Drew & Napier

Drew & Napier LLC

Headquarters	Singapore
No. of offices	3
No. of employees	500+
Major practice areas	Full service firm
Key people	Jimmy Yim (Chairman; Managing Director, Dispute Resolution) Cavinder Bull (CEO)
Date founded	1889;136 years ago (1889)
Founder	Alfred Henry Drew Sir Walter John Napier
Company type	Limited liability company
Website	www.drewnapier.com

Drew & Napier LLC is a Singaporean law firm. Founded in 1889, the firm has more than 500 employees. It is regarded as one of the Big Four law firms in Singapore. ^[1]

History

Walter John Napier

The firm was founded in 1889 in Singapore, part of the Straits Settlements, when Manchester barrister Walter John Napier joined English solicitor Alfred Henry Drew. ^[2]

In 2000, Drew & Napier was corporatised to form a limited liability company. The firm in 2011 moved to its current location at Ocean Financial Centre, Collyer Quay, Singapore. ^{[3] [4]}

In Singapore, Drew & Napier is particularly known for their litigation, ADR, insolvency and transactional work. The firm has market-leading practices in mergers and acquisitions, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT), data protection and cybersecurity, anti-trust/competition, corporate finance, employment, property, and construction law. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The chairman and chief executive officer of the firm are Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Cavinder Bull respectively. ^[8]

The firm has four senior counsels – Jimmy Yim, Cavinder Bull, Blossom Hing and Emeritus Professor Jeffrey Pinsler. ^[8]

Notable alumni

Government

• David Marshall – Singapore's first Chief Minister ^[9]
• Hri Kumar Nair, SC – former Deputy Attorney-General ^[10]
• Indranee Rajah, SC – Cabinet Minister ^[11]
• Joseph Grimberg, SC - Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court; first Senior Counsel ^[12]
• Judith Prakash – Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Singapore ^[13]
• Lucien Wong, SC – Attorney-General of Singapore ^[14]
• Steven Chong – Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Singapore ^[15]
• S. Jayakumar - Cabinet Minister and law professor ^[16]
• K Shanmugam, SC – Cabinet Minister ^[17]

Legal

• Tan Cheng Han, SC – Former Dean of NUS Law; Chairman, Singapore Exchange Regulation Co ^[18]
• Davinder Singh, SC – Chairman, Singapore International Arbitration Centre ^[19]
• Cavinder Bull, SC - Chief Executive Officer ^[20]
• Thio Su Mien, legal academic and lawyer ^[21]

References

1. Grace So (4 February 2016). "Big Four continue to sweep top law rankings". The Business Times. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
2. Sharp, Ilsa (1990). The History of Drew & Napier, 1889-1989. International Press Co (Pte) Ltd.
3. "Space snapped up for new office projects | Property Market | PropertyGuru.com.sg". www.propertyguru.com.sg. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
4. "Keppel REIT's Ocean Financial Centre achieves full occupancy". Yahoo Singapore Finance. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
5. "Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific > Drew & Napier LLC".
6. "Drew & Napier - Singapore - Firm Profile | IFLR1000". www.iflr1000.com.
7. "L500 | Drew & Napier LLC > Singapore | Legal 500 law firm profiles | Rankings". www.legal500.com.
8. "Drew & Napier's Senior Counsel". www.drewnapier.com.
9. Teo, Anna (13 December 1995). "One of the most remarkable men S'pore produced". The Business Times . p. 2. Retrieved 11 November 2025– via NewspaperSG.
10. "Hri Kumar Nair, SC" (PDF). Drew & Napier.
11. Ming En, Siau (24 April 2018). "Three female Cabinet ministers a boost for diversity: Analysts". Today . Retrieved 10 November 2025.
12. Girvin, Cecelia (19 November 2017). "In Memoriam: Joseph Grimberg, Senior Counsel". The Singapore Law Gazette. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
13. "Our alumna, Justice Judith Prakash, named Her World Woman of the Year on strength of her legal achievements". 21 October 2024.
14. "Veteran lawyer Lucien Wong appointed Attorney-General". Channel NewsAsia . Singapore. 16 January 2017.
15. "Justice Steven Chong" . Retrieved 11 November 2025.
16. Leong, Grace (12 April 2013). "Jayakumar joins Drew & Napier as consultant". The Business Times . p. 10.
17. "Memo of Appearance issued by Drew & Napier". www.roots.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
18. "Face to Face with Professor Tan Cheng Han SC | Hong Kong Lawyer". www.hk-lawyer.org. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
19. Sreenevasan, G., 2021. 6: Davinder Singh SC. [Podcast] Meet The Advocates. Available on Spotify Archived 25 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine . [Accessed 10 March 2021].
20. Wong, Karen (6 January 2008). "Young Seniors". The New Paper .
21. "In Conversation with: Justice Judith Prakash". insight.mlaw.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.