Hogan Lovells has agreed a formal alliance with Mongolian law firm GTs Advocates, marking the first transatlantic firm to enter the East Asian country.

The alliance comes after an existing informal referral relationship between GTs Advocates and the legacy Lovells. The practice will be headed up by Hogan Lovells partner Michael Aldrich, who has relocated to the region.

Aldrich has been seconded to GTs since 2009, prior to which he was a partner in Lovells' Beijing office. He will continue his client work in China alongside his role in Mongolia.

He commented: "GTs was looking for a global law firm to improve their game and implement international law firm management. After we agreed on this relationship, it soon exceeded all of our expectations. We will see how the initial stage of the alliance goes but we are hopeful it will lead to a closer co-operation."

GTs is a full service practice advising both Mongolian and international companies including the recent deal involving Citigroup and Macquarie Bank as underwriters of the $439m (£275m) Hong Kong secondary listing of South Gobi Energy.

Mongolia's local economy has expanded quickly over the last 10 years, with the country building up its trade links with neighbouring China, which currently takes around two thirds of Mongolia's exports.

Industry in the country, which has a population of around three million, is heavily focused on mining, natural resources and agriculture, though it has a growing services sector.

Hogan Lovells managing partner for Asia and the Middle East, Crispin Rapinet (pictured), said: "The combination of GTs' local expertise and Hogan Lovells' global experience and reach has already proved uniquely valuable to our clients looking to develop business opportunities in Mongolia and to Mongolian enterprises seeking to attract inbound investment and expand their markets aboard."

Hogan Lovells was launched in May this year when US practice Hogan & Hartson merged with Lovells to create a top 10 global practice.

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