So far in October, two U.S. law firms, Debevoise & Plimpton and Kobre & Kim, have launched local law practices in their Hong Kong offices. At the same time, however, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has dropped its local practice and former Hong Kong-qualified partner Dieter Yih has left to launch a new corporate boutique in the city, Kwok Yih & Chan.
The divergent strategies aren’t surprising. International firms are divided on whether having a local law practice is still essential in Asia’s financial capital. The Hong Kong offices of most international firms are registered as local practices, meaning that the firms can practice Hong Kong law. Others, including Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Loeb & Loeb, Nixon Peabody and Locke Lord, are registered as foreign firms but have formed an association with local firms in order to offer Hong Kong law capability to their clients. A few international firms, including Milbank, Vinson & Elkins, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Baker Botts remain independent and do not practice Hong Kong law at all.
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