Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has established a foothold in Shanghai, the firm's sixth office in Asia, bringing in 23 lawyers and 12 staff members from one of Dentons' Shanghai offices.

The new office is led by five global corporate transactional partners – Mitch Dudek, Todd Liao, Alex Wang, Eddie Hsu and Cindy Pan. Along with 30 other lawyers and staff, they make up the entirety of Dentons' legacy office in Shanghai, from before the firm's combination with Dacheng. As a result of that landmark union, Dentons still has more than 600 lawyers in Shanghai.

"When you think about our client base, the overwhelming majority of them have an interest of some kind in Asia and many in China," Morgan Lewis chair Jami Wintz McKeon said. "A lot of it for us is focused on the team. We tend to grow based on where our clients say their interests are, where their needs are, and then we focus very much on finding the right partners."

The Shanghai partners have worked together for more than a decade, all joining Dentons in 2011 from Paul Hastings. Dudek joined Paul Hastings from Jones Day in 2003 as partner and Shanghai office chairman. In 2004, Wang joined Paul Hastings as a partner and Liao as an associate. Hsu and Pan came to the team as associates in 2006.

McKeon said the team's shared history will make the transition from Dentons to Morgan Lewis easier and more effective.

"This team is incredibly well established in China," she said. "They're used to working together across a broad range of practices, seamlessly."

In addition to transactional work, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, private equity, fund formation and investment work, the office will offer advice on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK's Bribery Act, technology licensing, intellectual property and employment law.

McKeon said the Shanghai team offered practice areas that complement Morgan Lewis's existing practices. Additionally, she said, Morgan Lewis's profile and reputation in the US was attractive to the Shanghai team, as its clients have interests in the country.

"My sense, from talking with them, is that they were very attracted to our firm culture – a very integrated one-firm, one-vision culture," McKeon said. "We don't view things as branch offices where people are off on their own."

Morgan Lewis has made several key moves to expand its presence in Asia in recent years. Last year, the firm established a location in Singapore after it combined with 80-lawyer Stamford Law Corp, and in 2014 it added significantly to the Tokyo office when it brought in roughly 750 lawyers and staff from Bingham McCutchen. Morgan Lewis also has offices in Beijing, as well as two outposts in Kazakhstan in Almaty and Astana.

The Shanghai office is Morgan Lewis's 29th location. McKeon said she expects the office to grow.

Dentons, which has embarked on a dramatic expansion spree in recent years, picked up hundreds of lawyers in Shanghai last year following its deal with Dacheng. Dentons and Dacheng lawyers in Shanghai have remained in separate offices after the completion of that combination, which made Dentons the world's largest firm by attorney headcount.

In a statement, Dentons wished its departing Shanghai lawyers well.

"Dentons has more than 1,400 lawyers in Shanghai and Beijing, in addition to thousands more in over 40 locations throughout China," a spokeswoman said. "The strong team in place across China – in Shanghai under the leadership of managing partner Summit Chen – ensures clients can take full advantage of Dentons' commanding presence in China and around the world."