Herbert Smith has seized international arbitration specialist Brenda Horrigan from Salans amidst an increase in the demand for its dispute resolution practice in China.
Horrigan will join Herbert Smith’s Shanghai office to serve the multinationals operating in mainland China, in addition to PRC clients who are facing increasing offshore disputes from outbound commercial activities. She will focus on disputes in emerging markets.
With the recruitment of Horrigan, Herbies now has four partners in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to look after the arbitration practice across the greater China region.
“We continue to see strong demand for disputes specialists based on the mainland,” said Herbert Smith’s head of the Greater China international arbitration practice Justin D'Agostino.
“PRC clients increasingly prefer international arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism, particularly in relation to offshore disputes. International companies operating in China also rely upon arbitration to resolve disputes,” he said.
Prior to joining Herbies, Horrigan was the co-head of Salans’ international arbitration team, where she worked at the firm’s Shanghai, Paris and Moscow offices. She is also the vice-chair of the Asia Expatriate Committee (Arbitration) of the United States Council for International Business and the China Committee of the American Bar Association (International law section).
“Brenda's international experience and outlook complements our leading practices in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Russia,” Paula Hodges, co-head of Herbert Smith’s international arbitration practice, said in a statement.
“Our strategy over the past few years has been to add depth and breadth to our teams in the areas that matter most to our clients,” she said. ALB
Liu Zhen is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow her on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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