L-Martin Desautels

After being Managing Partner of DFDL for nearly 20 years, Martin has now moved to a new position as a Senior Partner. Martin remains engaged in advising clients and leading transactions, as well as supporting the new Managing Partner of the firm.  He also plays a leadership role in overseeing people, clients and, more specifically, the firm’s growth strategy.  He continues leading the development of the award-winning Connector Unit, an innovative DFDL platform that was built to assist the firm’s clients in having the visibility of new business leads in DFDL markets.

Martin is one of the leading banking and finance lawyers in the emerging markets of Asia, and is also recognized for his infrastructure and energy sector expertise. As a practitioner in ASEAN for more than 20 years, he has developed extensive experience of working with investments funds, international banks and sizeable Asian investors on their investments and expansion strategies across the ASEAN Region.  He has also advised various governmental bodies via technical assistance projects (notably for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Agence Française de Développement) on various aspects of the development of investment, regulatory and legal frameworks.

Martin is ranked as a leading lawyer by renowned legal directories such as Chambers Asia Pacific, IFLR, Asialaw and Legal 500.