Zhong Lun Law Firm has become the latest major PRC outfit to hire a partner from an international firm in Hong Kong after luring over Gary Li from Kirkland & Ellis.

Li brings in his expertise in private equity, cross-border investment and financing, and corporate M&A, and commands extensive expertise in leveraged buyouts, take-privates, private investment in private equity (PIPEs), and growth equity investments.

He joined Kirkland in 2014 from Ropes & Gray, where to which he spent more than a decade at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.

“We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Gary Li on board as International Managing Partner. Private equity and cross-border M&A have long been our key strengths, and Mr. Li’s arrival will significantly bolster and elevate the firm’s core competencies in these areas. Furthermore, Mr Li’s expertise will give fresh momentum to the growth of Zhong Lun’s Hong Kong office and international business, empowering the firm to deliver an even higher calibre of world-class professional services that support its clients’ global expansion and success,” said Anthony Zhao, chairman of Zhong Lun’s management committee, in a statement.

Zhong Lun’s Hong Kong office now has a total of 20 partners.

Fellow PRC firms have also been active in the Hong Kong hiring market, with a number of them targeting international firms for laterals. Jingtian & Gongcheng recently hired seasoned banking practitioner James Ma from Paul Hastings, while Han Kun Law Offices hired corporate partners Melody He and Alex Tao from Ashurst and Milbank, respectively.