaysian law firm Christopher & Lee Ong (CLO) has merged with two boutiques, Haryati Deepak and Kandiah & Sr, to expand its technology, data protection and intellectual property capabilities.
The move will see an expansion of CLO’s staff from the current 55 practising lawyers to 61 lawyers. The firm is active in the areas of commercial & civil litigation, arbitration, admiralty & shipping, projects, corporate M&A, banking & finance, and competition.
Haryati Deepak is specialised in the areas of information technology, data protection and e-commerce. Its managing partner Deepak Pillai will head the technology and data protection practice in the merged entity.
Sri Sarguna Raj from Kandiah & Sri is focused in the protection and resolution of issues relating to intellectual property rights as well as contractual and commercial transactions. He will lead the firm’s intellectual property practice.
Lee Hock Chye, joint managing partner at Christopher & Lee Ong, said: “I have no doubt we will benefit considerably from the depth of their experience in technology, data protection and intellectual property, and they will position Christopher & Lee Ong to provide comprehensive counsel across different areas of expertise.”
CLO was formed as a result of a three-way merger in 2013 when Kamilah & Chong, former associate offices of Rajah & Tann joined Lee Ong & Kandiah and Christopher Lee & Co. The firm is headed by joint managing partners Christopher Lee and Lee Hock Chye.
As an associate firm of Rajah & Tann, CLO benefits from Singapore’s ‘big four firms’ Asian legal network, with more than 500 lawyers in 10 offices across nine countries.