JD Journal » Asia-Pacific

DLA Piper Adds Pair of Attorneys to Beijing Office

rebneely — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:46:45 +0000

DLA Piper has announced that John Shi and Nicolas Groffman have both joined DLA Piper as partners in Beijing.

The pair of attorneys will also work closely with the firm’s Shanghai, Hong Kong and other Asia Pacific offices.

The news dovetails with Mallesons preparation to seal a merger with Chinese firm King & Wood. The Australian firm’s partners voted in favor of the tie-up last week, with King & Wood’s partners understood to have given their backing to the deal this week, according to the November 1^st law.com article, “DLA Piper bolsters China practice with double hire from Mallesons”.

Mallesons’ Beijing chief representative since 2004, Shi is a corporate lawyer with significant expertise in M&A, foreign direct investment and all types of corporate structures and operational issues in China.

Groffman is a partner in Mallesons’ Beijing office. He specializes in technology, media and telecommunications. In addition, he has a broad M&A practice.

In a statement, DLA Piper’s joint CEO Nigel Knowles was quoted as having said, per the law.com article: “As the Chinese government continues to encourage Chinese entities to invest overseas we anticipate a growing emphasis on outbound work. As a global law firm with strong US and EMEA offerings, DLA Piper is well placed to support this trend and the appointment of John and Nic will ensure we have a market leading international legal practice in China.”

DLA Asia-Pacific managing director Alistair Da Costa was quoted as having said in the November 29th law.com article: “One of the strategic priorities for the firm, and for Asia Pacific in particular, is the continual development and growth of our Greater China offering, especially our corporate practice.”

Per the article, it’s anticipated that additional lawyers from Mallesons’ Beijing office will follow Shi and Groffman to DLA Piper, which is also expected to make additions to its Shanghai team.

Currently, DLA Piper has nine partners and 62 other fee-earners working across Beijing and Shanghai, while Mallesons has five partners and 22 other fee-earners in these two cities.

Global law firm DLA Piper has 76 offices across 30 countries and more than 4,200 lawyers. As of May 2011, it was the largest law firm in the world by number of attorneys. The firm is composed of two partnerships, DLA Piper International, and DLA Piper U.S. The two partnerships share a single management board but are not financially integrated.

DLA Piper’s clients range from multinational, Global 1,000 and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging high-tech companies and start-ups, for which it operates a dedicated division for venture-capital placements. The firm represents over 140 of the top 250 Fortune 500 clients and nearly half of the FTSE 350 or their subsidiaries.

Frank Burch and Tony Angel serve as Co-Chairs of the firm’s Global Board, and Senator George Mitchell as Chairman Emeritus.

Sullivan & Cromwell Launches Law Practice in Hong Kong

rebneely — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:33:04 +0000

Sullivan & Cromwell recently announced it has launched a law practice in Hong Kong.

Joseph C. Shenker, Chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “S&C has been committed to the Asia-Pacific region for many decades, with an integrated practice advising clients in their inbound and outbound investments, M&A and capital raising activities. Having the ability to offer clients advice under Hong Kong law is a natural extension to our diversified, global practice.”

The Hong Kong office was established in 1992, and possesses a strong team of lawyers, including partners William Chua, Michael DeSombre, Kay Ian Ng, Chun Wei and Gwen Wong.

As well, S&C established its Beijing office in 1999 and was among the very first top-tier Wall Street firms to have an office in China. Together, these offices serve clients in Greater China and throughout Asia.

Joseph C. Shenker’s practice covers a wide range of areas. These include his extensive experience in negotiated mergers and acquisitions (public and private); domestic and cross-border joint ventures; the representation of private equity investors and family investment offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia; securities offerings; private and public financings; commercial real estate; and tax and estate planning. As well, he serves as a personal adviser to many of the world’s most active and influential business leaders and families.

S&C is committed to clients and transactions in Asia, which have formed an important part of our practice since the 1920s. The firm is recognized as a leader in the region’s capital markets, M&A, private equity, privatization and project finance work. Clients located in Asia make up over 20% of S&C’s non-U.S. clients; the firm’s Asian clients are located all over the region, mainly in Greater China and Japan, and also in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

With over thirty lawyers in our Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beijing offices, the firm provides expert legal counsel on corporate finance, M&A, private equity, real estate and project finance matters. S&C’s Asian practice has been widely recognized for its excellence and service to clients, and the firm regularly advises on the landmark transactions in the region.

The firm has been consistently recognized for its work in Asia. This includes IFLR’s “China Practice of the Year” in the IFLR Asia Awards, “ALB Deals of the Year Japan Awards,” “Equity Capital Markets Law Firm of the Year in Asia” by IFLR, “Capital Markets Law Firm of the Year in Asia” by AsiaLaw, and “M&A Law Firm of the Year in Asia” by IFLR.

The firm clients include many of the major companies, governmental and sovereign entities, and leading international and domestic investment and commercial banks in the region. As well, clients include a wide range of multinational corporations, financial institutions and private equity firms.

Sullivan & Cromwell is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Squire Sanders Combines with Western Australia’s Oldest Law Firm, Minter Ellison

rebneely — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:08:05 +0000

The law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey will combine with the one of Western Australia’s oldest and most progressive law firms, on October 1st, Minter Ellison.

This is the firm’s second major expansion this year, and the combination greatly increases Squire Sanders’ presence in the quickly growing Asia Pacific market.

With the combination of the firms, Squire Sanders will have over 1,300 lawyers in 36 offices and 17 countries. This includes the eighty plus attorneys from Minter Ellison, as well as the 500 plus attorneys in Europe who joined Squire Sanders via the January 2011 combination with former United Kingdom firm Hammonds.

As ranked by The American Lawyer’s Global 100, the combined global legal practice is among the top 20 by headcount, as well as one of the 15 largest US-based legal practices, per the National Law Journal’s NLJ 250, according to a press release at the firm’s website. And, with anticipated revenue of $725 million, the combined practice will be among the top firms ranked in Legal Business’ Global 100.

James J. Maiwurm, Squire Sanders chair and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying: “Our growth is guided by our clients’ evolving business needs. We gauge success by our clients’ enthusiasm and interest in legal services that provide more value on a global scale.”

Maiwurm explained that attorneys in Tokyo and Washington D.C. recently worked with Western Australian lawyers on a client’s energy project. As well, Western Australian lawyers collaborated with the London office to provide advice to a global company doing business in Australia.

Perth managing partner John Poulsen was quoted as saying: “Our clients very quickly sized up the benefits to be had by working with an established cost-effective Western Australia firm that now has global reach. I am very pleased by our clients’ overwhelmingly positive reaction.”

James Maiwurm has over three decades of experience as a business and transactional lawyer. He focuses his practice on the representation of a diverse range of businesses, from technology startups to Fortune 50 manufacturers, in private equity infusions, public offerings and sophisticated domestic and international acquisitions, dispositions, financings and joint ventures.

Maiwurm’s wealth of experience includes implementing turnaround initiatives, dealing with clients all over the world, negotiating and managing major asset dispositions, orchestrating debt restructurings, and building relationships with bondholders, stockholders, joint venture partners, employees and customers. As well as being active in a variety of community organizations, he has served on the boards of a variety of companies, and is listed in Who’s Who in America, as well as several other Who’s Who directories.

John Poulsen is the Managing Partner of Minter Ellison’s Perth office. He has played a significant role in improving the consistency and quality of service provided by the Perth team. Under his leadership, staff engagement has increased, and turnover has decreased. This has served to improve client relationships and quality of service, and contributed to the overall growth of the firm. John has been recognized as one of Western Australia’s leading finance lawyers and acted for leading financiers including the four major banks, Macquarie Bank, Babcock & Brown, St. George and Rabobank.

Founded in 1890 in Cleveland, Ohio, global law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has 36 offices in 16 countries.

Minter Ellison has been ranked the largest Australian-based international law firm, with offices in 14 cities and five countries.

DLA Piper Open for Business in Australia

rebneely — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:57:57 +0000

Following the integration of DLA Phillips Fox (Australia) and DLA Piper, DLA Piper is now open for business in Australia.

DLA Piper in Australia is a full service business law firm with the ability to provide clients with a broad variety of services across five capital cities nationally, and 11 offices throughout Asia-Pacific.

In Asia-Pacific, DLA Piper has more than 700 lawyers operating out of offices located in Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Canberra, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Perth, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

Globally, DLA Piper now has 4,200 lawyers operating in 76 offices in 30 countries. The group also has alliances with firms in an additional 17 countries.

Managing Partner for Australia Tony Holland was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Our clients are at the centre of everything we do and we are dedicated to supporting them and helping them to do business. We believe this is a significant day for the Australian legal market. We are adding real value by offering a comprehensive range of legal services across a truly national and truly international footprint. Integration has already enhanced our ability to compete for work in the region. Our new positioning in the market has been welcomed by our clients and is attractive to prospective clients, as demonstrated by our recent appointment to the panel of a major international investment bank.”

