A year after the first announcement, a team from SG Fafalen & Co Hong Kong (a Swiss and international practice) led by founder and managing partner Serge Fafalen has finally completed the transition process and officially become part of King & Wood's Hong Kong office.
Among all members moved to King & Wood, Fafalen is the only partner appointment. He is a practising Swiss lawyer and Hong Kong and England & Wales solicitor. He becomes the first Swiss law partner in a PRC law firm, and the move was made possible by the full merger between King & Wood and Hong Kong firm Arculli Fong & Ng last June.
Commenting on his move, Fafalen told ALB China previously that the best way for a firm to gain access to a new market, which it has little knowledge of and few contacts in, is to join forces with someone who has the knowledge, expertise and resources it needs to penetrate the market.
Fafalen will leverage King & Wood's solid platform across China to better assist his international clients to invest in China, while King & Wood will benefit from the new resources and contacts in Europe and the Middle East that Fafalen brings.
All activities, client relations and current staff of SG Fafalen & Co Hong Kong have been transferred to King & Wood in Hong Kong, effective 1 April 2010. SG Fafalen Geneva (Switzerland) will remain an independent Swiss legal practice, but it will no longer offer its services to the public.
Related stories: