After a nine-month stay at US firm Winston & Strawn, veteran corporate lawyer Ge Xiangyang has made a move to join Mayer Brown JSM as head of projects in Beijing. Ge joined Winston from Baker & McKenzie in November 2009 to help launch and lead the firm's Beijing office.

Ge's 20 years of experience representing foreign investors in China and advising large Chinese enterprises on outbound investments, particularly in the oil & gas, mining and renewable energy industries, should make him a a key asset to Mayer Brown JSM. Recent high-profile transactions Ge has worked on including a major Chinese oil company's US$2.5bn acquisition of oil & gas assets in 11 jurisdictions and a major Chinese mining company's proposed acquisition of an Australian public mining company.

Elaine Lo, senior partner and Asia chair of the firm, said that strengthening China capabilities continues to be a high priority, and the firm is seeing an increased volume of inbound and outbound M&A transactions in China. ALB

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