Lateral Link’s Post

Here is a Bloomberg Law article, nicely written by Meghan Tribe, that I was quoted in from a few days ago. I do think that the mostly very small office closures recently in Greater China are being overemphasized a bit when predicting the industry's long-term future in the region. It's certainly a time of transition for Big Law in Greater China, and there will be at least a few years more of continued rocky seas ahead most likely. However, most of the mainland China office closures nowadays were actually on the brink of closing for many years prior, even during the boom times, for various reasons. The most common reason is not enough productive partners permanently based in Beijing or Shanghai to keep the office viable, even at firms that have a number of strong China practice partners based in Hong Kong. This problem has been exacerbated by some China based partners relocating during Covid lockdowns and subsequently not returning. On another note, a few firms are pulling out of Greater China all together, but such departures have been happening every now and then for 20 years, and it's not much different now. It's been a very difficult few years in Big Law in Greater China and more turbulent times are ahead, but there will eventually be a rebound and most well established US and UK law firms in Greater China will remain invested in the region for the long-term, even if they may have recently closed a small office run by one or two partners who had pretty much relocated already. Just my thoughts.... Lateral Link #asia #biglaw #china #hongkong #officeclosures

Thanks to Evan Jowers for your insights on the future of U.S. law firms in Greater China:

Orrick’s reconsolidation of resources from the closure of its Shanghai and Taipei offices to the remaining branches in Beijing, Singapore and Japan marks the seventh major foreign firm to downsize across the China region. A spokesperson at Orrick told China Business Law Journal: “We have decided to consolidate our China practice in Beijing and will not renew our Shanghai office lease. Separately, we have terminated our lease in Taiwan." The lease on Orrick’s Shanghai office will expire in July and key personnel, including partner and chief representative in Shanghai Yufeng (Ethan) Ma and partner Jeffrey Jie Sun, will relocate to Beijing. In the past two months, the firm’s US office hired two IP litigation partners, Josh Pond and Tim Carroll. Find latest legal industry news on Law.asia. 📲 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/gg3FmMn4 #cblj #china #corporatelaw #commerciallaw #technology #energy #sustainabledevelopment #legalnews #legalcompliance #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law #lawdotasia 

Reed Smith has confirmed its exit from Beijing, which marks the eighth international law firm this year to downsize or cease operations in China, leaving its Asian presence only in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.    The Beijing office, as listed on the firm’s website, currently has seven lawyers, including managing partner Eric Lin and partner Barbara Li. Some lawyers will relocate to the Shanghai office.    Reed Smith ventured into the Chinese market in 2008 with the establishment of offices in Hong Kong and Beijing, and tapped into Shanghai three years later. Presently, the Hong Kong office with 90 lawyers is the largest among the Asian branches.    👉 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/g3brrPdM                 #lawdotasia #cblj #iblj #ablj #china #corporatelaw #legalnews #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law

📢 Several U.S law firms are rapidly scaling back their mainland China offices this year amid a growing list of challenges in the country.    These include economic challenges e.g. a worsening capital market and structural economic problems, as well as geopolitical tensions like regulatory uncertainty and the deteriorating relations between the U.S. and China.     In recent months, firms such as Perkins Coie, Latham & Watkins and Orrick have all closed or announced the closure of their Shanghai offices, adding to the departure of Weil and Akin Gump from Beijing.     🌎 International companies and professional services firms have struggled to navigate China’s shifting business environment following the Covid-19 pandemic.     📈 There is a growing trend of firm's scaling back their physical presence in mainland China to focus more on other Asian markets like Singapore.   For example, Morrison & Foester confirmed plans to shut down its Beijing office when its lease expires, consolidating their operations in Hong Kong and Shanghai.      What do you think the future holds for China's legal market❓

Hong Kong’s economic slowdown has prompted large law firms like Deacons and DLA Piper to trim their footprints in the city. Several major firms, including Latham & Watkins, have shuttered offices in mainland China in recent years amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington, slow growth, and competition from domestic firms. China implemented a new data security regime in 2023, giving the government broad authority to shut down or fine companies that leak or mishandle sensitive information. Chinese authorities last year raided the offices of international law firm Mintz and US consulting firm Bain & Co. https://lnkd.in/gUQfMkQb

