Purushothaman has over 15 years’ experience and joins the firm from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where he was head of its Singapore corporate team. He has also previously worked at Sidley Austin.
His practice focuses on cross-border M&A, general corporate advisory and private equity matters. Purushothaman also advises on pre-investment restructuring to mitigate issues arising under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act. In addition, he advises US clients with operations in Asia on regional employment and global mobility matters.
Purushothaman has a broad sector focus including real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, agriculture and transportation.
Spells also joins Reed Smith from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where he was head of its Singapore transport & asset finance team. He has almost 15 years' experience advising financial institutions, leasing companies, airlines and manufacturers in respect of a range of international asset, structured finance and leasing transactions.
He has significant bank side experience through secondments at some of the leading finance providers to the transportation industries in both Europe and Asia, including Barclays Bank, DVB Bank and Standard Chartered.
Also joining the firm are one counsel, three associates and two paralegals. With one associate joining the corporate team and the others joining the transportation team.
These latest hires mark significant growth of the firm’s Singapore offering which includes its formal law alliance partner Resource Law LLC. Over the last 12 months the alliance has grown its lawyer headcount by a third, bringing the current headcount to 43 lawyers, including 12 partners.
Kyri Evagora, Reed Smith’s Asia managing partner, said: “Manoj and Simon are fantastic additions to the team in Singapore. Their appointments underline the firm’s commitment to supporting its clients operating in the region and beyond. We will continue to grow our offering in line with the evolving needs of our clients.”
Purushothaman said: “Reed Smith has an enviable global footprint, a strong presence in Asia and is well known for its collaborative approach to advising clients. It is the way I like to work, and I can see my clients benefitting tremendously with such an approach. I am very pleased to be here and look forward to growing the firm's corporate practice in Asia further.”
Spells said: “I am very pleased to be joining Reed Smith. It is a firm with an impressive history and very talented lawyers. The transportation team is renowned globally and I am looking forward to helping develop its aviation offering in Asia-Pacific.”