Ropes & Gray has appointed Geoffrey Lin as a partner in its Shanghai office. Lin, who is an intellectual property lawyer with more than six years experience in advising clients on non-contentious and contentious IP matters across the region, joins the firm from the Shanghai office of Hogan Lovells where he was also a partner. While at Hogan Lovells, Lin led a team that handled the settlement of the largest IP case in Chinese history and has represented clients such as Genentech Inc, Becton, Dickinson and Company, and Apple.

Ropes & Gray launched its Shanghai office in July 2011 to focus on private equity, investment funds and M&A transactions, particularly in the life sciences industry. The firm said that the addition of Lin will add extra depth to its transactional capabilities especially in relation to the valuation of IP assets and the structuring of transfers to protect those assets.

"Intellectual property is typically the core component of deals in the life sciences industry in China,” said Arthur Mok, managing partner of the firm’s Shanghai office. “Geoffrey Lin is one of a handful of IP lawyers in China with experience in structuring the transfer of those IP assets, and his knowledge adds an important aspect to the counsel Ropes & Gray provides clients on their transactions.”

The appointment increases the number of partners in the firm’s Shanghai office to three.ALB