A computer screen shows details of Big Four auditors main pages on its websites. Credit: shutterstock. The Big Four auditors websites. Photo: Shutterstock.

The Hong Kong affiliate of the Big Four accounting firm EY has hired corporate partner Bonnie Yung from Paul Hastings – the latest in a series of partner hires that began last year.

Yung, who joins LC Lawyers after more than eight years at Paul Hastings, focuses on corporate finance, capital markets, merger and acquisition transactions, and regulatory compliance. In December, she was part of the team that advised China's Luzhou City Commercial Bank Co. Ltd., based in the southwestern province of Sichuan, on a $221 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. In 2017, Yung was part of the team that represented Zhongyuan Bank Co. Ltd., another Chinese bank, based in the central province of Henan, on a $1 billion Hong Kong listing.

Yung made partner at Paul Hastings in 2014. In her new job, she reunites with former capital markets associate Jason Wang, who left the Los Angeles-based firm to join LC Lawyers as a partner in January; he was also part of the team on Zhongyuan Bank's IPO.

The addition of Yung and Wang will bolster LC Lawyers' corporate finance capabilities, as Hong Kong is "well positioned to provide financing channels to businesses in the Greater Bay Area or relating to the Belt and Road Initiative", managing partner Rossana Chu said in a statement, referring to two of the biggest domestic and regional economic plans, respectively, created by the Chinese Government.

The new additions from Paul Hastings are the latest partner hires from international firms by EY's Hong Kong affiliate firm. Late last year, LC Lawyers added disputes capability by recruiting a three-lawyer team from Dechert led by partner Kareena Teh. And Chu herself joined with a six-lawyer team from Troutman Sanders in early 2018, including a partner and associate who joined EY's affiliate firms in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively.

"We are committed to further development of our legal capabilities in Hong Kong," Dmitry Tetiouchev, the Singapore-based Asia-Pacific leader of EY Law, said in a statement. Last May, Chu told Law.com's The Asian Lawyer that she planned to expand LC Lawyers' headcount to 30 by the end of 2019.

With the addition of Yung, LC Lawyers has 16 lawyers, including seven partners, advising on capital and debt markets, corporate finance, commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, dispute resolution, regulatory investigations and Chinese outbound investments.

EY's Big Four rivals have also been actively expanding in Hong Kong. PwC recruited four partners last June with Big Law experience from Baker McKenzie, Mayer Brown, Jones Day and MinterEllison; KPMG and Deloitte launched affiliated law firms in January.

Globally, EY's legal network has more than 2,300 legal professionals in 83 jurisdictions, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region.

In February, EY's affiliate firm in Sydney, Ernst & Young Law Pty Ltd., recruited financial services partner Lisa-Marie McKechnie from Australian firm Mills Oakley. The auditor has also been active in Singapore, launching a new local law practice with a four-lawyer team from Dentons Rodyk & Davidson.

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