The news follows Herbert Smith's announcement in April of the recruitment to its Singapore office of energy, infrastructure and project finance specialist Richard Nelson as partner. Last month also saw the law firm move to larger premises in the heart of Singapore's financial district, in the wake of one of the firmÆs most successful years to date since it opened in 1995.
Sweeney has been a partner at Herbert Smith since 2003, having joined the firm in 1994. From 2001 to 2003 he was based in the Tokyo office. A corporate finance and M&A specialist, Sweeney has acted on a range of cross-border transactions including advising BP on the $742 million sale of its stake in Sinopec and British American Tobacco on its Ç2.7 billion acquisition of Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni's cigarette and snus (a powder tobacco product) businesses.
He takes over from corporate partner Veronica O'Shea who has been managing partner of the office since 2004 and who will resume her full-time focus on client work. Sweeney will work alongside O'Shea in developing Herbert Smith's South/Southeast Asia corporate practice, encompassing its corporate teams in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. He will also work closely with Singapore-based partners Maurice Burke and Michelle Chen, in charge of the firm's regional disputes and banking practices respectively.
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