Cleary Gottlieb to start Hong Kong local law practice

New York based firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has hired Norton Rose’s Freeman Chan to head a local law practice in Hong Kong. The firm has a number of large scale IPO’s in the offing, and plans to be able to advise them on Hong Kong law from 1 February 2011, according to Hong Kong-based partner Clay Johnson. Johnson also points out that the Hong Kong base will allow Cleary Gottlieb to better serve private equity clients doing deals with Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies. Cleary Gottlieb, which opened a branch in Hong Kong in 1980, plans to hire about six more lawyers for Hong Kong and Beijing.

Cleary Gottlieb to start Hong Kong local law practice bloomberg.com Thu, Dec 2, 2010