Karry Lai
February 23, 2026
Jones Day Strengthens Financial Markets Bench In Singapore With NRF Hire

2 min
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- • Jones Day has hired Colin Rice as a partner in its financial markets practice in Singapore from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF). • Rice specializes in financial market transactions, including derivatives, structured products, and securities lending, and has advised on major deals in Asia Pacific. • His departure follows a series of partner and counsel exits from NRF’s Singapore office over recent years. • NRF’s Singapore office now has 14 partners remaining after Rice’s exit, and the firm has recently made new partner hires to bolster its team.
Jones Day has hired Colin Rice as a partner in its financial markets practice in Singapore from Norton Rose Fulbright. Rice advises global investment and retail banks, funds and corporate clients on a broad range of financial market transactions, with a strong focus on over-the-counter derivatives, structured products, structured finance transactions, repurchase agreements and securities lending. At NRF, he advised ING NV on a $75 million term loan facility to photovoltaic developer Cleantech Solar in June 2020, one of the largest green loans in the commercial and industrial renewables sector in Asia Pacific. That year, he also acted for a consortium, led by Singapore Life and TPG, on the $2.4 billion combination of Singlife with Aviva Singapore.. "Colin is an important addition to our global derivatives team,” said Alban Caillemer du Ferrage, chair of Jones Day's financial markets practice for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. “Asia is a fast-growing market with more and more netting friendly jurisdictions, and he is among the most experienced lawyers in the region on these matters.” Jones Day has made a concerted effort to boost its bench in Asia in recent months. Over the 18 months, the firm has hired partners from K&L Gates, Mayer Brown and King & Spalding in Hong Kong and Singapore. Last year, the firm also onboarded Charles Wu as a mergers and acquisitions and private equity counsel from Clyde & Co in Hong Kong. Rice is the latest departure from NRF’s Singapore office, which has suffered a series of counsel and partners departures in the last few years. In October, its technology, intellectual property and competition counsel Jeremiah Chew left for RPC's partnership. The verein firm's former Asia fintech practice head and financial services regulatory partner Etelka Bogardi recently moved to Reed Smith. Last year, the office also suffered the departures of two counsels, energy lawyer Chris Wright and corporate lawyer Shahin Foroughian, to King & Wood Mallesons and Bird & Bird, respectively. In July 2023, Linklaters also dealt NRF Singapore with a blow when it hired its disputes partner Andrew Battison and earlier that year in February, Clifford Chance also dug into the verein firm for its regional technology practice head Stella Cramer. The most recent partner hire for NRF’s Singapore office was that of Beelee Seah as a banking and finance partner in April 2024, who joined from Baker McKenzie. In November 2023, Kent Phillips was appointed as a partner in NRF’s arbitration practice in Singapore. Rice has worked at NRF for almost a decade. His departure will leave the firm with 14 partners remaining in Singapore. NRF has been contacted for comment.
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Karry Lai
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