Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has made its first venture into Southeast Asia via an alliance with LVN & Associates, a newly established law firm based in Hanoi,Vietnam set up by ex-Orrick lawyer Linh Qyunh Doan.
Doan recently practised in Orrick’s Hong Kong office as a managing associate of the firm’s corporate group. She specialises in advising on Vietnam legal matters, having represented multinational companies in their inbound investments into Vietnam as well as leading Vietnamese companies and governmental entities in various infrastructure, energy, investment and international trade matters.
At present, Doan is the only lawyer on the ground in Vietnam.
“Growth depends on the prospects of the practice. Up till now we have been managing the [Vietnam] practice from our Hong Kong office. We are seeing a lot more M&A activity that we believe can be better tapped if we’re on the ground,” Orrick Asia senior partner Christopher Stephens told ALB in an interview.
Orrick-LVN is planning to hire between two to four locally qualified Vietnamese lawyers within the next six months. “The market for well-trained and experienced Vietnamese lawyers is very tight. We have some offers out for lateral hires that we hope will be accepted and allow us to make a number of announcements very soon,” he said.
Stephens confirmed that Orrick has made a number of offers particularly to Vietnamese-qualified lawyers from different firms, in the hope of laterally hiring talent to beef up its Vietnamese capabilities.
According to Stephens, Vietnam is “among the brightest economies in Southeast Asia”. He cited its 90 million-strong population and robust targeted growth of 8% as the underlying reasons in deciding to launch an office there. “We have been involved in Vietnam-related work since late 1990s. Recently, our clients have come to include investors from China, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia, as well as the traditional US and European multinationals and institutions,” Stephens said.
Stephens believes that the tie-up with LVN & Associates will better position Orrick to capture the increasing levels of inter-regional investment flows within Asia. According to him, the firm plans to extend the reach of its infrastructure projects and investment practice as well as “provide a solid platform for clients in all aspects of their Vietnam-related transactions”.ALB
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