Bird & Bird becomes latest firm to pinpoint Asia as target for major expansion plans

Bird & Bird has added four new partners in Asia as the firm sets out ambitious plans to expand its presence in the region.

The firm has set a target for Asia to account for one fifth of total revenue and lawyer headcount in three to five years' time. Asia currently contributes 10% of the top 15 UK law firm's fee income – half of which comes from China – with the new target set at 20% for the region as a whole.

The firm kicked off the growth drive this week with the addition of four new Asia partners, including the head of Baker & McKenzie's Singapore trademarks registration practice, Lorraine Tay.

Tay will be joined in Bird & Bird's Singapore arm by Bakers special counsel Catherine Mun, a dispute resolution specialist who is joining the firm as a partner.

Elsewhere, Dorsey & Whitney corporate of counsel Xia Chao has joined as a partner in Shanghai, while the firm has made an out-of-season partner promotion in Hong Kong with the elevation of corporate lawyer John Koh.

Bird & Bird, which first launched in Hong Kong in 1995, now also has offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore, but with 25 partners still has a relatively small number of partners in the region compared with a global total of more than 230.

Bird & Bird chief executive David Kerr (pictured) said: "We are focusing our more dramatic growth efforts in Asia. We have been in Hong Kong for almost 20 years and it has been a success story which we want to grow further. There will be quite a lot of effort required to go from where we are currently to reach our goal, but it is a realistic target for us based on the strength of client work we do in Asia as well as for Asian clients in Europe.

"There's a strong demand for advice in our key sectors, including a prime concern of many Western companies going into China to protect their technology and brand rights."