Foreign law firms continue to downsize China business https://lnkd.in/g-Rwh4NP After 18 years of operating in the mainland, Perkins Coie has decided to close its Shanghai office leaving only its Beijing branch standing, marking the fifth major foreign law firm to wind down in China, following Proskauer Rose, Latham & Watkins, Winston & Strawn and Akin. Perkins Coie’s website shows the Shanghai office has eight lawyers, with partners Michael House, Geoffrey Vance, Wang Yingli and Michael Wise based in the US, and partner Louise Lu being the only partner based in Shanghai. In a separate downturn, Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s highest-revenue US-based law firm, recently laid off at least nine Hong Kong capital markets lawyers, Law.com reported. Kirkland did not confirm the news, saying in a statement that the firm’s Asia capital markets team, which now has eight partners and more than 30 fee earners, remains one of the largest in the region. DLA Piper and Deacons’ downsizing of its Hong Kong office has also sparked speculation as several foreign law firms in a row have scaled back their China operations. 📲 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/gg3FmMn4 #cblj #china #restructuring #legalnews #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law #lawdotasia

Mayer Brown confirms split with Hong Kong partner JSM https://lnkd.in/gkVjkvEC US-based law firm Mayer Brown has confirmed that it will end its 15-year partnership with Johnson Stokes & Master. Mayer Brown said it would continue to operate in Hong Kong through a “new partnership”, while the law firms would revert to their respective pre-merger names. Going forward, JSM will operate as a Hong Kong home-grown law firm. The delinking, subject to the approval of the Law Society of Hong Kong, is expected to take effect before the end of the year, with a transition period of around one year for both parties. Mayer Brown’s Jon Van Gorp, said: “Our strategic plan prioritises the development of core products and industries that are most relevant to our clients in the world’s leading global financial centres, including Hong Kong.” Terence Tung, senior partner of the Hong Kong partnership, said services would continue to be provided through offices in Hong Kong and the mainland. A lawyer close to the matter told China Business Law Journal that the split between the two firms was “on good terms”, and the majority of staff in the Hong Kong office were expected to remain with JSM. 📲 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/gg3FmMn4 #cblj #china #hongkong #restructuring #legalnews #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law #lawdotasia

Reed Smith exits from Beijing https://lnkd.in/gMPGwjeM Reed Smith has become the eighth international law firm this year to downsize or exit its operations in China, confirming its withdrawal from Beijing. The firm will maintain its presence in Asia through offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. The Beijing office, as listed on the firm’s website, currently has seven lawyers, including managing partner Eric Lin and partner Barbara Li. Some lawyers will relocate to the Shanghai office. Reed Smith ventured into the Chinese market in 2008 with the establishment of offices in Hong Kong and Beijing. The firm’s Hong Kong office with 90 lawyers is the largest among the Asian branches. 👉 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/gGwWP7D7 #ablj #asia #china #corporatelaw #legalnews #generalcounsel #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law #lawdotasia

Orrick closes Shanghai, Taipei offices in ‘rebalance’ to Asia https://lnkd.in/dAGewiux Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s reconsolidation of resources from the closure of its Shanghai and Taipei offices to the remaining branches in Beijing, Singapore and Japan marks the seventh major foreign firm to downsize across the China region. A spokesperson at Orrick told China Business Law Journal: “We have decided to consolidate our China practice in Beijing and will not renew our Shanghai office lease. Separately, we have terminated our lease in Taiwan." “These moves reflect a rebalancing of our Asia-Pacific platform, including the launch of our Singapore office in 2021, to align with client demand.” The lease on Orrick’s Shanghai office will expire in July and key personnel, including partner and chief representative in Shanghai Yufeng (Ethan) Ma and partner Jeffrey Jie Sun, will relocate to Beijing. 📲 Sign up for the latest updates in the legal industry: https://lnkd.in/gg3FmMn4 #cblj #china #corporatelaw #commerciallaw #legalnews #legalcompliance #inhousecounsel #business #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawyers #legal #law #lawdotasia