Dentons has recruited a six-lawyer dispute resolution team from Bird & Bird in Hong Kong, led by Asia-Pacific disputes head Richard Keady.

The team includes partner Robert Rhoda and associates Connie Wong and James Wong. Associate Grace Lee and senior managing associate Jenny Zhuang will also join next month, with Zhuang joining as counsel.

Keady specialises in litigation, international arbitration and regulatory investigations. He joined Bird & Bird in 2012 from legacy Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, six months after its merger with Clyde & Co. Previously, he was an associate at legacy Herbert Smith in Hong Kong and Ashurst in London.

Rhoda focuses on international arbitration and cross-border litigation in the financial services, technology and energy sectors. He joined Bird & Bird in 2016 as a partner from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain's Hong Kong associate firm Smyth & Co, where he was a senior associate. Before joining Smyth in 2012, Rhoda practiced alongside Keady at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and subsequently at Clyde & Co.

Legacy SNR Denton opened in Hong Kong in 2011 via an association with local firm Brandt Chan & Partners. The association remained through a series of mergers that created Dentons. Disputes specialist Keith Brandt is office managing partner for the 22-lawyer office.

With the departures, Bird & Bird now has eight partners in Hong Kong focusing on intellectual property, corporate, capital markets and employment matters.