Chadbourne & Parke has closed its one-lawyer office in Beijing, its only physical office in Asia.

The 350-lawyer U.S. headquartered firm, which opened in Beijing in 2000, confirmed its departure with an emailed statement that read: “Our focus has always been on outbound work from China, and it continues to present interesting opportunities for our US and emerging markets practices.  We have chosen to focus our growth, therefore, on our international network and market-leading practices in those regions around the world that are of interest to both our Chinese and global client base.  For example, we recently opened an office in Johannesburg and have added seven energy lawyers in London in the last year.  We will continue to seek strategic and measured growth in those practices and geographies where we have depth and strength.”

The firm had offices in Singapore and Hong Kong in the 1990s, but closed them in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.

Earlier this year, fellow U.S. firm Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson closed its Hong Kong and Shanghai offices, while in 2013, Vinson & Elkins closed its Shanghai outpost.