Global law firm Baker McKenzie has hired corporate expert Chris Milliken as a partner in its Ho Chi Minh City office from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was a counsel.

With a corporate and finance practice that includes M&A, private equity, joint ventures, financing and capital markets transactions in Vietnam and other APAC countries, Milliken represents banks and private equity firms.

Milliken serves as vice-chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam and is active in several business forums in the country. He began his legal career at Slaughter and May in 2014 before moving to Freshfields in 2017.

“His international and local market experience, along with his transactional expertise, further strengthen our broad-based transactional offerings and enhance our ability to meet the demands of increasingly sophisticated financial sponsors and strategic investors seeking innovative solutions in the Vietnamese market,” said Oanh Nguyen, managing partner of Baker McKenzie's Vietnam offices, in a statement.

Added Andre Gan, Asia Pacific chair of Baker McKenzie's M&A practice: “His wealth of dealmaking experience and deep understanding of local Vietnamese law position us well to support our clients with their growing cross-border transactions needs as Vietnam emerges as a key destination for international investors.”

With Milliken’s arrival, Baker McKenzie now has more than 30 lawyers in Vietnam, including five partners.