JD Journal » Shanghai

Cooley LLP Announces Opening of Office in Shanghai, China

rebneely — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:58:38 +0000

Global law firm Cooley LLP announced in recent days that it has opened an office in Shanghai, China.

The opening of the Shanghai office broadens the firm’s market leadership in advising innovative companies and investors in sectors spanning software, hardware and mobile technology, digital and social media, life sciences and clean energy into one of the world’s most dynamic and essential markets.

Joe Conroy, Cooley’s chief executive officer was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “The opportunity to expand Cooley’s footprint into China is extremely exciting given how well our core practices are aligned with the country’s growth areas and how many of our clients are established in China and plan to grow aggressively there. We will bring to bear the full breadth of the firm’s resources and experience in support of our Shanghai office and clients based in China or doing business there.”

Based in Silicon Valley, Cooley attorneys offer specialized insight and experience to companies and investors in high-growth sectors. The firm’s resources and services in China will span venture capital fund formation and investment, capital markets and corporate transactional advice, as well as market-leading experience advising clients in commercial, IP and securities litigation.

Highly experienced Cooley corporate partners Brad Peck and Patrick Loofbourrow, who have relocated from California, will lead the new Shanghai office. Peck, who will head the Shanghai office, specializes in corporate and securities law and focuses his practice on the representation of technology and life science companies ranging from start-ups to publicly held corporations. Loofbourrow concentrates his practice in representing emerging technology and life sciences companies, and venture capital and other firms that invest in such businesses.

Peck was quoted as saying: “We are dedicated to establishing a long-term presence in China and continuing to build the Shanghai office through the addition of talented local attorneys. Given Cooley’s market leadership in advising innovative companies across the United States, we believe we are well positioned to partner with and support our clients in the burgeoning global technology sector.”

For over two decades, Cooley has been advising on China-related matters. In 1989, the firm advised on the formation of the first institutional venture capital fund investing in China. To date, the firm has formed 43 Chinese venture capital and private equity funds for almost 20 fund managers. In addition, Cooley represents various U.S. fund managers with respect to their investing activity in China, including fund managers with sponsored groups and representative offices in China.

Craig Dauchy, head of Cooley’s leading Venture Capital practice was quoted as saying: “Given our robust levels of fund formation activity in China, we anticipate Cooley fund formation attorneys will spend a significant amount of time on the ground there in support of these clients and continuing to expand our presence in that market.”

Cooley has over 650 attorneys in full service offices across the United States and in Shanghai, China. The firm represents clients in a wide range of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, venture capital, clean energy, real estate and retail.

Leading Patent Litigator Joins Sheppard Mullin as Co-Chair of IP Practice Group

rebneely — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:01:13 +0000

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP recently announced that Nagendra “Nick” Setty joined the firm as co-chair of the firm’s 70 attorney IP practice group. He will work out of the firm’s Palo Alto and San Francisco offices.

Setty joins from Fish & Richardson. There, he founded and was managing principal of its Atlanta office and resided part-time in its Silicon Valley office. He follows Stephen S. Korniczky, co-chair of Sheppard Mullin’s IP practice, who joined

last year from Paul Hastings, where he was global chair of its IP practice group.

Setty has an international practice representing leading global businesses such as Bank of America, Cipla, Cisco, EchoStar, Landis + Gyr, LG, McKesson, Samsung, Siemens and Verint. He focuses his practice on litigating jury, bench and arbitration trials in patent, trademark, trade secrets, and copyright cases. During the past twenty years, he has served as lead counsel in more than 120 intellectual property cases, which have spanned a broad range of technologies. Setty is a frequent lecturer and author on IP related topics, and is recognized for his IP litigation expertise in Chambers USA.

Guy N. Halgren, chairman of Sheppard Mullin was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Nick is an extremely experienced, high profile patent litigator. He brings a sophisticated patent litigation practice to our Palo Alto and San Francisco Offices and strengthens our global IP capabilities. Nick is yet another excellent addition to our firm as we continue to build our nationally recognized IP team.”

