Herbert Smith has applied for a licence to open an office in China, sources in Southeast Asia have revealed.
The firm, which already has offices in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and a relationship with an Indonesian firm, is expected to make an announcement about its Southeast Asian practice within the next few weeks.
The firm was unwilling to give any details on its Asian plans, but it is believed they will either centre on a new office in China or Japan.
Herbert Smith also has plans to open a Moscow office.
Although head of business development Barry Jackson would not comment on the firm's Asian plans, he did say that the Moscow office was still very much at the planning stage.
"We can't say anything at this stage apart from that this is a client-led decision," he said. "We do a lot of work in oil and gas in Russia already, so it makes sense. Now we need to look at the details.
"We need to look at premises and talk to the Russian regulators. We can make a decision on the best way forward once we have some input from their equivalent of the civil service."
Jackson said the firm had also yet to decide on how best to staff the office. "We need to see whether we will move people from here or form a local association," he said. "There are a couple of options but it will probably only be a small presence."
Jackson confirmed that Herbert Smith hoped to have something up and running in Russia before the end of the year, and "preferably by the summer".
Last week, German firm Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Lober opened an office in Shanghai after winning a licence from the Chinese Government. However, Linklaters was the only UK firm to win one of the licences in the last round of awards.
Herbert Smith already has a substantial Asian presence with more than 60 lawyers working in its Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore offices.