Davis Polk law firm news

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is the latest in a long line of elite US firms to undergo localisation following the moves of other Hong Kong-based US firms – most recently Davis Polk and Latham & Watkins which underwent the same process in 2010.

The head of Davis Polk & Wardwell’s Beijing office will be stepping down from the helm of the US firm this year to launch his political career with Singapore’s largest opposition party – the Worker’s Party – in the upcoming general elections to be held on 7 May 2011.

US law firms have made a clean sweep of the 2011 ALB China Employer of Choice Awards, taking out all five positions in the international firm category for mainland China.

Workplace initiatives encouraging staff fitness have been prevalent in Western firms for some time. But as the 2011 ALB Employer of Choice survey reveals, law firms operating in Asia see exercise as an increasingly important plank in their work/life balance strategies.

The rivalry heats up amongst Tokyo-based international firms at the night of nights for Japan’s legal fraternity – the ALB Japan Law Awards 2011.

Beijing-based Youku.com Inc, the biggest online video company in China and considered a YouTube clone by many, has recently launched its US$203m IPO on Nasdaq.

中国最大的在线视频企业优酷网近日在纽约首次公开发行募得2.03亿美元。优酷网的国内最大竞争对手土豆网也已申请在美国首次公开发行，但尚未确定上市日期。

The International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body for international cricket, has selected two Bangalore-based boutique firms to provide legal advice to the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in India. Copyright Integrity International (CII) and the law offices of Nandan Kamath (NK) will both work closely with the ICC’s in-house legal team on rights protection and general commercial matters.

Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer and second largest diversified mining company, has engaged a list of legal advisors including Norton Rose and Cleary Gottlieb to advise on its Hong Kong float.

巴西Vale矿业集团近日通过股票凭证或预托证券的方式在香港上市。

In another manifestation of a trend started by its US counterparts, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has recently hired Norton Rose’s China corporate finance head Freeman Chan to kick start its Hong Kong law practice.

美国佳利律师事务所近日为了开发香港法律业务，聘请了英国诺顿•罗氏律师事务所的中国企业融资合伙人Freeman Chan为到香港办事处担任合伙人。

A-share listings and international IPOs have reached the highest levels seen in the history of capital markets for Chinese companies, according to recent statistics released by China’s leading investment consulting firm ChinaVenture.

据ChinaVenture最新数据显示，2010年1－11月份中国企业IPO数量已经达到431家；超过2007年265家的最高纪录，达到年度IPO数量历史最高峰。

Amidst the turmoil of 31 international firms being sued for practising illegally in India, Clifford Chance joined the growing ranks of firms making India-relevant hires in Singapore as it appointed Geraint Hughes, 43, as head of its India practice.

Less than three months after hiring Antony Dapiran from Freshfields and Bonnie Chan from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange regulatory board, Davis Polk has once again poached another big-hitter, this time from Linklaters.

达维律师事务所近日宣布，为了拓展其在香港市场的地位该所近日聘请了年利达前任北京管理合伙人Paul Chow，出任香港业务合伙人。

China Unicom’s latest US$1.8bn convertible bonds issuance is the world’s largest international convertible bond issuance by a PRC company to date. Freshfields, Sullivan & Cromwell and Herbert Smith advised on the transaction.

Milbank has poached Mallesons Stephen Jacques partner Dieter Yih (who is also the vice-president of the Law Society of Hong Kong) to capitalise on the IPO listings boom in Hong Kong and benefit from strong deal activity in mainland China.

Hong Kong-listed operator and developer of underground shopping centres in China, Renhe Commercial Holdings, has retained Kaiwen, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Norton Rose, Davis Polk and Latham & Watkins for the third time since its IPO, for its US$300m senior notes offering on the Singapore Securities Exchange (SGX- ST).