The former China practice head for Dewey & LeBeouf has joined Philadelphia-based Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as co-managing partner of its Beijing office.
Ingrid Zhu-Clark specializes in energy-related transactions and has handled a number of major deals for Chinese state-owned enterprises.
In 2005, she was lead counsel to Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corp. on a $4.2 billion acquisition of PetroKazakhstan Inc., a Canadian oil-refining company operating in Kazakhstan. The following year, she advised China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. on a $2.3 billion acquisition of African oil and gas assets from South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd.
Zhu-Clark joined the former LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae as a partner in Beijing in 2001. Prior to that, she was an associate in the Beijing office of the former Lovells.
LeBoeuf Lamb merged with Dewey Ballantine in 2007. Heavily burdened with debt incurred paying partners large guaranteed compensation packages, the troubled New York-based firm began hemorrhaging lawyers several weeks ago and declared bankruptcy earlier this week.
Morgan Lewis has been among the biggest recruiters of ex-Dewey talent. Virtually Deweys entire Moscow and Almaty offices and a large part of the London office have transferred to Morgan Lewis, as well as a number of leading U.S. partners.
In Beijjng
, Zhu-Clark will co-lead the office with partner Lucas Chang, the firms only other resident partner. It is unclear where the other Dewey Beijing partners Dirk Walker, Yuan Guang and Lan Tao will go. Last month, the firms Hong Kong partners Heng Loong Cheong and Joyce Chan announced their move to DLA Piper.
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