DLA Piper represents more clients in a broader range of geographies and practice disciplines than virtually any other law firm in the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:54:47 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, September 22nd. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

King & Spalding opened an office in Singapore…

The Best Lawyers in America gave Jones & Walker high rankings for the fourth year in a row…

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe added two attorneys to its London office…

The American Lawyer, The Nationnew al Law Journal and Corporate Counsel will present the second annual “The Litigation Summit: The Business of Litigation” October 5-6, 2010…

O’Melveny & Myers formed a new integrated legal strategies practice…

King & Spalding Opens Singapore Office

joshua — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:38:25 +0000

King & Spalding announced Wednesday that it has opened an office in Singapore after having received the necessary approvals from the Singapore government. The office will serve as a hub for the firm’s work in energy and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This is King & Spalding’s eighth office outside the United States.

“Singapore’s establishment as a key international arbitration center, coupled with a steady increase in energy and infrastructure investment throughout the region, make it a compelling location for the continued expansion of our energy and arbitration practices–two of the firm’s particular strengths,” said Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of King & Spalding.

King & Spalding initiated its plans for establishing an office in Singapore this past August, when it announced the hiring of international arbitration partner John Savage, the former vice chair of international arbitration and head of the Asia disputes practice at Shearman & Sterling.

As previously announced, the new office will be managed by Philip R. Weems, who will also continue as co-head of King & Spalding’s global energy practice from his new Singapore base.
The Singapore team’s arbitration docket currently includes a large arbitration for a U.S. multinational corporation against a Middle Eastern partner, a dispute between a major oil company and an Asian state, an ad hoc arbitration in the shipping sector and an arbitration for a private equity house against Pakistani parties.

The new King & Spalding office is located at One Raffles Place in Singapore’s central business district.

King & Spalding is ranked among the leading international arbitration and energy practices in the world. The firm has more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington D.C.

Shearman & Sterling’s Project Development & Finance Group Ranked in Top 10

joshua — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:15:10 +0000

Infrastructure Journal’s 1H 2010 league tables ranked Shearman & Sterling LLP’s global Project Development & Finance Group among the top 10 across 10 categories. They included No. 1 Legal Advisor in the following categories: Mining & Metals, Renewables, Asia Pacific, Latin American, and Subcontinent.

The firm also achieved top 10 rankings in Global, North America, Power and Transport.

According to today’s press release at PR Newswire, the $3.1 billion Pueblo Viejo Gold Project in the Dominican Republic, on which Shearman & Sterling advised Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, a joint venture between Barrick Gold and Goldcorp Inc., was also listed by Dealogic as the fourth largest global project finance deal to close in the first half of 2010.

Shearman & Sterling’s Project Development & Finance Group has a leading reputation in both New York and English law, with an integrated practice operating across the Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo offices. In addition, the firm has teams focused in several sectors, including power, oil and gas, and clean energy.

A global law firm with approximately 900 lawyers in 20 offices in 12 countries around the world, Shearman & Sterling LLP is a leader in many areas, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and complex business litigation.

Sidley Austin Names Albrecht New Asia Pacific Boss

joshua — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:40:37 +0000

Sidley Austin announced that Thomas W. Albrecht, a member of the firm’s management and executive committees, is relocating from its Chicago office to its Hong Kong office to assume responsibilities of managing partner for the Asia Pacific region.

Albrecht will be working closely with two other members of Sidley’s executive committee presently in the region – Tomoo Nishikawa, the managing partner of the Tokyo office, and Constance Choy, a corporate finance partner in the Hong Kong office.

William O. Fifield, who has served as Sidley’s managing partner for the Greater China region since 2005, will continue in that capacity until the end of 2010, when he will return to the United States.

Thomas A. Cole, chair of Sidley’s executive committee, said the appointment of Albrecht “underscores our long-standing commitment to the region.”

Albrecht, a finance lawyer at Sidley for more than 30 years, has helped in the expansion of the firm’s non-U.S. offices for the past 15 years, according to Charles W. Douglas, chair of Sidley’s management committee.

“We are tapping that experience for the further development of our operations in the Asia Pacific region, recognizing the increasing importance to our clients of that fast growing part of the world,” Douglas said.

Sidley has six offices and nearly 120 professionals in the Asia Pacific region. Albrecht said increased client demand has led the firm to begin planning for more offices.

Skadden Names New Head of Asia Pacific Practice

joshua — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:50:36 +0000

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has named Audrey Sokoloff as co-head of the firm’s Asia Pacific practice. A partner in Skadden’s Tokyo office, Sokoloff will join Hong Kong-based Alan Schiffman in managing the firm’s six Asia Pacific offices.

According to LegalWeek, Skadden’s Asia-Pacific practice was previously headed by U.S.-based partners Michael Gisser and Phyllis Korff in addition to Schiffman. The firm has since decided to supervise the practice from Asia rather than domestically.

