Bingham McCutchen is set to launch in Beijing with a lateral hire from US rival Jones Day, as well as a senior relocation from its Tokyo arm.

Beijing-based Jones Day partner Xiaowei Ye and Bingham corporate partner Brian Beglin will act as joint heads of the new office, which marks the firm's third location in Asia in addition to Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Ye, who will join the top 50 US law firm's financial services division, represents multinational and Chinese companies on international capital markets, M&A, regulatory and compliance matters. Beglin, meanwhile, focus on distressed M&A and corporate finance.

The two partners will become part of Bingham Consulting, which intends to operate as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in Beijing. Ye and Beglin will be joined by Michael Crain, who will become the administrative director of Bingham's Beijing arm.

Bingham chairman Jay Zimmerman commented: "[Our] investment in mainland China reflects our successful strategy of building upon core practice strengths that have made us leaders in the world of cross-border global finance."

He added: "We're delighted to have Xiaowei join us during this exciting time, and we're confident that she and Brian will be superb in leading and growing our Beijing office as well as bolstering our Asia capabilities for our clients."

Bingham consulting president Chris Cox added: "The business and policy ramifications of the international expansion of Chinese companies and increased demands for greater corporate responsibility worldwide are directly affecting Chinese investors in the US, Europe and Japan."

The 900-lawyer firm, which is best known for its banking and restructuring practices, saw revenues expand by 1.5% during the 2010 financial with revenues hitting $873m (£559m).

Bingham's move comes amid a period of heavy investment in Hong Kong and China from many leading international law firms as they seek to access the region's fast-growing economies.

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