Setty was quoted as saying: “I am extremely excited about joining Sheppard Mullin’s global platform. It’s clear to me that the firm is on the rise. I am incredibly impressed with its strategic plan and collegial and entrepreneurial culture. I look forward to helping Sheppard Mullin strengthen and build its growing reputation as a top tier IP practice.”

Stephen S. Korniczky was quoted as saying: “Nick is an incredible addition to our IP team and we are thrilled to have him on board. He is a leader with a history of building top notch IP practices, and has 20 years of experience successfully litigating “big ticket” patent disputes. Equally important, he is genuinely a really nice guy.”

Korniczky is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice on patent litigation and strategic counseling on patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright matters. He has litigated over 100 patent and other IP lawsuits, including some of the largest multi-patent infringement actions in the United States. He has invalidated numerous patents asserted against his clients and possesses significant experience in handling nationwide patent and trademark enforcement campaigns against multiple infringers. He represents internationally based, publicly traded and emerging companies in many areas, including in the life sciences, medical device, computer, mobile communications, internet/e-commerce and consumer electronics industries.

Founded in 1927 in Los Angeles, California in 1927, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 550 attorneys in 10 offices in the United States and one in Shanghai.

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.

Former Nixon Peabody Partner Sues Firm, Alleging He Was Made Scapegoat in SEC Investigation

rebneely — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:00:09 +0000

David Tamman, who was formerly employed with Nixon Peabody as a partner, sued the firm in recent days.

In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission cited Tamman for his part in the alleged investment scam involving former client Beverly Hills–based NewPoint Securities. The SEC claims the attorney modified and falsified documents the client used to conceal the fact that, according to the October 28th amlawdaily.com article, “Former Nixon Partner Sues Firm, Says He Was Made Scapegoat in SEC Probe”, “investments billed to investors as “low risk” were actually being used to construct a mansion for the company’s co-owner.”

Tamman is suing Nixon Peabody on the grounds that the firm blamed him for the entire matter, and took away the majority of his $1.5 million practice away from him.

Tamman’s complaint was filed last week in California Superior Court in Los Angeles. It identifies what the attorney alleges are numerous actions the firm took to blame Tamman for everything related to the NewPoint scandal on him, as well as to put distance between the firm and the SEC investigation to protect its reputation its self-insured malpractice policy.

The SEC sued NewPoint and several of its top executives in 2010 accusing the financial services firm of both securities fraud and the unregistered sale of securities. In addition, the SEC also froze NewPoint’s assets, and placed the company into receivership, after obtaining and injunction from a federal court.

Tamman was employed with the firm for approximately two years. In the complaint, he states he brought NewPoint with him as a client from Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor, where he served as senior counsel before joining Nixon. He also states in the in the complaint that he was not the only Nixon attorney who represented the company. Per the complaint, Nixon partners Edward O’Callaghan, William Kelly, and Robert Bernius and associate Matthew Grazier are listed as also providing counsel in the NewPoint representation.

According to the article, the complaint states: “Far from supporting him, his partners, with whom he had consulted and whose advice he had followed upon every step … had abandoned him, as has Nixon.”

Per the article, Nixon Peabody spokesman Brian Moynihan was quoted as having said in a statement that the firm fired Tamman “as soon as we learned that he was under SEC investigation and he failed to explain his actions to us.” As well, the firm said it “has acted completely appropriately in cooperating with the SEC on this issue.”

Stanton Phillips and James Wohl are representing Tamman. Phillips and Wohl each have their own law offices in Los Angeles.

Nixon Peabody LLP has over 800 attorneys in 25 major practice areas. It is one of the largest multipractice law firms in the United States, with offices in seventeen cities in the United States, as well as in London, Paris, and Shanghai.

Law Firm Kirkland Ellis Commits $2.75 Million to Stanford Law School to Fund Scholars’ Program and Annual Forum

rebneely — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:03:04 +0000

Stanford Law School recently announced law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP has committed $2.75 million over five years to the law school. The funds, which were made possible through the firm’s foundation and through individual partners’ contributions, will fund a scholars program, honoring the law school’s top first-year students, as well as a yearly forum on important legal issues for students, alumni, and the Bay Area business and law community.

Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer was quoted as saying in a press release at Kirkland Ellis’s website: “This generous support from Kirkland & Ellis will enable Stanford Law School to continue to transform legal education and prepare the next generation of leaders through innovative, interdisciplinary and international programs, new and expanded forms of clinical education, and a renewed commitment to public service.”

The newly established Kirkland & Ellis Scholars Program will recognize first year law students who have performed at the very highest level. Each year, six first-year students will be designated Kirkland & Ellis Scholars, based on overall scholastic achievement across a variety of courses. Now, students may win awards in individual courses. These awards, known as “book prizes,” will help determine who among the first-year class deserve recognition with the highest honor, the Kirkland & Ellis Scholar designation. The award is unique at the law school.

Kramer was quoted as saying of the program: “The Kirkland & Ellis Scholar designation symbolizes the highest standard of achievement. It is an honor that students will covet and it will benefit them in their pursuit of career and public service goals.”

The Kirkland & Ellis Law Forum offer panel discussions and symposia on emerging legal issues of interest to the business community. Stanford Law School faculty, Kirkland & Ellis attorneys and other legal and business thought leaders from academia, private practice, government, and the public sphere will participate in the discussions.

Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee was quoted as saying: “We’re very pleased to support Stanford Law School and excited about these new programs. The opportunity to recognize student excellence and to provide a forum for sharing thought leadership on emerging matters that may challenge and reshape the business and law community fit well with Kirkland & Ellis’s culture and mission.”

Established in 1893, Stanford Law School is one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education, and has worked to establish a new model for legal education that focuses on rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and focus on public service. The Law School employs more than 50 faculty and hosts over 500 students who are working towards their Juris Doctor (J.D.) or other graduate legal degrees.

Global law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP has over 1,500 attorneys, representing clients in a broad range of matters, including complex litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. The firm has offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.

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.

Dorsey & Whitney Adds Leading PRC Practitioner as Partner in Shanghai Office

joshua — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:00:41 +0000

International law firm Dorsey & Whitney announced that Peter Corne will join the firm as a partner, and will head its Shanghai office.

Currently, Peter is Managing Director of Eversheds Shanghai office, which he has led since 2006.

Having worked in Shanghai for over 15 years, Mr. Corne is widely regarded as one of the leading practitioners in the PRC, and one of the foremost commentators on PRC investment law. He represents a number of multinational clients including Coca-Cola in their M&A transactions, corporate restructuring and equity/asset acquisitions of foreign-invested companies and State-owned enterprises. Peter also has significant experience in renewable energy projects and has spearheaded one of the foremost antitrust practices in the PRC.

In the press release at the firm’s site, Marianne D. Short, Dorsey’s Managing Partner was quoted as saying: “This is a significant step for Dorsey in expanding and further strengthening our China practice. Peter’s recruitment is part of our strategy to grow our business in China to meet the growing demands and requirements of our clients in the region’s vibrant economy.”

Corne was quoted as saying: “Dorsey, with its strengths in clean energy, agribusiness, environmental, healthcare and financial services is in a great position to help China and the U.S. harness their obvious synergies. I look forward to helping Dorsey unlock inbound and outbound transactional opportunities for its clients in all of these sectors.”

Dorsey & Whitney has had a presence in China since 1995 with established offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, where it represents a number of the world’s most successful multinational companies from a wide range of industries.

Headquarted in Minneapolis, Dorsey has 19 offices worldwide in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, and employs nearly 700 attorneys.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Opens Office in Hong Kong

joshua — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:55:27 +0000

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has opened an office in Hong Kong.

In a press release at the firm’s site, CEO Steve Bochner was quoted as saying: “China is an incredibly vibrant market—one that we have been focused on and investing in for many years. Given Hong Kong’s position as a leading global financial center and the preferred overseas capital market for many Chinese enterprises, it is the logical place for us to open our second office in China. There are also considerable synergies between Hong Kong and the work we already are doing in China. We are extremely pleased to have found the right team and leadership to anchor our Hong Kong office, and look forward to continuing to build our presence in the Greater China region.”

