Milbank has poached Mallesons Stephen Jacques partner Dieter Yih (who is also the vice-president of the Law Society of Hong Kong) to capitalise on the IPO listings boom in Hong Kong and benefit from strong deal activity in mainland China.
According to Bloomberg data, Hong Kong IPO activity has jumped 40% this year.
Milbank chairman Mel Immergut said the Hong Kong expansion is in direct response to the surge in capital markets and M&A activity.“We are expanding our capabilities in response to the sustained growth of international capital markets and M&A activity in Hong Kong law,” Immergut said.
Other New York firms that have hired new partners and established Hong Kong law capability in the past year include Davis Polk & Wardwell, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Shearman & Sterling.
According to Anthony Root, who leads Milbank’s Asian corporate practice and its China practice, Milbank will have 20 lawyers in its Hong Kong and Beijing offices next year, up from 15 now.
Yih has worked alongside Milbank on deals over a number of years — including the current US$651m IPO listing of Mongolian Mining on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – and will join the firm’s US partnership in January 2011 and Hong Kong partnership when it is established later that year.
Yih’s practice focuses on capital markets, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in Hong Kong and mainland China. In addition to his role as vice-president of the Law Society of Hong Kong, he also chairs the Society’s standing committee on standards and development and the legal education committee. He is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.ALB
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