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In 2014, it was Japan where Morgan, Lewis & Bockius took on board ten lawyers from Bingham McCutchen. In 2015, it was Singapore where the Philadelphia-headquartered law firm entered into a first-of-its kind merger with local outfit Stamford Law Corporation.
And 2016-17 has been the year for expansion in China. Last year, Morgan Lewis opened a new office in Shanghai after landing more than 25 lawyers from Dentons in that city and Beijing. In February, it nabbed a total of 13 partners from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe – part of a team of 40 lawyers – and also announced plans for a Hong Kong office.
The 13-partner team leaving Orrick included Edwin Luk, formerly the global head of the capital markets group, and Maurice Hoo, global practice group co-leader of the M&A and PE practice group. They have set up a Hong Kong local law firm called Luk & Partners, with which Morgan Lewis is set to enter into an association as it plans its office in that city.
Earlier this month, Morgan Lewis also hired employment partner K. Lesli Ligorner and a four-lawyer team from Simmons & Simmons in Shanghai. The new additions take Morgan Lewis’ headcount in China and Hong Kong to more than 70.
With this team in place, Morgan Lewis believes that it is ready to fulfil its big ambitions for the China market. “We have been looking for just the right team in Hong Kong. Edwin Luk, Maurice Hoo, and their elite team compete at the highest level in the Hong Kong and China markets, and they represent many of our key clients and other leading companies in Asia,” said Jami McKeon, the firm’s chair.
She added: “Chinese business enterprises are increasingly focused on cross-border investments, and our teams in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo are poised to work with our lawyers across the United States, and in Europe and the Middle East. Morgan Lewis’s expansion in China is a natural outgrowth of our focus on the global economy.”
Morgan Lewis aims to represent Chinese state-owned and private enterprises in cross-border transactions, including capital markets, acquisitions, divestitures and finance, as well as provide transactional, finance, compliance and regulatory advice to multinational companies doing business in China.
“We will expand in other key areas,” shared McKeon, “such as fund formation, FCPA and corporate compliance, IP, workforce mobility, and finance over the next several years.”
The firm also intends to continue its growth in Asia, said McKeon. Apart from its offices in China, Japan and Singapore, Morgan Lewis has offices in the cities of Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan.