The Hong Kong team will be led by Weiheng Chen, who co-heads the firm’s China practice along with Carmen Chang. He recently joined the firm from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy and has particular expertise in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets. The Hong Kong team will work closely with the firm’s attorneys in Shanghai and the U.S.

The China practice represents clients in a variety of legal matters in the Greater China region and the U.S., including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, capital markets, joint venture and other forms of foreign investments.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s is nationally recognized as a leader in many areas of law, including the fields of corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities class action litigation, employment law, and intellectual property. In addition to the newly opened Hong Kong location, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offices in Austin, New York, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.

Former Congressman Named Nixon Peabody Government Relations Chief

joshua — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:04:05 +0000

Nixon Peabody senior strategic policy advisor Thomas Reynolds, a former U.S. Congressman from New York, has been appointed head of the firm’s government relations and public policy practice, the Rochester Business Journal reports.

Reynolds joined Nixon Peabody in 2009 after serving five terms in the state Assembly and an additional five terms in Congress. He replaces Richard Goldstein as the firm’s government relations practice head.

Reynolds told the Business Journal “we are in the midst of an evolving legislative and regulatory landscape. New policies are constantly being considered and adopted by our federal and state governments, creating both opportunities and challenges for our clients.”

According to Reynolds’ bio on the Nixon Peabody Web site, he advises clients on a wide range of legislative and regulatory policies that include international trade, health care, energy and tax.

Nixon Peabody has approximately 700 attorneys in 17 cities, including Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rochester, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC.

Eversheds Eyes Beijing for China Expansion

joshua — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:26:31 +0000

Eversheds and Italian firm NCTM are set to enter the expanding legal market in China with new offices. Eversheds, which has had an office in Shanghai for three years, is now eligible to open a second office in China and the firm plans to enter Beijing, according to LegalWeek.

Shanghai Managing Director Peter Corne said a second office in China would allow the firm to better cover the country’s distinct regions.

“Beijing and Shanghai are very distinctive,” Corne told LegalWeek.”Shanghai does not have the prominent position of Beijing, but at the moment most of our clients are here so we will probably only start with a small operation when we open.”

Italy’s NCTM is set to launch a Shanghai office this summer after its license application is approved. It will be the firm’s first office outside of Europe.

LegalWeek lists other firms that are looking to move into the potentially lucrative China market. They include overseas firms Ashurst and SJ Berwin and U.S.-based Goodwin Procter, which already has an office in Honk Kong but is looking to enter mainland China.

Steptoe & Johnson Open Beijing Office

sara — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:11:52 +0000

Steptoe & Johnson announced that they have opened a new office in Beijing, their first foray into Asia. International trade partner Eric Emerson relocated to Beijing to assume the role of managing partner at the new office. Susan Munro, former counsel to O’Melveny & Myers’ Shanghai office, will join Emerson. She has experience in corporate transactions and litigation work in the region. The Beijing office will focus on advising Chinese companies on outbound investments and help navigate U.S. and European regulations.

Founded in 1913, Steptoe & Johnson is a Washington, D.C. based firm with over 450 lawyers in 8 locations worldwide including Brussels, Chicago, London, the Los Angeles area, New York and Phoenix.

SJ Berwin Expands into Shanghai

joshua — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:16:48 +0000

SJ Berwin’s 12th office and 2nd office in East Asia has opened in Shanghai. The Shanghai office will focus on Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Estate, and other core practice areas. This is SJ Berwin’s 3rd expansion this year. In April, the firm opened an office in Dubai and in Marchit launched an office in Hong Kong focused on its China and East Asia practice.

Founded in 1982, SJ Berwin is a pan-European firm with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin.

Diaz Reus & Targ Launches in Shanghai

Erik Even — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:51:36 +0000

Diaz Reus & Targ has launched a new office in Shanghai, China.

