Donaldson & Burkinshaw
Donaldson & Burkinshaw LLP is one of Singapore’s oldest independent law firms. It was founded on 6 November 1874 by Alexander Muirhead Aitken, Alexander Leathes Donaldson and John Burkinshaw, when Singapore was a British Crown Colony. Today it is a mid-size, full‑service firm based in Singapore, with two offices, about 30 lawyers and around 85 staff.
The firm’s early history shows its founders shaping Singapore’s legal scene. Alexander Leathes Donaldson was invited to sit on the first local Bar Committee in 1875, which later became the Law Society of Singapore in 1907.
A famous case from 1881, The Jeddah, involved the abandonment of the steamship SS Jeddah. Donaldson and Burkinshaw represented the salvor, and the events later inspired Joseph Conrad’s novel Lord Jim.
During World War II, the firm served many banks, companies and merchants in Singapore, while keeping its documents safe at the Supreme Court. A memoir by Norman S. Hogan recounts these years.
After the war, the firm remained a leading player in Singapore’s legal scene. Its partners contributed to constitutional matters, such as the 1954 Rendel Commission. After Singapore’s independence, the firm also had offices in Malaysia (Johor, Kuala Lumpur) and in Sabah (Jesselton, now Kota Kinabalu) and Sentosa, until the 1970s.
In the 1960s and 1970s, notable lawyers from the firm helped shape the local bar and the Law Society of Singapore. They included Antony Purdon Godwin and Wu Chang-Sheng, who helped found the Society in 1967.
From the 1980s to today, Donaldson & Burkinshaw has grown with Singapore’s development, while focusing on intellectual property (IP), litigation and real estate. The IP team is one of the oldest in Singapore and includes patent agents with engineering and science backgrounds.
The firm’s key practice areas are intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, and real estate and conveyancing. It has worked on major projects such as Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, and advised on transactions related to the Singapore Flyer.
Donaldson & Burkinshaw remains a full‑service law practice and is connected with international groups such as INTA, APAA, PTMG, AIPPI and ASPA. It also operates Donaldson & Burkinshaw (I.P.) Sdn. Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur for Malaysian IP matters.
Website: www.donburk.asia
This page was last edited on 29 January 2026, at 00:20 (CET).