Top lawyer and former Rajah & Tann managing partner Patrick Ang dies at 61
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Mr Patrick Ang was a top insolvency lawyer with three decades of experience.
PHOTO: RAJAH & TANN SINGAPORE
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SINGAPORE - Mr Patrick Ang, the former managing partner of “Big Four” law firm Rajah & Tann, has died at age 61.
The law firm confirmed his death in a statement on June 14.
Mr Ng Kim Beng, Rajah & Tann managing partner, said: “Rajah & Tann has lost a celebrated lawyer, a selfless leader, and most of all, a cherished and deeply loved friend and colleague.
“His sudden and unexpected passing leaves an immense void.”
Mr Ang was a top insolvency lawyer with three decades of experience.
He was best known for his handling of high-profile collapses including the likes of China Aviation Oil, Hin Leong, Lehman Brothers and Swiber.
The top lawyer was also the first Singaporean and the fourth lawyer from Asia to be inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy, a global organisation for leading bankruptcy and insolvency practitioners.
Mr Ang became managing partner of Rajah & Tann in 2019, taking over from Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng.
During his tenure, he led the law firm’s decade-long regionalisation drive under Rajah & Tann Asia, a regional network of law firms spanning South-east Asia and beyond.
His leadership was recognised with the Managing Partner of the Year award at the Asia Legal Business South-east Asia Law Awards in 2024 and 2025.
Earlier in 2025, Mr Ang handed the reins over to Mr Ng, an arbitration lawyer, while remaining vice-chairman of Rajah & Tann Asia.
In a tribute on June 14, Law Minister Edwin Tong called Mr Ang a “formidable legal mind” with an “unwavering stout heart for Singapore”.
“In my earlier years of practice, we often found ourselves on opposite sides of the table in complex restructuring matters,” wrote Mr Tong.
“Even then, I found it impossible not to respect him.
“Patrick had a remarkable way of thinking several steps ahead – calm, strategic, incisive. He approached even the most difficult negotiations with integrity and grace, and never stole a march with an unfair point.”
Mr Tong said Mr Ang also helped with drafting Singapore’s emergency Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill and was recognised for his help with the Public Service Star (Covid-19) National Day Award.
“His passing is not only a profound loss to his firm, but also to the legal profession and to Singapore, which he served with quiet resolve, unwavering strength and deep purpose,” the minister said.
Mr Ang is survived by his wife, Senior Counsel and joint managing partner at Tan Kok Quan Partnership Marina Chin, and their three daughters.
One of his brothers, Dr Ang Peng Hwa, is a professor at NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. THE BUSINESS TIMES
