BrazilPwC continues legal services push in Asia with appointment of Rachel Eng
Big Four firm PwC has continued the expansion of its Asia legal practices with the recruit of high-profile corporate lawyer Rachel Eng in Singapore.
In an amicable split, Eng crosses to PwC from more than two decades with law firm WongPartnership, where she most recently served as deputy chairman and held the position of managing partner since 2010 – after initially joining the firm in 1995. In addition to her professional employment, Eng is a council member with the Singapore Business Federation and the Corporate Governance Council, as well as a member of several boards.
“We are pleased to welcome Rachel to our PwC global legal network firm, which focuses primarily on legal services adjacent to PwC’s core services. I foresee that we will have opportunities to continue working with WongPartnership in areas outside our core capabilities,” said Yeoh Oon Jin, PwC Singapore’s Executive Chairman.
Alvin Yeo, Chairman and Senior Partner of WongPartnership, responded in kind; “We have a strong working relationship with PwC Singapore and have been involved in many of their initiatives including the merger of Pricewaterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in 1998. Our collaboration will continue going forward. We are sad to see Rachel leave us but we are happy to have her join an institution that has been a friend of WongPartnership for many years.”
During her time with WongPartnership, where twice she won the Managing Partner of the Year award at the Asia Legal Business SE Asia Law Awards, Eng specialised in real estate investment trusts and funds, corporate advisory, and listings – including an involvement in several high profile multi-billion dollar IPOs – along with a focus on corporate governance. She was also a member of the Committee on the Future Economy led by Finance Minister Heng Swee Kiat – with the finance ministry rolling out several future economy initiatives this year.
Further to her legal work, Eng, who was the first female to lead a big law firm in Singapore, is an active supporter of women’s workforce empowerment and gender diversity in corporate leadership – and was named the Women of the Year in 2014 by leading Singaporean women’s magazine Her World. Eng started her legal career in 1991, after graduating finance-focused law studies with honours at the National University of Singapore.
For PwC, the high-profile recruit will join the firm’s more than 3,500 legal professionals operating in over 100 countries – with the Big Four outfit aggressively expanding its legal offerings in Asia. Earlier this month, PwC added Singapore full-service firm Teng and Co. to its Asia network as an independent local law firm – to be led by Joanna Teng as Managing Director – and has been bolstering its legal personnel ranks across East Asia through partnerships and recruits.
Yeoh Oon Jin, Executive Chairman, PwC Singapore said of the new addition; “I would like to welcome Teng and Co. to the PwC network. We believe that legal advice integrated with other areas of expertise within PwC will help better serve business needs of clients. I am confident that their adjacent legal capabilities will enhance the value we bring to the wider business community.”
