Kirkland & Ellis has significantly bulked up its Asia arm with eight partners from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Latham & Watkins and Allen & Overy (A&O).

Skadden Asia corporate co-heads Nicholas Norris and Dominic Tsun resigned from Skadden last Friday (5 August) to join Kirkland alongside corporate partner Li-Chien Wong.

Norris has been at Skadden since 2005, when he joined from Simmons & Simmons, where he was the UK firm's Asia corporate head, while Tsun joined Skadden the same year from Linklaters, where he was a partner.

Kirkland has also added five further partners to its Hong Kong base with a line-up of hires from Latham and A&O.

Latham vice global corporate chair and co-chair of the firm's greater China practice David Zhang is joining Kirkland alongside corporate partners John Otoshi and Benjamin Su, while A&O Hong Kong finance partner Ashley Young is also making the move alongside senior associate Douglas Murning, who will join Kirkland as a partner.

Kirkland Asia private equity head David Patrick Eich said: "We intend to be the leading advisor to sponsors of complex deals in Asia. Kirkland will be one of the few global firms delivering the full spectrum of transactional advice in Asia, including in private equity, public M&A, equity and debt capital markets and debt finance."

The hires take the total number of partners in Kirkland's Hong Kong base to 13. The firm has had a small office focusing on private equity in the region since 2006.

Kirkland is the latest US firm to seek to expand its position in Hong Kong. In June, Sullivan & Cromwell recruited Hong Kong law partner Kay Ian Ng and counsel Gwen Wong from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, while in April, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett launched a Hong Kong practice with ex-Freshfields China corporate head Christopher Wong and former Linklaters Beijing managing partner Celia Lam.

Before that, Davis Polk recruited former Freshfields Beijing managing partner Antony Dapiran and former Linklaters Beijing managing partner Paul Chow.

While most American firms have previously only practiced US law in Hong Kong, some have recently been motivated to move into local practice as a result of the surge of capital markets activity in Hong Kong, especially among companies from mainland China.

The news comes as Skadden has recruited Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's former Hong Kong managing partner Clive Rough, who retired from the magic circle firm's partnership in March 2010.

Scott Simpson, the London-based partner who heads Skadden's international corporate group, says the firm is committed to its Hong Kong law practice and will be looking to bolster its capability again following the departures of Norris and Tsun. "We were a first-mover among US firms in Hong Kong and we are committed to remaining a leader," he said.

Related: The great game – can British firms retain their upper hand in Hong Kong?