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. Paul Chow, formerly the head of Linklaters’ Beijing office, has joined the Wall Street firm as a partner in its Hong Kong office. While Dapiran and Chan will be focusing on capital markets work for Davis Polk, Chow will be building the firm’s M&A practice for its newly-earned Hong Kong capability.
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. Paul Chow, formerly the head of Linklaters’ Beijing office, has joined the Wall Street firm as a partner in its Hong Kong office. While Dapiran and Chan will be focusing on capital markets work for Davis Polk, Chow will be building the firm’s M&A practice for its newly-earned Hong Kong capability.Chow is a highly regarded rainmaker in the industry. Last year, he acted for China’s largest food manufacturer China National Cereal Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), together with HOPU Investment Management on its acquisition and subscription of shares in China Mengniu Dairy Company, a deal worth US$783m. Chow previously worked as a partner at Slaughter and May, and is a solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales, solicitor of the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR, and qualified as a New York attorney.
According to William Barron, the firm’s Hong Kong-based Asia head and partner, recent appointments have been driven by the increasing demand by Greater China clients for one-stop-shop legal services, especially in capital markets, M&A and private equity. Consequently, it is important for the firm to hire partners with UK, US and Hong Kong qualifications, so most of its nearly 40 lawyers in Hong Kong are dually admitted in Hong Kong and New York, and a number are UK-qualified as well (eight partners and approximately 20 associates who are admitted there).
Davis Polk’s aggressive build-up in Hong Kong also reflects the city’s growing importance as a financial centre and international platform for Chinese companies. While the jurisdiction has been previously dominated by British firms, US firms are seizing a good slice of the pie. But Barron says Davis Polk’s lateral hiring will stop, at least for a while. “While we have no plans and see no need at this time to hire other partners, we will grow the practice to address client demands to the extent we identify lawyers in the firm or outside the firm who meet our requirements,” said Barron.
Keeping up with its China focus, Linklaters has also recently made some internal appointments, including relocating partner James Douglass from London to Beijing. A number of other relocations will also take place in the near future, including Andrew Zaw (managing associate, London to Singapore in early November), James McLaren (managing associate, London to Hong Kong in early 2011) and Jimmy Chua (associate, London to Beijing in December). ALB
Related stories: