Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has formed an alliance with Vietnamese firm LVN & Associates.

Up until forming an alliance with WFW the Hanoi-based boutique was an alliance partner of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Founding partner Linh Doan previously worked for Orrick's Hong Kong office and set up LVN in 2010 – the two firms had been in an alliance ever since.

WFW hired Doan as an of counsel in its Hong Kong office in June but a formal alliance between the two firms has just been reached. She will remain a partner in LVN and will split her time between Hong Kong and Hanoi.

Energy lawyer Doan focuses on power plant development and financing work.

WFW said it planned to fully integrate LVN into the firm at some point in the future.

Such integration would give WFW a fourth base in Asia, it currently has three offices located in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The firm also said that it was keen to further grow its Asia practice with a China offering high on the agenda.

WFW will join a number of international firms with operations in Vietnam.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was an early mover, opening offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in 1994.

Legacy Lovells opened in Ho Chi Minh in 1996 and Hanoi in 2009.

In 2012 Allen & Overy opened offices in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.