Beijing-headquartered Yingke has established a new office in Italian city Verona to capitalize on growing bilateral trade and investment between China and Italy.

The new joint law firm, Yingke Várnai Luzi Crivellni & Associati, was set up by Yingke, Budapest-based Várnai & Partners and Italian law firm Advoco.

The joint venture marks the firm’s first foray into Italy, following the formation of its first central and eastern European branch, Yingke Várnai, in Budapest last September.

Popularized as the hometown of Romeo and Juliet, Verona is also one of the country’s major industrial hubs known for its textiles, machineries, railway equipments and agricultural commodities.  As a key transportation hub linking northern Italy with central Europe, Verona, the financial capital of the Veneto region, also accounted for 30 percent of Italy’s total investment in China in 2010.

Striving to serve as a “cultural and legal bridge between China and Italy,” Linda Yang, director of Yingke’s international cooperation committee, believed Advoco was the “perfect” partner. “Advoco is not a big law firm in Italy, but it has many clients who are interested in investment in China,” said Yang. Advoco was founded in 2009 with four partners and six associates.

To facilitate the new operation, Yingke has transferred a senior lawyer from its Budapest office to Verona. The firm also plans to open new offices in Milan and Rome.
 
With 16 offices across mainland China, Yingke has an aggressive expansion plan in mind: it is poised to increase its headcount to 2,000 and open new branches in Hong Kong, London, New York and Tokyo by end of this year. ALB

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