Beijing-headquartered Yingke Law Firm has established a new office in London, as part of its global expansion plan to have 100 international offices by 2026.

Prior to London, Yingke has opened nine branches in seven European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary and Portugal.

Yingke, the largest firm in the world by headcount, also opened a Tokyo office in August.

Yingke tells ALB that the London office will be led by director Qi Shu. The new office will focus on corporate and M&A, banking and finance, intellectual property, private client, trusts and treasury.

Qi specializes in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, major asset restructuring; cross-border investment and financing, compliance; international dispute resolution; and international private wealth.

Before joining Yingke, Qi worked at Dacheng Law Offices, ZhongLun Law Firm, GCL Solicitors LLP, and Gateley PLC, the first UK firm listed on the London Stock Exchange. 

With the opening of the London office, Yingke said in a press release that the move into London is another important step in its continuing efforts to deepen its global footprint and enhance its service capabilities.

The Beijing-based firm currently has 53 directly-operated offices across 41 countries around the world.