Chinese law firm Han Kun Law Offices has hired yet another lawyer from a big-name international outfit after landing partner Yang Tiecheng, who was most recently the head of the China financial regulatory practice at Clifford Chance.

Yang, who will remain in Beijing, spent 20 years at the Magic Circle firm. He advises clients on a variety of issues relating to financial services in China. In 2016, Yang was involved in several significant deals in 2016, including J.P. Morgan’s strategic partnership with Postal Savings Bank of China, asset manager Insight Investment’s access to China's bond market, and China Railway Construction Corporation’s $500 million H-share convertible bond offer.

The hire of Yang continues Han Kun’s spree of luring away top talent from international firms. Last year, Duan Min, partner and the only lawyer in Morgan Lewis’s Beijing office, and Li Xiaoming, formerly head of White & Case’s China practice, both joined the Chinese firm.

Clifford Chance’s China presence – while still one of the largest among international firms – has significantly shrunk since 2016. According to ALB’s Top 50 largest law firms rankings in 2017, the firm is No. 6 in China with 53 lawyers, down from 87 lawyers the year before when it was No. 1.