“The development of the practice in Asia means that it makes sense to base the leadership here,” Sokoloff told Legal Week. “I will be coordinating and providing oversight to our offices in Asia, Europe and the Americas and am excited about Skadden’s continued growth in the Asia region.”

Sokoloff will also continue to head the Tokyo office and its Asia-Pacific real estate and investment finance teams. She has been in Asia since 2008.

Skadden has more than 100 lawyers in the Asia-Pacific region with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

Mallesons to Cut 100 Lawyers, Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:58:07 +0000

Commercial law firm Mallesons will begin a redundancy consultation in August, targeting 5% of the firm’s workforce.

The redundancies are being characterized as voluntary, and will affect 100 lawyers and staff. Some lawyers will be offered more than one year’s pay.

The offers are to include a payment based on years of service, an additional stipend, and outplacement.

Founded in 1832, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered one of the top commercial law firms. It has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Shanghai and Papua New Guinea.

Allens Arthur Robinson Sees 114 Voluntary Redundancies

Erik Even — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:11:04 +0000

Allens Arthur Robinson, which in April offered up to one year’s pay to lawyers who take voluntary redundancies, has seen 114 employees take up the offer and leave the firm.

The redundancies included lawyers, corporate services staff, and secretaries. Twelve people who asked for voluntary redundancies were refused.As

By offering the voluntary redundancies, Allens Arthur says it has avoided involuntary layoffs; and it plans to keep all of its incoming trainees. The firm is now undergoing a restructuring.

Founded in 1822, Allens Arthur Robinson is a commercial law firm in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered to be one of the top commercial law firms.

The firm has staff based in 14 cities and eight countries, including Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Phnom Penh, Port Moresby, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. It is one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific region, with almost 200 partners and more than 1500 personnel.

Thomson Playford Cuts 19 Lawyers, 5 Staff

Erik Even — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:00:45 +0000

Thomson Playford has laid off 19 lawyers and five staff in its Sydney and Adelaide, Australia offices.

Thomson Playford Cutlers is a full service commercial law firm with offices in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, with 200 lawyers and 350 staff.

In August 2008, the firm was ranked as one of the top 25 law firms in Australia by Australasian Legal Business. In 2008, they won the “Adelaide Law Firm of the Year” Award at the Mettle ALB Australasian Law Awards, the Asia Pacific’s premium law awards event.

Blake Dawson Lays Off 23 Lawyers, 66 Staff

Erik Even — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:56:08 +0000

Blake Dawson has eliminated 23 lawyers and 66 support staff in the wake of its March review of business.

Details have not been released. If you know anything about the situation at Blake Dawson, please send us a confidential tip!

Founded in Melbourne in 1841, Blake Dawson is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it is considered one of the top commercial law firms.

Minter Ellison Lays Off 11 Lawyers, 35 Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:08:36 +0000

Australia’s Minter Ellison has laid off 11 lawyers and 24 support staff from its Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices.

The redundancies targeted senior and junior associates in the firm’s property, construction and finance practices.

There are no current plans for further redundancies.

Minter Ellison is one of the largest full-service law firms in the Asia-Pacific region. It has over 280 partners, 1000 lawyers and 1,000 support staff. In Australia it is considered one of the top commercial law firms.

Allens Arthur Robinson Freezes Pay, Offers Voluntary Redundancies

Erik Even — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:41:06 +0000

Allens Arthur Robinson will institute pay freezes July 1st, and is offering up to one year’s pay to lawyers who take voluntary redundancies.

The amount paid out for those who choose to leave will depend on seniority and years with the firm.

Allens also plans to shuffle remaining lawyers between practices.

The firm has no plans for involuntary layoffs, and will not cut its incoming associate class. It will, however, cut partners’ profit shares.

Allens Arthur Robinson is a commercial law firm in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered to be one of the top commercial law firms.

Allens has staff based in 14 cities and eight countries across the region, including Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Phnom Penh, Port Moresby, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. It is one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific region, with almost 200 partners and more than 1500 personnel.

Blake Dawson Layoffs Tomorrow

Erik Even — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:40:30 +0000

Blake Dawson will announce redundancies tomorrow, Friday the 13th, with “less than 100″ people affected.

The firm says the cuts are all related to the global economic meltdown.

This will be the second round of redundancies at the Melbourne, Australia-based firm, as at least four property and finance lawyers have been laid off since the beginning of the year.

If you know anything about impending layoffs at Blake Dawson, please send us a confidential tip!

Blake Dawson is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it is considered one of the top commercial law firms.

Blake Dawson was previously known as Blake Dawson Waldron or BDW. The firm shortened its name to ‘Blake Dawson’ in November 2007.