近日，曾任香港Gall & Lane律师事务所合伙人的Jeff Lane，正式加入金杜律师师事务所香港分所成为合伙人。Lane是公司反欺诈和资产追踪诉讼领域的专家，在诉讼领域拥有丰富的执业经验。他同时持有英国、香港和澳大利亚律师执照，曾代理了大量复杂的跨境欺诈调查和破产资金追踪案件。

After a year-long integration since the merger with Arculli Fong & Ng, King & Wood's Hong Kong office now seems to be in full swing and has started to attract the interest of Hong Kong practitioners looking to join the partnership of the largest top-tier firm in Greater China.

Jeff Lane, formerly a name partner of Hong Kong boutique firm Gall & Lane (now known as Gall), is a case in point. Lane, who has extensive experience in international dispute resolution and commercial litigation with particular expertise in corporate fraud and money laundering disputes, has joined King & Wood as a partner. Admitted to practice law in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia, he has conducted a number of complex multi-jurisdictional fraud and asset tracing investigations.

Hiring experienced partners is undoubtedly an effective way to build up a new practice area, but luring senior partners and lawyers from foreign firms is also a critical step in PRC firms' endeavours to achieve international ambitions.

"In the past, PRC firms simply didn't have the manpower or expertise to play a lead role in cross-border transactions. But today this is no longer the case. Some PRC firms have hired lawyers and partners with seniority and desirable know-how from international firms, acquiring the same things which give advantages to international firms in cross-border transactions," said a partner at Zhong Lun. "I expect this international recruitment effort will continue and pick up pace in the process of PRC firms' internationalisation in the coming years." His firm hired two partners from international firms - Harney Westwood & Riegels and DLA Piper.

At King & Wood, Rupert Li and Meg Utterback are two other heavyweight partners who joined from international firms in recent months. Prior to joining King & Wood, Li served as Clifford Chance's Beijing chief representative and partner, while Utterback was the Shanghai managing partner of US firm Pillsbury. ALB