Firm partners Robert Q. Lee and Adam Ehrlich will manage the office. They are joined by associates Federico Tabja, Xiaomin Hu and Xin Zhang.

Miami, Florida-based Diaz Reus & Targ LLP focuses on trade and business transactions; complex commercial, civil, and criminal litigation; and arbitration matters. It has offices in Frankfurt, Germany; Caracas, Venezuela; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Bogotá, Colombia; and São Paulo, Brazil.

DLA Piper Lays Off 54 in Asia

Erik Even — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:38:31 +0000

DLA Piper announced today it is laying off 20 lawyers and 34 staff across its Asian offices, in response to the global economic meltdown.

DLA Piper has in recent years built up one of the largest Asia practices of any international law firm, with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Bangkok.

The majority of the cuts were in the Hong Kong office, the firm’s largest in the region, with over 100 lawyers. The layoffs were primarily focused on transactional practices.

DLA Piper is one of several firms that built large practices in the area in anticipation of a continued stream of initial public offerings by emerging Chinese companies.

DLA Piper’s Asia restructuring comes weeks after DLA Piper announced sweeping layoffs in the United States, cutting its ranks by 80 associates and 100 staffers. The firm has also had layoffs in the United Kingdom.

ATL: Paul Hastings Layoffs in L.A.

Erik Even — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:27:26 +0000

First LA’s Paul Hastings announced the layoff of 10 Atlanta associates.

Now tipsters tell Above the Law that the firm is holding stealth layoffs today at its Los Angeles HQ.

I just wanted to let you know that stealth layoffs are ongoing at Paul Hastings. Rumor has it that the grim reaper is making rounds to many offices [in California].

There are also rumors of layoffs in the firm’s Shanghai office.

If you know anything about layoffs at Paul Hasting, please send us a confidential tip!

Founded in LA in 1951, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP is a leading international law firm with over 1,300 attorneys and 18 offices worldwide. Paul Hastings serves a diverse client base that includes many top financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies.

Via ATL.

DLA Piper’s Ong to Head Up Eversheds Singapore

Erik Even — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:09:52 +0000

London’s Eversheds is opening of a new office in Singapore, and beginning work on developing a presence in Hong Kong.

The firm has recruited DLA Piper’s former Singapore managing partner Desmond Ong to head up the new operation. Ong, a corporate and litigation lawyer, quit as DLA’s Singapore chief last November.

The Singapore office will be Eversheds’ second office in Asia, after Shanghai. It will serve the markets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Last year Eversheds hired former DLA Piper and Heller Ehrman Asia head Nick Seddon to lead the Hong Kong initiative.

Eversheds LLP has 40 offices in major cities across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It also has business groups specializing in the needs of international organizations doing business in Africa, India, Japan and North America. The firm provides legal and business advice to private and public sector businesses and the finance community worldwide.

What’s Really Happening on the Ground in China? [Update]

Erik Even — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:18:42 +0000

JDJournal’s A. Harrison Barnes just emailed me:

I just spoke with a candidate from the China office of a large US firm, and was told that “corporate practices are VERY slow in Hong Kong and Shanghai, despite what you are reading on blogs. Firms are slow and laying capital markets associates off. In short, the reality in China is much different than what the blogs are telling people.” [Of course, he was clearly referring to Kinney’s Asia Chronicles on ATL]

Asia Chronicles is a series of posts on the Above The Law blog by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, an ATL advertiser. While the latest post admits that “associate hiring is falling significantly” in Asia, the series, while informative about issues like expat allowances and taxes, contains what are basically advertisements for legal jobs in Asia (and using Kinney Recruiting to find one).

Also, this New York Times article from November, entitled “Lawyers Wanted: Abroad, That Is,” reports that “lawyers and analysts say that the most promising places for legal careers are such far-flung locales as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.” But are they really?

UPDATE:

Harrison has since spoken to two recruiters who confirm that qualified candidates are having a rough time finding positions in East Asia and the United Arab Emirates, two regions that are supposedly hungry for new associates.