美国奥睿律师事务所近日宣布，其将于今年8月31日关闭其香港办公室，正式退出香港法律服务市场。
奥睿在一份声明中告诉ALB，相关决策早已做出，但由于2020年初亚洲遭受新冠疫情冲击，退出行动不得不被一再延迟。然而随着办公场所租赁将在6月到期，律所最终做出决定。律所将继续租用临时场所，在结业过渡期内继续为客户提供服务。
奥睿香港办公室目前有4名合伙人、7名执业律师和实习律师，服务于私募基金、地区性并购及争议解决等领域。
奥睿告诉ALB，三年前，律所在退出香港资本市场业务时，本意欲在香港打造一支专注于高科技及创新领域的律师团队。根据ALB此前的报道，2017年，奥睿曾经的资本市场业务团队在合伙人Edwin Luk的带领下集体出走摩根路易斯律师事务所，随着这14位前奥睿合伙人的加入，摩根路易斯也宣告了香港办公室的成立。去年6月，奥睿香港办公室争议解决业务负责人Charles Allen也离开加盟了英国RPC律师事务所。
奥睿接着说，虽然律所在北京、上海和台北的业务持续发展，但香港办公室的发展未能吻合律所的全球发展策略，并为跨区域合作创造更多机会。这促使律所做出了最初的退出决定。
奥睿也表示，这一举动不会影响律所未来对大中华地区及亚洲其他市场的业务投入。
不久前，奥睿刚刚组建了一支跨越中、日、美三地的团队，代表日本丰田汽车对中国自动驾驶公司小马智行进行了总额达4亿美元的C轮投资。这笔交易也是迄今为止丰田汽车对中国自动驾驶公司的最大投资。该项目牵头合伙人为张劲松、杉田泰树、Matthew Gemello。
Orrick to exit HK market, winding down operations in August
U.S. law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is set to close its office in Hong Kong, with operations scheduled to be wound down by Aug. 31, 2020.
Orrick tells ALB that the decision had been made a while ago, but the announcement was delayed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The firm's Hong Kong lease expires in June, and Orrick will secure temporary space to support its team and clients until the end of August.
The firm’s Hong Kong team now comprises of four partners and seven other lawyers and trainees, who advise on areas including investment funds, M&A and disputes.
After losing the entirety of its Hong Kong capital markets practice in 2017 to Morgan Lewis & Bockius, the firm sought to rebuild in Hong Kong with a focus on technology and innovation, but did not see the growth it was looking for. “While our practices in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei have thrived, we unfortunately have not been able to grow our team in Hong Kong in a way that aligns with our strategy globally and creates opportunities for cross-office collaboration,” Orrick says. Additionally, its litigation and arbitration head in Hong Kong, Charles Allen, also left to join U.K. firm RPC last June.
The firm, however, says that the closure will not affect its other offices in Greater China. Orrick recently advised Toyota Motor on its $400 million investment in autonomous driving company Pony.ai’s Series C round in this region, which is Toyota’s biggest investment in an autonomous driving company based in China.
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