Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has recruited a duo of Hong Kong corporate partners from Reed Smith and O'Melveny & Myers as the US firm gears up to offer a local law service in the region.

O'Melveny's Hong Kong office head Yi Zhang has already joined Gibson Dunn, while Reed Smith corporate partner Graham Winter is set to move to the firm in the coming months.

The hires will increase Gibson Dunn's partner headcount in Hong Kong to four, alongside corporate partner Joseph Barbeau and litigation partner Kelly Austin.

The US firm is seeking approval from the Law Society of Hong Kong to convert the base into a local solicitors firm. Until then, Winter, who was admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1992, will form a separate firm that will practise in association with Gibson Dunn.

Winter, a member of Reed Smith's executive committee, specialises in M&A, corporate finance and private equity, as well as capital markets and securities related work. He is set to leave Reed Smith on 2 December.

Zhang, who works with clients including BP, China Development Bank and General Electric, specialises in investment funds, foreign direct investment, M&A, private equity and venture capital, real estate and distressed asset transactions.

Gibson Dunn managing partner Ken Doran commented: "Yi and Graham are highly regarded in the business and legal communities in Hong Kong and China, and their experience will enhance our ability to field the most complex transactions across most of Asia.

"Their arrival is another important step forward for our Asia strategy, which is focused on strengthening our Hong Kong and Singapore offices and looking for the right opportunities in China."

A spokesperson at O'Melveny said the firm would make an announcement in the coming weeks about who will replace Zhang as its Hong Kong office head.

Gibson Dunn opened its Hong Kong office in August 2010, when Austin joined as a partner from General Electric International in Hong Kong. Barbeau relocated from the Gibson Dunn's Palo Alto office to join her.