Simmons & Simmons has recruited a senior in-house lawyer from Standard Chartered Bank in Asia to head up the firm's debt capital markets (DCM) practice in the region.

Jay Lee, who joins the UK law firm as a partner, was head of the DCM legal team in North East Asia at Standard Chartered, where he was based in Hong Kong, handling capital markets legal matters in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Lee is Hong Kong and US-qualified, and speaks Korean, Mandarin and English. At Simmons he will take up the DCM practice leadership role previously held by Sau Wing Mak, who left the firm in October 2011 to join King & Wood Mallesons.

Lee also previously worked at Citigroup, Korean law firm Shin & Kim and at US firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in New York.

In his new role he will oversee bond issuances and other debt capital markets work, and will be based in Simmons' Hong Kong office.

''Jay will be focusing on developing our debt capital markets practice in China, with an emphasis on our market leading RMB bonds practice and other deals such as G-3 bonds, medium term note programmes, equity linked products and local currency bonds," said Jonathan Hammond, head of the financial institutions sector at Simmons.

''His significant experience, gained at two major international banks, will be of benefit to our clients in the financial institutions sector in this important and growing market."

Simmons last month told Legal Week the firm was aiming  to see 20% of its revenues coming from Asia within the next three years, a drive the firm is hoping to achieve by growing its practice areas and expanding its geographic footprint in the region.

The UK firm currently has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Toyko and Hong Kong, with a focus on corporate and commercial, energy and infrastructure, disputes and employment. 

It is looking to launch in Singapore in the first half of next year following a recent partner vote on the matter, and is in the process of looking for office space.

It was also among the 23 firms which applied for a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice licence to practise local law in the Asian city-state in October.