By the late 1970s and early 80s, offshoring to China had become an established financial imperative. Besides its cheap, military-grade workforce, white-collar jobs were being shuttled across too. It was on this tide of movement that global law firms saw their opportunity.

By the mid-80s Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison had an office in Beijing; Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Freshfields joined Slaughter and May in Hong Kong, serving both inbound and outbound investments.