Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has confirmed to ALB that it will close its Shenzhen office, which was launched in June 2023.
The announcement makes it the second international law firm to shutter a China office in 2025, following Fenwick & West’s closure of its Shanghai office in early January.
The Morgan Lewis Shenzhen office was officially approved by the Ministry of Justice in June 2023 and was recognised by the Shenzhen Justice Bureau as one of the "Top Ten Events in the Shenzhen Legal Industry" that year. At the time of its launch, the firm said it aimed to focus on intellectual property services in Shenzhen, primarily serving the city’s thriving technology and life sciences companies.
However, after both of Morgan Lewis’s Shenzhen lawyers departed from the firm, it decided to shut down the office. Shenzhen office head and IP partner Zhu Shaobin joined DLA Piper’s Seattle office in November 2024, while Tang Bo, is no longer listed on the Morgan Lewis website.
"We parted ways with our only two lawyers in Shenzhen and reestablished our China-based intellectual property practice in our Shanghai office, where it was initially established in 2017,” the firm told ALB
Currently, Morgan Lewis operates three offices in China – in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong – providing services in corporate, capital markets, corporate investigations, investment management, employment, litigation, and intellectual property services through nearly 70 lawyers, supported by 46 professional staff, the firm told ALB.
However, the firm’s overall lawyer count in China has decreased. According to ALB statistics, in June 2023, Morgan Lewis had approximately 90 lawyers, including 21 partners, across its four China offices.
With Morgan Lewis’ exit, the number of international law firms operating in Shenzhen has dropped to six, five of which are located in Qianhai. While most international firms in Shenzhen focus on intellectual property, Singapore’s Rajah & Tann, which opened its Shenzhen office in mid-2024, specialises in cross-border dispute resolution.