Covington & Burling law firm news

Clifford Chance, White & Case, Norton Rose, Mochtar Karuwin Komar, Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, Wiriadinata & Saleh and Baker & McKenzie have advised on a US$1.2bn multi-sourced Shari’a compliant Islamic financing deal – the largest cross-border private sector Islamic financing into Indonesia to date.

Vinson & Elkin has joined the wave of international firms launching new offices in the Middle East as it opens an office in Riyadh, following similar announcements by Baker & McKenzie in May, Gates & Partners in April and McGrigors in March to set up offices in the region. These are in addition to Covington & Burlington’s Middle East dual office push in Riyadh and King Abdullah’s Economic City in January 2011.

Covington & Burling has hired experienced life sciences lawyer Shaoyu Chen to be managing director of the firm’s food and drug practice in China.

Covington & Burling’s Middle East alliance firm Institution Quaraysh for Law & Policy (iQ) prepares to strengthen its position by launching offices in Riyadh and King Abdullah Economic City.

Vinson & Elkins has again represented long-term client China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on its 33.3% acquisition of Chesapeake Energy's oil and natural gas acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale project in South Texas for US$1.1bn.

中国最大的离岸石油生产商中海油近日同意以10.8亿美元收购切克萨斯公司在美国德克萨斯鹰滩页岩油气项目三分之一的股份。

US firm Covington & Burling has secured Timothy Stratford’s services after he stepped down as assistant US trade representitive for China affairs.

美国科文顿•柏灵律师事务所近日吸引前美国贸易官员Timothy Stratford加盟成为北京代表处合伙人。此前，Stratford曾在美国贸易代表办公室任职，作为美国助理贸易代表负责制定和实施美国对中国大陆、台湾、香港、澳门和蒙古的贸易政策。

Just because you’re a mid-tier US firm doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to mid-cap clients. Not here in China anyway. ALB China investigates

US firm Covington & Burlington has formed a strategic alliance with a Qatar-based legal services institution. The firm will leverage its relationship with the Institution Quraysh for Law & Policy to expand its presence in the Middle East.

Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers, Greenberg Traurig, Shearman & Sterling and Covington & Burling have hopped onboard a microchip deal involving a major investment by the Abu Dhabi government.

US firm Dechert has been granted a licence to open an office in Beijing, its first in mainland China. Earlier this year, the firm entered Hong Kong in a joint venture with local firm Hwang & Co, a move described as “strategically imperative” by Dechert partner and Hwang & Co managing partner Basil Hwang.

Although the Middle East and India are emerging to be the next hot spots for international firms, China remains a magnet for attracting new players.

Just as ALB's Law Awards 2006 are about to begin, ALB caught up with last year's New Zealand Dealmaker of the year, Simpson Grierson's Peter Hinton, to find out he's one half of one of NZ's best known legal power couple