美国奥睿律师事务所的一位发言人向ALB证实，该所决定将中国运营整合至北京办公室，上海办公室在今年7月底租期届满后将不再续约。此外，奥睿也已经结束了在台北的租约及运营。
奥睿表示，“伴随2021年新加坡办公室正式投入运营，为了更好地反映客户的需求，我们因此对亚太资源进行了再平衡”。
“未来，我们会继续支持亚太地区的科技和能源板块客户的区域及全球创新。此举也能帮助我们将更多投入放在新加坡及其他市场。”
人员安排方面，上海的两位合伙人马宇峰、孙捷，将和2位律师、1位工作人员迁至北京办公室。另外8名员工（包括1位律师、1位顾问、6位工作人员）将接受市场标准的离职补偿金。
奥睿目前在台北已没有常驻律师。
奥睿指出，未来北京办公室将继续提供市场领先的诉讼及知识产权服务，包括在美国联邦法院诉讼和美国国际贸易委员会诉讼中代理领先的中国企业，并继续支持跨境交易。
伴随上海办公室合伙人的迁移，未来奥睿北京将拥有5名合伙人。“今年刚刚有两位顶尖知识产权诉讼律师Josh Pond、Tim Carroll加入我们的美国办公室，他们专门处理ITC 337调查及联邦和州法院诉讼。未来他们将和中国知识产权业务负责人王翔，以及马宇峰紧密合作，服务大中华区客户。我们也将持续为中国客户提供跨境并购、风投业务服务。”
2020年8月，奥睿关闭了其香港办公室。该所目前在亚太地区拥有北京、新加坡、东京三家办公室。
奥睿特别对ALB强调了其目前在亚太地区的资源分配策略：北京办公室主要聚焦于科技板块，新加坡办公室则“聚焦于南亚和东南亚快速演变的能源转型市场，通过和东京的能源团队合作而展开服务”。
这是本月内第二家整合大中华区业务的美国律所：3月初，美国博钦宣布关闭其上海办公室，继续保留其北京办公室及知识产权代理公司业务。
Orrick closes in Shanghai, Taipei as Greater China retreat continues
U.S. law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe will consolidate its China offering into its Beijing office after deciding not to renew its lease in Shanghai, a spokesperson for LLP has confirmed. It has also terminated its lease and operations in Taipei.
Two partners from the Shanghai office, Ethan Ma and Jeffrey Sun, along with two associates and one staff, will be affiliated with the Beijing office. Eight other employees (including one associate and one consultant) will be offered market severance. Orrick currently has no resident lawyers in Taipei.
In August 2020, Orrick closed its Hong Kong office. The firm currently has offices in Beijing, Singapore, and Tokyo within the Asia-Pacific region.
The Beijing office will continue to provide litigation and IP services, including both U.S. federal court and ITC litigation for Chinese companies, and support with cross-border corporate transactions, the spokesperson noted.
With the relocation of the partners from Shanghai, Orrick's Beijing office will have five partners. "We have recruited two top IP litigators this year who focus on Section 337 matters before the U.S. International Trade Commission as well as federal and state court representation: Josh Pond and Tim Carroll. They will work closely with Xiang Wang, who heads our China IP practice, and Ethan Ma, to serve our Greater China clients. We will also continue our cross-border M&A and venture capital work for Greater China clients,” they added.
“These moves reflect a rebalancing of our Asia Pacific platform, including the launch of our Singapore office in 2021, to align with client demand,” the spokesperson said. “Going forward, we will continue to support our APAC tech and energy sector clients as they innovate regionally and globally, from our offices in Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo. This approach will enable us to shift greater investment to Singapore and other markets.”
They added that while the Beijing office will primarily focus on the tech sector, the Singapore team "is focused on serving the fast-evolving energy transition market throughout South and Southeast Asia, including in collaboration with our Tokyo energy team."
With these closures, Orrick becomes the second U.S. law firm to announce this month that it is consolidating its operations in Greater China. In early March, Perkins Coie announced that it would shutter its Shanghai office while retaining its Beijing office and IP agency business.
