Addition of Tessa Davis further strengthens Morrison & Foerster's offerings in South and Southeast Asia
05/02/2019
Project Finance and Renewable Energy
Press Release
SINGAPORE – (May 2, 2019) – Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that Tessa Davis has joined the firm's Singapore office as a partner in its global Project Finance Group. Ms. Davis is an internationally recognized project finance lawyer who focuses her practice on the structuring and multi-sourced financing of infrastructure and energy projects, with an emphasis on liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrochemical, and renewable energy projects.
Ms. Davis' coming to Morrison & Foerster continues to accelerate the firm's momentum in South and Southeast Asia. Since establishing a presence in Singapore six years ago to further build on its market-leading position in other parts of Asia, Morrison & Foerster has become a premier international firm in the Singapore market. The firm's approximately 20 lawyers in Singapore have worked on numerous headline-grabbing matters and received multiple accolades. Between them, the firm's Singapore lawyers have significant experience in corporate and finance matters, as well as investigations and dispute resolution, and the office is now further strengthened by Ms. Davis' project finance practice.
"Tessa is an important addition to our growing Singapore team, and her arrival is a key step in the continuing expansion of our energy, infrastructure, and projects practices in South and Southeast Asia," said Eric Piesner, firmwide managing partner for Asia and co-managing partner of Morrison & Foerster's Singapore office. "Tessa is one of the most prominent lawyers in this space, and we're delighted to welcome her to the firm."
Ms. Davis has been advising clients on structured/corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial documentation in the energy and infrastructure sector for more than 18 years. She has particularly significant experience advising on complex project financings involving development finance institutions and export credit agencies and has a proven track record leading multibillion-dollar transactions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Representative matters that Ms. Davis has worked on include advising the sponsors on the Tangguh LNG Train 3 Expansion Project, one of the largest and highest-profile energy projects in Indonesia, as well as advising Glencore in respect of the US$2.4 billion Jurong Aromatics Refinery in Singapore.
"Morrison & Foerster is a premier global law firm with an outstanding platform in Asia," said Ms. Davis. "Having the opportunity to further build the firm's global project finance practice in Singapore at such an exciting time for the region was one I couldn't resist. I look forward to working with my new colleagues, both in Asia and across the globe, to help our clients navigate financing in the energy and infrastructure space."
Morrison & Foerster's clients that are conducting cross-border energy and infrastructure projects will also benefit from Ms. Davis' global experience. In addition to regularly advising on projects spanning multiple jurisdictions around the world, including in the Middle East and the Americas, Ms. Davis previously maintained a practice in London for nine years and New York for five years before coming to Singapore in 2013. Ms. Davis is recognized by Chambers Global for Projects & Infrastructure: International – Singapore and The Legal 500 Singapore 2018 guide for Energy – Foreign Firms.
Since opening its Singapore office in 2013, Morrison & Foerster has been continuously recognized for excellence in the South and Southeast Asia region. The firm's Singapore-based lawyers represent clients on the region's biggest transactions in the areas of corporate, fund formation, real estate, and fintech, and they are frequently the preferred counsel for dispute resolution and anti-corruption, investigations, and compliance matters. The firm received high rankings for 2019 in the area's premier legal directories, Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, which recognize exceptional work in the region. Additionally, Morrison & Foerster's Singapore lawyers are repeatedly awarded "top lawyer" honors by key industry outlets, such as Asia Business Law Journal and Asian Legal Business.
