Woo Kwan Lee & Lo law firm news

Two PRC firms dominated the M&A deals volume chart in Greater China this year, with King & Wood and Grandall Legal Group securing leads in Mergermarket's latest top ten legal advisors league table.

With the help of Davis Polk & Wardwell, Heinz has recently inked a US$165m all-cash agreement to acquire soy-sauce maker Foodstar from Singapore-based PE holding company Transpac Industrial.

亨氏近日宣布，已同意以1.65亿美元从新加坡PE公司Transpac Industrial Holdings Ltd手中收购福达食品公司。

As its 10th anniversary approaches, Chengdu-headquartered Tahota has expanded its national network with two new locations - Dalian and Chongqing.

总部设于成都的泰和泰律师事务所近期已获准在重庆设立分所。重庆分所是继大连分所后，该所于今年设立的第二家分支机构。

Appleby has promoted two more lawyers to partner, in addition to appointing five new counsel across its firm-wide operations.

CEPA shows that the government is serious about opening its legal market to Hong Kong firms, but the liberalisation progress has been regarded as 'too slow and too little' by many. ALB China investigates whether better alternatives exist and if the CEPA framework for the legal sector is now redundant

Bird & Bird Hong Kong's association with Beijing IP boutique firm Xiang Kun under CEPA is an innovative way for firms of its kind to expand PRC capabilities and market access.

经北京市司法局批准，香港鸿鹄律师事务所与翔鲲律师事务所正式联营。该联营为CEPA实施后的六年中，内地与香港律师事务所已建立的为数不多的几家联营家。

Offshore firm Appleby has boosted its firm-wide partnership with the appointment of five new partners, three of whom arrive from its competitor – Walkers.

The legal market in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region has undergone significant change in the past year. With the re-entrance of international conglomerates and the continued international aspirations of many domestic companies, the YRD region now offers expanded opportunities for lucrative practice.

DLA Piper, Clifford Chance and Woo Kwan Lee & Lo have together advised on the first takeover of a Hong Kong-listed company by a mainland brokerage.

欧华，高伟绅和胡关李罗律师事务所近日协助了海通证券以美金2.3亿向大福提出全面收购。

If Joseph Bevash of Latham & Watkins is to be believed, the complexity and multi-currency nature of his recent Senoko Power finance deal could become more commonplace in the future.

Appleby and Latham & Watkins have represented Ming An Holdings in its privatisation by way of a Cayman court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement by its major shareholder, China Taiping Insurance.

Among the many firms around the region that are cutting a swathe or carving a niche, some stand tall above the rest. ALB singles out the top 30 performers by percentage revenue and headcount growth.

Xiaoshan recently announced the launch of the region's first legal services centre. Xiaoshan is in Zhejiang province and is the most economically developed administrative district of Hangzhou.

Grandall Legal Group has passed a long-awaited milestone in 2008 after being granted a licence by the Law Society of Hong Kong to open a Hong Kong branch office.

Grandall Legal Group has reached a long-awaited milestone in 2008 after being granted a licence, by the Law Society of Hong Kong, to open a Hong Kong branch office.

And the finalists are...
It's that time of year again. Now in its fifth year, the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards is back and promises to be bigger and better than ever in 2006. The following pages document the official finalists - and potential winners - of this year's awards