The Transfer Window: Asia is a monthly round-up of recent legal moves in Asia Pacific. Please send all announcements to: [email protected]

Mayer Brown JSM has added three new lawyers to its Asia practice in the last month, specialising in real estate, IP and banking.

Partner Kwon Lee joins the US firm's real estate practice in Hong Kong from Korean firm Lee International IP & Law Group, but is set to move to Mayer Brown's New York office at the end of the year. His focus is on outbound alternative capital investment from Asia.

Hogan Lovells senior associate Xiaoyan Zhang has been appointed as a counsel in the IP and TMT group in Greater China, focusing on patent litigation and complex IP transactions. She moves from New York and will initially be based in Hong Kong.

Lastly, former Bingham McCutcheon capital markets partner Vincent Sum was recruited for Mayer Brown's banking and finance practice in Hong Kong. Focusing on structured products, derivatives and securitization, Sum was the only Hong Kong partner who didn't leave for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld at the end of last year.

Also hiring in Greater China this month was Bird & Bird, with two new partners coming aboard in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Corporate partner Wing On Chui has moved to the UK firm from King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in finance, securities, M&A, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, private equity and PRC transactions.

The firm also brought on antitrust specialist Zhaofeng Zhou – previously a counsel with Taylor Wessing – to join its competition team. Zhou focuses on antitrust compliance, legislation and review of commercial contracts, as well as merger control, monopoly agreements, and abuse of dominance and IP rights.

At Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF), corporate partners joined in Tokyo and Australia.

Japanese national, partner Eiji Kobayashi has been added in Tokyo from local outfit Nishimura & Asahi where he was a foreign law partner and co-head of the cross border transactions group, while M&A lawyer John Elliott has joined as a partner in Sydney from Clayton Utz.

Elliott has over 25 years of experience in complex corporate transactions, acting in bid and defence roles for public listed company takeovers, majority shareholder sell-downs and schemes of arrangement. He also has significant experience in the energy and resources and finance sector.

However, the transatlantic firm also saw the departure of one of its national practice heads Derek La Ferla this month – who joined Western Australian firm Lavan Legal.

La Ferla was previously head of corporate advisory and the infrastructure, mining and commodities team in Australia.

In a statement, NRF said it would continue its strong focus on the latter practice and had appointed Perth partner Alen Pazin as the new head of the group in Australia.

Also down under, M&A lawyer Ian Williams began as a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), based in the firm's Brisbane office.

He has more than two decades of experience in M&A and joint ventures in the energy, resources, infrastructure and industrial sectors, in addition to relationships with Japanese and Korean companies.

HSF global head of corporate Mike Ferraro said the firm was expecting to see strong M&A activity across Asia Pacific in 2015 as a result of Australia's new free trade agreements with Japan, Korea and China, the falling Australian dollar and lower commodity prices – all of which could spur more inbound investment.

Baker & McKenzie hired in Brisbane too, with the appointment of construction litigation lawyer Aleisa Crepin as a partner. Crepin was previously a senior associate with NRF

Bakers has been seeking to grow its Brisbane office since opening last July, and now counts four partners and eight associates who work closely with the Sydney, Melbourne and other regional offices.

Minter Ellison meanwhile recruited former DLA insurance head for Hong Kong Will Harrison to lead its own insurance and corporate risk practice in Asia and Western Australia.

Harrison, who exited from the UK outfit in September 2013 amid a string of departures, joined DLA in 2007 and was previously a senior associate at magic circle firm Clifford Chance in Hong Kong.

Back in China, PRC firms were also active.

The country's largest outfit Dacheng, which recently tied up with Dentons, hired a team of six equity partners and eight associates, as well as other legal staff, from rival PRC firm Haworth & Lexon in Shanghai.

Red circle firm Jun He likewise hired Gordon Feng as a partner in Shanghai from Paul Hastings, where he was counsel and led the office's employment practice.

Feng advises multinationals on matters such as on harassment and discrimination, employment contracts, wages, investigations and compliance.

Also in China, Chicago-based Sidley Austin took the head of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Beijing office Kefei Li.

Previously at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the Chinese capital, Li works on corporate and securities deals, focusing on both China and the US.

In Shanghai, technology and life sciences law firm Fenwick & West announced that Niping Wu had joined the firm as a corporate partner from Kaye Scholer.

The firm is eyeing more cross border dealflow from China. Wu represents international funds and multi-nationals on private equity, debt financing and M&A deals, and Chinese companies on outbound investments and US IPOs.

Prior to joining Kaye Scholer, Wu worked for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Debevoise & Plimpton.

Coincidentally, Debevoise has also expanded its Shanghai team with the relocation of disputes counsel Philip Rohlik to the city from Hong Kong. The move coincides with the firm's office move.

Moving to Hong Kong in 2011 from New York, Rohlik has been integral in expanding the firm's Asian dispute practice. His practice focus includes international investigations work and securities law disputes. He also regularly advises corporate clients on regulatory matters related to M&A.

Another firm boosting its financial services regulation group in China was King & Wood Mallesons, with the promotion of Urszula McCormack to the Hong Kong partnership.

McCormack is expected to help grow the firm's banking and finance practice generally, with a particular focus on regulation and anti-money laundering.

Her appointment brings the firm's percentage of female partners in Hong Kong to more than 20%.

US outfit Ropes & Gray has at the same time enhanced its real estate practice in Hong Kong with the addition of Eduard Sheremeta from DLA Piper.

Sheremeta has nearly 15 years of experience in real estate law in Asia, including in China and Japan. He also previous worked at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Ropes & Gray now has 80 lawyers in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. It says its real estate practice is a key part of the Asia group.

This month there were fewer lateral hires in Singapore.

One of the moves was White & Case partner Jamie Thomas, who transferred to Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

Thomas specialises in banking and finance, and specifically senior credit and subordinate debt, infrastructure and energy lending, and related restructurings.

He is among a string of partners to have exited the firm in Singapore in recent months.