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International Edition

Reed Smith eyes growth in Singapore with hire of HSF Indonesia partner

Reed Smith in Singapore has hired Herbert Smith Freehills energy lawyer Charles Ball as a partner as the firm looks to expand its presence in the city-state a year after opening there. Ball, who joins from the UK firm's Jakarta office, has extensive experience in Indonesia, which is a key market for the firm, with his focus spanning disputes, crisis management and compliance in the energy and natural resources sector.
3 minute read

International Edition

Transfer Window Asia: recent moves including Clifford Chance, Mayer Brown and Eversheds

Australian firm Gadens has added to its corporate team in Perth with the hire of King & Wood Mallesons partner David Perks. Having spent a decade at Mallesons, Perks has significant experience in Australia's M&A market, specialising in energy, projects and resources and advising clients such as BHP Billiton, CITIC Resources, Goldcorp and Focus Minerals.
8 minute read

International Edition

Herbert Smith Freehills launches management elections as co-CEOs retire

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has kicked off the process to appoint new leadership with current joint CEOs David Willis and Gavin Bell retiring from the firm. Willis and Bell, who have been in the roles since the legacy firms Herbert Smith and Freehills merged in October 2012, will step down in April 2014. The Herbert Smith Freehills Global Council - the firm's governance body - will decide whether the dual role will be replaced by a single CEO or whether the role will continue to be undertaken jointly, with the appointments process expected to be completed by the end of the year. Before merger talks between Herbert Smith and Freehills began, Willis' term as managing partner of Herbert Smith had been due to end in April 2013. He agreed to a 1-year extension because of the merger.
2 minute read

International Edition

DLA adds Asia Pacific corporate head with double hire in Sydney

DLA Piper's Sydney office has recruited a corporate partner duo, including Bryan Pointon, who joins as head of corporate for Asia-Pacific, from Gilbert + Tobin. Pointon, a top-ranked private equity lawyer who spent 15 years at King & Wood Mallesons and previously practiced at Latham & Watkins in New York, makes the move alongside David Ryan from Baker & McKenzie.
2 minute read

International Edition

Chinese meat giant recruits Simpson Thacher associate as GC ahead of Smithfields purchase

Chinese meat processing giant Shuanghui International has hired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett senior associate Sandra Kister as its new general counsel. Kister, who previously worked in the corporate practice of the Wall Street firm, was recruited by Simpson Thacher in 2007. She worked in New York for two years before relocating to Asia to do a one-year public interest fellowship with not-for-profit organisation Grameen Foundation.
2 minute read

International Edition

Hong Kong Law Society urges Taiwan to open legal market to local firms

Hong Kong law firms could soon be permitted to open offices in Taiwan following a campaign by the city's law society to encourage fair treatment of foreign outfits in the country. Firms based in Hong Kong are not currently allowed to launch in Taiwan or advise on Taiwanese law, despite an absence of such restrictions on firms from the UK and US.
3 minute read

International Edition

Kirkland & Ellis opens third base in Asia with Beijing launch

Kirkland & Ellis has opened an office in Beijing, giving the firm its third base in Asia. The Chicago-based outfit, whose focus in Asia has been predominantly on M&A, private equity and capital markets work, has fielded corporate partner David Zhang, who has 20 years' experience in China, and Chuan Li, who is currently chief representative of its Shanghai office, to lead the base.
3 minute read

International Edition

Proskauer adds Mayer Brown JSM funds partner in Asia growth drive

Proskauer Rose has hired funds partner Yong Ren from Mayer Brown JSM as part of a wider plan by the US firm to enhance its capabilities in China and Hong Kong. Ren, who was previously with Mayer Brown in Hong Kong and has extensive experience in private equity fund formation in Asia, will join Proskauer in Beijing alongside the firm's other resident partner there Joseph Cha, also a funds specialist.
3 minute read

International Edition

Hong Kong eyes Tesco law as Law Society mulls UK-style ABS reforms

Law firms in Hong Kong may soon be permitted to operate as alternative business structures (ABS) under reforms similar to those that have transformed the UK legal market. The Hong Kong Law Society is currently studying the ABS model, which in the UK permits law firms to take external investment from, and be owned by, non-lawyers, as well as allowing companies to offer legal services.
3 minute read

International Edition

Fees for tenders criticised as Chinese SOEs outsource panel applications

Firms in China are increasingly being asked to pay to apply for panel appointments, as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) move to outsource procurement processes to tendering agencies amid concerns about corruption. Partners dealing with SOEs in China say they have been asked to submit panel applications through agencies such as CITIC International Tendering Co and China CNTC International Tendering Corporation, and required to pay to take part.
4 minute read

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