Hill Dickinson has launched in Hong Kong this week through an association with local litigation firm Laracy & Co.

The UK outfit, which received a licence to open in the Asian financial hub in August, has appointed London maritime partner Mike Mallin to spearhead the new base, working alongside Laracy & Co principal Damien Laracy.

The office will be Hill Dickinson's second in Asia after Singapore, which opened in 2009 and now counts four partners and six associates.

The firm submitted its application to the Law Society in Hong Kong in May this year in order to take advantage of what it viewed to be a gap in the local market.

Laracy & Co currently has nine fee earners, seven of which are contentious lawyers and two of which specialise in corporate work.

As part of the firms' expansion plans, they are expecting to add two new litigators, including one partner, in the coming months.

There will also be a heavy focus on wet work, given Mallin's experience in the shipping and maritime sector. Recent cases he has worked on include the Costa Concordia collision, where he represented the owners and insurers.

Larcy, who set up the firm in 2009 after leaving Hong Kong litigation firm Laracy Gall, later renamed to Gall, said the move made sense given the two firms had already shared a lot of clients.

"We already do a lot of work for them so we know them well," he said.
"And I was ready to fold my practice into a larger organisation."

He added that the firms would moving to new office space in Hong Kong as they looked to grow.

"For the moment we will be remaining where we are, [in the Lippo Centre, Admiralty] but with a view to taking new offices and expanding in the next year or so."

Related: Hill Dickinson secures second Asia base with Hong Kong launch