Clifford Chance elects Valerie Kong and Katia Gauzès to head Singapore and Luxembourg offices

Clifford Chance elects Valerie Kong and Katia Gauzès to head Singapore and Luxembourg offices

Previously held by men, the roles reflect the ongoing drive by leading UK law firms to improve the proportion of women in their senior ranks

Following a wider leadership shakeup conducted by the firm's global managing partner, Charles Adams, law firm Clifford Chance has appointed two women to lead its offices in Singapore and Luxembourg.

While M&A corporate partner Valerie Kong will take over the leadership of the Singapore branch, Katia Gauzès takes the helm as a managing partner in Luxembourg.

Kong is a veteran at Clifford Chance, having served at the firm for over 20 years. She specializes in advising financial investors and multinational corporations on minority investments and majority acquisitions across Southeast Asia and portfolio divestments and strategic joint ventures. She has held several leadership roles at the firm, including in the partner selection group and the Asia Pacific leadership group.

She succeeds Kai-Niklas Schneider, who has led the Singapore office since 2016. He will now focus on funds practice and financial investors' role in the firm's top decision body.

Charles Adams said, "I am confident that Kong's leadership experience and market knowledge will pave the way for the firm's continued success across Southeast Asia."

He added, "I also want to thank Kai for his excellent work as office head and look forward to his continued insight on our global leadership team as revenue from financial investors nearly doubled over the last seven years."

Meanwhile, Gauzès has taken over from Steve Jacoby, who was promoted to regional managing partner for Continental Europe earlier this year.

She advises clients from the private equity and real estate industry on the structuring of complex international transactions, corporate finance, M&A, re-organization, and setting up of various company structures, and joint ventures. Having worked with Arendt & Medernach, she joined Clifford Chance as a partner in 2016.

Gauzès stated, "The Luxembourg office has been growing steadily, attracting diverse talents across all practices. Our team plays a key role on a local, European and global level, advising clients on critical and complex cross-border matters.