Jones Day has announced the hiring of a new partner in their Beijing office. Jingzhou Tao was formerly the managing partner of DLA Piper’s Beijing office. He practices transportation law.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has announced that a group from DLA Piper will join its Beijing office. The group is led by corporate partner Janet Jie Tang and she is joined by three transactions associates, Lu Ning, Wang Yuanming, and Zeng Linyan. Akin Gump hopes that these additions will broaden the range of services available to their Chinese clients.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has recruited Baker & McKenzie Shanghai partner Thomas Man. Man, a Chinese native, will join the firm’s Beijing office and focus his practice on representing foreign companies in foreign direct investments, M&A transactions and real estate investment in China. He is the sixth partner that Orrick has added to its China offices in the past six months.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Dewey Ballantine has recruited corporate partner Hugh Scogin from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Scogin will become the second partner in Dewey’s five-lawyer Beijing office, which opened in 2004. After the failed merger between Dewey and Orrick in January, Dewey has been on a hiring spree. Just in the past two weeks, the firm has hired five lateral partners.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has opened a new office in Beijing. The firm recruited Douglas Markel, a partner from UK firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, to head the new office. Markel is a megers & acquistions lawyer, and he has practiced in Beijing for 16 years; he also headed Freshfields’ China practice last year. Simpson Thacher starting recruiting for the office last year, hiring Shearman & Sterling partner Leiming Chan and Shaolin Luo, a counsel from Chinese firm Fangda Partners. Corporate partner Chris Lin will also relocate from Simpson’s Hong Kong outfit to Beijing.
Source: www.law.com

Troutman Sanders’ Washington office has recruited Kaye Scholer’s 11-person international trade practice. The firm has wanted to expand this practice, which formerly was comprised of only a couple of partners. Donald Cameron Jr. and Julie Mendoza, who join as partners, will continue to co-lead the group. Jeffrey Grimson also joins as a partner. Three additional lawyers, two non-lawyers, and three paralegals are also a part of the team. Counsel Judy Wang will work in Shanghai, and accountant Victor Wu will remain in Beijing. This group focuses its practice on federal anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Sidley Austin is ready to open a new Australia office after hiring Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s Sydney office managing partner, Bob Meyers. The Sydney office will open May 1, becoming the firm’s sixth office in the Asia Pacific region after offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. Meyers, who will head the new office, advises Australian, New Zealand and US companies and investment banks on stock market listings, M&A and structured finance. He will join the firm’s corporate finance and capital markets practice.
Source: www.legalweek.com

New York firm Weil Gotshal & Manges plans to close its Brussels office in a move to focus its attention on an Asian expansion. The business out of the two-lawyer office will then be handled by the other European offices. Weil Gotshal has already applied for a licence to practice in Beijing, and hopes to open by summer with a combination of local and transferred attorneys. The firm also hopes to open in Hong Kong sometime in the near future. Currently only with an office in Shanghai, the firm’s ultimate goal is to have a quarter of its lawyers in Asia, as it does already in Europe.
Source: www.legalweek.com

Baker Botts announced the opening of its new office in Beijing today. With an office in Hong Kong, this is the firm’s second location in China. John Kuzmik, the head of the firm’s China practice, commented that “For infrastructure and energy projects, as well as for cross-border debt and equity transactions, a strong Beijing presence can be critical.” Baker Botts is largely focused on the energy industry in China, having represented many of the world’s leading energy companies on major projects in Asia. Baker Botts now has 11 offices worldwide and approximately 750 lawyers.
Source: www.prnewswire.com

WilmerHale expands its China practice with the addition of corporate lawyer, Robert Woll, to its Beijing office. Woll joins as Co-Partner in Charge from Morrison & Foerster’s Hong Kong office. He is highly regarded as a expert in his field, known especially for his top work in private equity transactions. WilmerHale’s China practice deals with incountry corporate and regulatory issues, as well as offering expertise in public policy and government affairs. The firm has over 1,100 lawyers in its ten offices worldwide.
Source: www.prnewswire.com