Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ Hong Kong office is set to lose litigation partner Simon Clarke to Allen & Overy, but the firm is already one step ahead in gaining leading arbitration figure Neil Kaplan as an advisor.
Clarke is currently in discussions with Mallesons over the “terms and timing of his intended departure,” said Allen & Overy, but ALB has clarified that under the partnership agreement Clarke will be with Mallesons until June 2010. Clarke has been a partner since 2004, when Mallesons merged with Kwok & Yih.
Mallesons however, has already gained a regional arbitration figure in Neil Kaplan, who is a member of the International Committee for Commercial Arbitration and was a former chairman of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. Kaplan will hold the international arbitration adviser title working with the Mallesons Hong Kong team, bringing his network of contacts which he has developed over 14 years in the arbitration field.
The timely transfers are both intended to meet the regional growth and demand for advice on litigation, international arbitration and white-collar-crime matters.
Mallesons partner David Bateson (pictured) said that even before Clarke’s notice of resignation, the firm had already been looking to boost its capability in those practices. “Most firms have identified international arbitration and regulatory work as two growth areas –– especially with the recent financial scandals and the minibond affairs in Hong Kong,” he said. “We were [already] actively looking to recruit senior lawyers to expand further because it’s such a growth area here, but now with Simon’s departure we will certainly be looking at a strong partner-level replacement,” he said.
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