The current spate of high-profile legal troubles involving financial institutions such as UBS, First Republic and KPMG is a distressing sign of the times.

This litigation epidemic is not just happening overseas but has reached our shores as well (DBS among international banks to get human rights complaints over loan to gas company, April 4).

With greater financial risk materialising in tandem with increasing economic malaise, companies are also more willing to head for litigation.

A recent survey of industry professionals conducted by banking and financial markets authority Euromoney CS revealed that litigation activity has intensified across all parameters since before the Covid-19 pandemic, with cases now also more complex, expensive and taking longer to resolve.

This litigation epidemic presents opportunities for Singapore to build on its strong brand as the preferred legal capital and arbitral institution for the international business community.

For instance, Singapore can distinguish itself by demonstrating its deep legal expertise including international dispute resolution, highly evolved arbitration law framework, as well as legal and judicial innovation, and by leveraging cutting-edge digital legal tools and technology.

The law follows financial and business flows. Asia is expected to drive global growth and account for about 70 per cent of the world’s economy in 2023, hence attracting a higher proportion of international capital and trade.

This and the ongoing litigation epidemic is an opportune time to further position Singapore as the legal capital of not only Asia but also the world.

Woon Wee Min