U.K. shipping firm Hill Dickinson has hired Kurt Lau as a corporate partner in Hong Kong from Eversheds Sutherland, where he was a consultant.

Lau focuses on initial public offerings, as well as mergers and acquisitions, public takeovers, corporate reorganisations and joint ventures. Last year, he advised Lego Corporate Finance Ltd. as the sole sponsor on a $13 million initial public offering in Hong Kong of bubble tea maker B & S International Holdings Ltd.

Hong Kong office head and disputes partner Damien Laracy said in a statement that Lau's appointment comes at a time of increased client demand for a more diverse offering across the firm's offices in Asia. Fellow U.K. firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, which specialises in insurance disputes, has also had a partner in Hong Kong focusing on IPOs since 2017.