King & Spalding Recruits Construction Specialist Emerson Holmes to Its Asia-Pacific Disputes Team

SINGAPORE--(Marketwired - January 10, 2016) - King & Spalding has elected Emerson Holmes, one of Asia's leading construction disputes lawyers, as a partner in its Singapore office. Holmes was previously with Jones Day in Singapore, where he was a partner in the Global Disputes team.

"Our firm's strategy calls for further profitable growth in our global disputes practice, and international construction disputes are a key part of that," said Reggie Smith, head of the global disputes practice at King & Spalding. "Emerson is one of Asia's most prominent construction litigators, and will complement our world-class commercial and investment treaty arbitration team serving the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and Tokyo."

Holmes acts for owners, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants on a wide range of infrastructure projects throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His focus is on claims arising out of power plants and on and offshore oil and gas installations. He has also represented clients on disputes involving railways, sport stadiums, airports, reclamations, hotels, residential apartments, commercial buildings, and leisure facilities.

Holmes, who is British, regularly appears as an advocate in international arbitrations. He also has experience in mediation, expert determination, statutory and contractual adjudication, and before dispute boards, as well as before the courts of Australia, England and Hong Kong.

"Emerson is an excellent addition to our firm," said John Savage, managing partner of King & Spalding's Singapore office. "We already have lot of construction disputes on our books in Asia and Emerson will be instrumental in growing that business. He has a rare mix of technical construction law expertise, advocacy skills and entrepreneurial flair."

Holmes will be the fourth partner in King & Spalding's Singapore disputes team, which is the only practice ranked in Band 1 for International Arbitration in Singapore by the influential Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide 2015. His recruitment follows that of recent Singapore lateral partners Richard Nelson and Simon Cowled, who both practice in the energy and project finance areas.

Holmes said: "This is a great move for me. King & Spalding has a culture of collegiality, a busy Singapore office, an outstanding arbitration practice, and a real commitment to international construction disputes. We're seeing a lot of troubled construction projects in Asia and Australia today, with many of the resulting disputes resolved by arbitration in Singapore." 

About King & Spalding

Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 900 lawyers in 18 offices in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.