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If the terrorists who attacked Mumbai last month wanted to strike at the heart of India's international business community, then they chose their targets well. Law firms have been left counting the human cost of those attacks, with Stephenson Harwood the worst hit of all.
Four of the firm's lawyers were caught up in the carnage. Lo Hwei Yen, a 28-year-old shipping associate in Stephensons' Singapore office, was killed after being taken hostage in the Oberoi Hotel. She was one of almost 200 people who lost their lives.
Stephensons chief Sunil Gadhia travelled to Singapore and spent much of last week at the office consoling and supporting the lawyers there, as well as attending Yen's funeral service.
Baker & McKenzie also had two lawyers trapped in the Oberoi, while Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) partners Mark Abell and Christopher Jackson barricaded themselves in their rooms for the full 40 hours of the siege.
Abell made a name...