Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has hired corporate partners David Livdahl and Jenny Sheng from Paul Hastings to open its Beijing office. Livdahl and Sheng will be joined by three associates, also from Paul Hastings.

The new office will focus on foreign investment into China, and also advise Chinese companies on their investments abroad.

Livdahl, the former chair of Paul Hastings’ Beijing office, advises multinational companies on structuring investments in China, and specialises in cross-border M&A for the industrial sector.

Sheng focuses on PRC law, strategic investment alliances, antitrust reviews, real estate, private equity, international trade, intellectual property and operational contracts.

The Beijing office is Pillsbury’s second in China, after it opened in Shanghai in 2007.