8 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 APRIL 2024 US FIRMS ORRICK, WEIL CLOSE IN SHANGHAI, TAIPEI, BEIJING AS GREATER CHINA RETREAT CONTINUES 美国奥睿、威嘉 先后调整大中华区运营 U.S. law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe will consolidate its China offering into its Beijing office after deciding not to renew its lease in Shanghai, a spokesperson for LLP has confirmed. It has also terminated its lease and operations in Taipei. Two partners from the Shanghai office, Ethan Ma and Jeffrey Sun, along with two associates and one staff, will be affiliated with the Beijing office. Eight other employees (including one associate and one consultant) will be offered market severance. Orrick currently has no resident lawyers in Taipei. In August 2020, Orrick closed its Hong Kong office. The firm currently has offices in Beijing, Singapore, and Tokyo within the Asia-Pacific region. The Beijing office will continue to provide litigation and IP services, including both U.S. federal court and ITC litigation for Chinese companies, and support with cross-border corporate transactions, the spokesperson noted. With the relocation of the partners from Shanghai, Orrick’s Beijing office will have five partners. “These moves reflect a rebalancing of our Asia Pacific platform, including the launch of our Singapore office in 2021, to align with client demand,” the spokesperson said. They added that while the Beijing office will primarily focus on the tech sector, the Singapore team “is focused on serving the fast-evolving energy transition market throughout South and Southeast Asia, including in collaboration with our Tokyo energy team.” Meanwhile, Weil, Gotshal & Manges is also retreating from the Chinese market, saying that it is moving towards ending its presence on the mainland. The law firm confirmed to Reuters that it closed its Beijing office on Dec. 31 and is “engaged in discussions on the office in Shanghai with a view to consolidating its Asia operations” in Hong Kong. “We will be working out the details in the coming months, but we remain dedicated to our award-winning Asia practice and to providing top service to our clients in the region,” a Weil spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson did not say whether Weil laid off its Beijing staff or how many employees it had there. The firm’s website now lists six employees, including one partner, in Shanghai, although two of them are also members of Weil’s Hong Kong office. Weil has more than 20 lawyers and other employees in Hong Kong, according to its website. U.S.-founded law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Latham & Watkins, Perkins Coie and Proskauer Rose have also closed at least one of their China offices since June, according to media reports. Reuters in November found that 32 of the 73 largest U.S. law firms in China shrank their attorney presence in the country in the last decade, according to data from Leopard Solutions, which tracks law firm hiring. In Beijing, 26 of the 48 largest U.S. law firms drew down their presence since 2018. 美国奥睿律师事务所的一位发 言人向ALB证实，该所决定将中国运 营整合至北京办公室，上海办公室在 今年7月底租期届满后将不再续约。 此外，奥睿也已经结束了在台北的租 约及运营。 人员安排方面，上海的两位合伙 人马宇峰、孙捷，将和2位律师、1位工 作人员迁至北京办公室。另外8名员工 （包括1位律师、1位顾问、6位工作人 员）将接受市场标准的离职补偿金。 奥睿目前在台北已没有常驻律师。 奥睿指出，未来北京办公室将继 续提供市场领先的诉讼及知识产权 服务，包括在美国联邦法院诉讼和美 国国际贸易委员会诉讼中代理领先 的中国企业，并继续支持跨境交易。 伴随上海办公室合伙人的迁移， 未来奥睿北京将拥有5名合伙人。“ 今年刚刚有两位顶尖知识产权诉讼 律师Josh Pond、Tim Carroll加 入我们的美国办公室，他们专门处理 ITC 337调查及联邦和州法院诉讼。 未来他们将和中国知识产权业务负 责人王翔，以及马宇峰紧密合作，服 务大中华区客户。我们也将持续为 中国客户提供跨境并购、风投业务服 务。” 2020年8月，奥睿关闭了其香港 办公室。该所目前在亚太地区拥有北 京、新加坡、东京三家办公室：北京 办公室主要聚焦于科技板块，新加坡 办公室则“聚焦于南亚和东南亚快速 演变的能源转型市场，通过和东京的 能源团队合作而展开服务”。 与此同时，总部位于美国纽约的 威嘉律师事务所也于近日表示，该所 正逐步结束在中国内地的业务。 该所向路透社证实，其已于去 年12月31日关闭了北京办公室，并 正在“就上海办公室的去留进行讨 论，以期整合其在香港的亚洲法律业 务”。 威嘉的新闻发言人在一份声明 中表示：“我们将在未来几个月内确 定细节，也仍将继续致力于我们屡获 殊荣的亚洲法律业务，并为该地区的 客户提供顶级服务。” 然而，该发言人没有透露威嘉是 否裁减了北京办公室的员工，也没有 透露北京办公室共有多少名员工。据 该所官网显示，目前其在上海办公室 共拥有六名员工，包括一名合伙人， 但其中两名还是香港办公室的成员。 根据该所官网信息，香港办公室共有 20 多名律师和员工。 自去年6月以来，美国的艾金· 岗波、瑞生国际、博钦和普士高等律 所都至少关闭了一家中国办公室。 此外，据Leopard Solutions 的数据显示，在过去十年中，美国73 家最大的律所中有32家缩减了其在 中国的律师人数。在北京，48家最 大的美国律师事务所中有26家自 2018年以来缩减了在华业务。 NEWS
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