Withers Adds Chau Hwei Lee And Cheryl Lee To Singapore Real Estate Team

Withers Adds Chau Hwei Lee And Cheryl Lee To Singapore Real Estate Team

International law firm Withers has strengthened its real estate practice in Asia by adding a two-lawyer team in Singapore from Shook Lin & Bok, led by partner Chau Hwei Lee, and promoting Akinari Nakano to partner in Tokyo.

Chau Hwei Lee, who brings over 20 years of commercial real estate experience, specializes in hotel acquisitions and disposals, property joint ventures, and management agreements. He joined Shook Lin in 2018 from a senior in-house role at CDL Hospitality Trusts. Before that, he was a partner at Dentons Rodyk and held associate positions at WongPartnership, Allen & Gledhill, and TSMP Law Corporation. Associate Cheryl Lee will be joining him in the move to Withers.

These hires come a few months after a team of lawyers from Withers KhattarWong, led by practice head Kenneth Szeto and John Tan, moved to Shook Lin.

"There are few real estate lawyers in Singapore with Chau Hwei's depth of experience, and we're delighted he is joining the firm to support our clients with their real estate investment needs, and to welcome his clients to the firm,” said Jeremy Wakeham, CEO of Withers' business division, in a statement.

Akinari Nakano, based in Tokyo, focuses on real estate transactions, securitization, and financial regulation matters.

This expansion occurs as Asian real estate markets continue to attract significant investor interest, particularly in key hubs like Singapore and Tokyo.