Mao Rong has just moved to Reed Smith’s Beijing office as of counsel. She joins from Kodak, where she was the director of legal affairs for Asia-Pacific. Rong has 10 years of in-house experience under her belt. She will focus her practice on cross-border M&A and corporate transactions.

Source:  www.asialegalbusinessonline.com

Freehills, based in Australia, has made it official with Chinese firm TransAsia.  The two firms have signed an alliance making it known to the world that they will work together as co-counsel on occasion.  The news comes after TransAsia signed an alliance with Ta Lawyers in GKJ in Tokyo last February. 

Source:  www.thelawyer.com

Saul Ewing is officially allied with Concord & Partners based in Beijing.   Concord also has offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen.  It launched in 1995.  The firms will remain two separate entities with their own fee structures, but will give each other referrals and will share marketing.   

Source:  www.law.com

Morris Manning has the distinction of being the first Atlanta-based law firm to open an office in Beijing.  Troutman Sanders, a firm which also originated in Atlanta, has offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, but not in Beijing.  Morris Manning has five offices in Georgia, one of each in the following: North Carolina, Washington, Taipei and now one in Beijing.

Source:  www.atlantabizjournals.com

While many firms have made redundancies in the recent past/present, some of those same US firms are currently planning on growing their Asia practices. Proskauer Rose LLP has just launched an office in Hong Kong and is already in the midst of making plans to birth another one. Slaughter and May is also waiting on the necessary approval to open its own office in China. China has seen a 19 percent increase of foreign firms since 2006, bringing the total to 177 firms today. Hong Kong has doubled its foreign firms (now 66) since 2004. It may seem silly in the face of a global economic downfall, but law firms are merely following suit in the global expansion of clients. This growth may be due to the following facts: China has the third largest ecomony and the world’s largest foreign currency reserves.

Source:  www.bloomberg.com

Lovells had done it again: three in one week! Not only has the firm added Thomas Man for its Beijing office, Lovells has just hired two senior consultants for its Vietnam office. Attorneys Greg Buhyoff and Nasir PKM Abdul are welcomed. Buhyoff, previously of Baker & Mckenzie, will lead the IP group, while Abdul will work with European, US, and Asian clients on their investments.

Source: www.asia.legalbusinessonline.com

Dechert has scored a managing partner for its new Beijing office. Wang’s experience ranges from global corporations to financial institutions to private investors in China. He is dually qualified in China and the US, having worked for the Chinese foreign ministry and the United Nations before his outstanding legal career.

Source: www.asianinvestor.net

Lovells has snagged Thomas Man, a partner from Orrick for its Beijing office. Man, a Shandong native, has much experience in corporate, securities, and M&As. The addition of Man will be very helpful to the Beijing office, not only because of his experience as a prominent lawyer, but also for his local knowledge of Beijing.

Source: Legal Business Online

Covington & Burling has opened its first office in Asia, residing in Beijing. The firm’s previous management chair, Stuart Stock, will head the team. Stuart will be accompanied by senior lawyers Ellen Eliasoph and Cao Yu. The former is former Warner Bros Exective, and the latter was a partner at a Chinese Firm Haiwen & Partners. The Beijing office is Covington & Burling’s 6th firm.

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Taylor Wessing waits approval from the Chinese authorities for its planned launch of its Beijing office. Taylor Wessing already has offices in Shanghai and in Dubai. The firm hopes that the new addition will bring in more Chinese companies.
Source: www.thelawyer.com