Ince & Co Asia aviation finance head Balbir Bindra has left the firm ahead of its proposed merger with Gordon Dadds.

Bindra, who is based in Hong Kong, joined Ince in 2016 as a partner from Canadian oil and gas development company CEC North Star Energy, where he was executive director of legal affairs.

His destination is as yet unknown, and it is understood that his departure was finalised before the merger talks with Gordon Dadds begun.

Bindra has held a number of other senior roles at international law firms including serving as Hong Kong office head at US firm Locke Lord, Hong Kong banking and finance practice head at France's Gide Loyrette Nouel, and Asia structured finance head at Sidley Austin, while he also led the international banking and finance practice at legacy Wilde Sapte, now part of Dentons.

His departure leaves Ince with three partners in Asia specialising in aviation, all of who are based in Hong Kong – office managing partner David Beaves, Janice Lee and Rosita Lau.

Ince and Gordon Dadds are currently finalising their merger, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Gordon Dadds' two-lawyer Hong Kong office and its association with local three-lawyer firm Justin Chow & Co are set to integrate with Ince's much larger Hong Kong office as part of the combination.

Since the news of the proposed merger was announced this September – a deal that will see Ince's partners ditch the firm's current lockstep transparency for Gordon Dadds' merit-based 'black box' pay system – a string of partners have left around the world. Earlier this month, Singapore finance head Martin Brown left to join Stephenson Harwood, and Singapore managing partner John Simpson will also make the same move in May next year.

A number of partners across Ince's London and Piraeus offices have also left or are leaving the firm, including former Piraeus office head Antonis Lagadianos, who is moving to Watson Farley & Williams next month.

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