Having recently set up an office in Nanjing, Gaopeng & Partners has furthered its national expansion plans by launching a Hangzhou branch.

The firm looks for local lawyers to staff the new branch, but two partners have already been relocated from Beijing. The partners will focus on corporate, international business and regulatory work.

"We've always preferred to establish ourselves in regional areas. One of the impetuses for our decision is the increasing exportation business in the Zhejiang region," said Wang Lei, managing partner of Gaopeng. "The Hangzhou office will work closely with our headquarters - we are looking to integrate international business type work from both offices," he added.

Last year, the firm launched in Nanjing via a merger with Jiangsu Hailang Law Firm. The latest Hangzhou branch is seen as the final piece in the firm's expansion plan for the Yangtze River Delta region.

"Regions with a mature business market are potential destinations for us but we have no solid expansion plans. We can set up offices from scratch, but also do not discriminate merger proposals," said Wang.

Gaopeng now has offices in Shanghai, Tianjin, Yangzhou, Taizhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou. ALB

Related stories:

• Firms gear up in the provinces
• Gaopeng promotes new partner in Shanghai