DONALDSON & BURKINSHAW was founded in 1874 by two English Barristers, Alexander Leathes Donaldson and John Burkinshaw.

It is the oldest established partnership and one of the larger leading law firms in Singapore. It carries on the practice of Advocates and Solicitors, Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths and Agents for Trade Marks & Patents in the Republic of Singapore.

The firm used to have offices in Malaysia at Johore and Kuala Lumpur, and in Sabah at Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu) and Sandakan until the Promulgation of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 30 of 1970 prohibiting lawyers who are neither citizens nor permanent residents from practising in West Malaysia. Steadily expanding as a general law practice through the century, it has developed continually upgrading the manpower and specialist skills required to cope with the large volume of sophisticated legal work resulting from Singapore's emergence as a major financial and business centre. Since the mid-1970s, it has grown three-fold into a full service law firm.

Our main objective is to provide the full range of high quality legal service to commerce & industry, government and industrial clients consistent with the best international standards throughout the world with representation through our affiliation with international networks such as MULTILAW. For more than a century, the firm has had a reputation for integrity, industry and astuteness in advancing and protecting our clients' interests by looking beyond narrow legal issues towards our clients' total business goals. Our priorities are excellence in the law, promptness, efficiency and professionalism, commercially realistic advice, availability of specialist knowledge, friendly, personal service and provision of total legal expertise.