4 Asian Legal Business | December 2024 The Briefs New York-based law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has confirmed to ALB that it will close its Beijing office by the end of 2024. According to records kept by ALB, it will become the 13th U.S. law firm this year to scale back its China operations. When it established its Beijing office in 1981, Paul, Weiss was one of the first foreign law firms to enter the mainland market. In recent years, it has maintained a lean presence in the PRC, its office comprising partner Greg Liu, counsel Jack Sun, and associates Mavis Feng and Cedric Wang. Liu has worked at Paul, Weiss for nearly 22 years, but the firm has yet to reveal whether he will stay with the firm. According to information from the Hong Kong Law Society website, Liu is also registered with the firm’s Hong Kong office. Following this decision, Paul, Weiss will retain only its Hong Kong and Tokyo offices in Asia. The firm told ALB: “We remain committed to having a strong presence across Asia, and will continue to provide the highest-quality service to our clients in all of our global offices.” Paul, Weiss began its journey in China with an office at the Beijing Hotel. Its founder, Jerome A. Cohen, who also established Harvard’s East Asian Legal Studies Center, led the firm in contributing to numerous historic and cutting-edge transactions in China. The firm’s practice areas in China have included M&A, PE/VC, outbound investment, inbound investment, capital markets, corporate and project finance, restructuring, and internal investigations. Jamie Horsley, the first managing partner of Paul, Weiss’s China practice, once remarked: “Since the early days of China’s ‘Reform and Opening’ and throughout the vagaries of the U.S.-China relationship, Paul, Weiss lawyers have helped clients navigate the twists and turns of law, the economy and politics. Paul, Weiss will continue to serve as a bridge connecting businesses, individuals and other clients in the U.S., China and elsewhere.” Currently, Paul, Weiss’s Hong Kong office comprises eight legal professionals, including two partners and one counsel. The announcement of its Beijing office closure comes shortly after Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr said it would close its 20-year-old office in the Chinese capital, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom cited “shifting market dynamics” when it said the same month that the firm would close its Shanghai office. Reed Smith, Perkins Coie, Dechert, Morrison & Foerster, and Sidley Austin are among other major law firms that have said they would close offices in Shanghai, Beijing or Hong Kong since the spring. Paul, Weiss, which once led U.S. firms’ China charge, becomes latest domino to fall In the news 1 Japanese law firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (MHM) is set to open its second U.S. office in the San Francisco Bay Area. The office will be led by corporate partner Mikito Ishida, who has experience working with startups, venture capital, private equity, and cross-border M&A. Ishida will be joined by San Francisco-based M&A partner Stephen Overton. MHM launched its New York office in September 2023. 2 W&H Law Firm has become the latest mainland Chinese legal practice to establish a presence in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong branch becomes the firm’s 50th office globally. While the vast majority of W&H’s locations are spread across mainland China, the Hong Kong office joins the firm’s sole international outpost in Tokyo. There are now 32 PRC law firms operating as foreign law firms in the city. 3 Indian law firm Trilegal has announced a partnership with AI platform Lucio. The collaboration aims to implement AI-powered solutions to automate routine tasks and improve efficiency in legal services. In a release, Trilegal partners have stated that this move will enhance service delivery and client experience while maintaining data security and confidentiality.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA0NzE4Mw==