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presence “Companies in Shandong have plenty of demand for legal services, especially for high-end and sophisticated services,” says Huang Tao, a partner of King & Wood. “Having a strong service capacity on the ground enables us to work more efficiently and helps save costs for our clients.” The two offices in Shandong will work as an integrated team to service clients throughout Shandong. Dacheng's two offices in Shandong will have different focuses. Its Jinan office handles mainly general corporate, banking and finance, insurance and real estate matters. As Shandong has the highest density of large state-owned enterprises (SOEs), helping them with restructuring and transactions is also an increasingly important part of the office’s routine work. Its new Qingdao office, on the other hand, will have an emphasis on foreign investment, international trade and shipping practices. It is rare for national firms to have two branch offices in the same province, and the expansion of King & Wood and Dacheng in Shandong spells out the growing importance of this nascent market.
us report Davis Polk to close Frankfurt base Davis Polk & Wardwell will close its 18-year-old Frankfurt office on August 31 following the imminent retirement of the office’s longtime resident partner, Patrick Kenadjian. News of Kenadjian’s plans to retire coincided with the departure of the office’s designated successor, London-based partner Harald Halbhuber, who decided to leave the firm for personal reasons. The Frankfurt office, which was launched in 1991, has long focused on cross-border securities and M&A work. The firm has offered alternative positions to the two associates and a counsel who are based at the Frankfurt office. Credit crunch continues to bite US firms are still floundering as a result of the economic crisis, with both McDermott, Will & Emery and Weil Gotshal & Manges the latest arrivals to the ever-increasing firm layoff list. McDermott is cutting 25 lawyers and 47 staff members, while Weil Gotshal is laying off 79 support staff across its US offices. Weil Gotshal has not yet made cuts in the international offices, but management has reportedly suggested that another redundancy consultation could be under consideration. McDermott has said it will offer a “comprehensive” severance package covering benefits, career counselling and the establishment of a fund to help those who face economic hardship
after they leave the firm. Kilpatrick Stockton also recently announced that the firm will cut associate salaries by 10%. Cleary looks for London expansion US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has its sights set on London growth, particularly in regards to the firm’s City dispute resolution practice. Having recently relocated New York partner Jon Blackman to the City office to build up the litigation practice, Cleary hopes to expand its new office through a combination of lateral hiring and organic growth. Cleary confirmed that the new focus on London was partly due to client demand and follows in the footsteps of another US firm, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, which also recently boosted its commercial litigation practice in London. Squire Sanders and Dentons mull alliance Squire, Sanders & Dempsey recently entered merger discussions with Denton Wilde Sapte, cementing its desire for a transatlantic tie-up. Although the proposed union has not yet been discussed at partner level within Dentons, the two firms have held discussions regarding a merger at management level, with hope that a deal could be put together this autumn if the talks proceed well. The merger would see Dentons broaden its coverage in emerging markets while Squire Sanders would be able to widen its UK and European capabilities.
迈阿密律师事务所 成立上海办事处
美
国达瑞律师事务所好新兴市场的发展机会。近 日该所在“金砖四国”中的两个国家同时开设代 表处 – 分别位于为巴西的圣保罗和中国的上海。 达瑞总部位于美国迈阿密，并在阿联酋，德国， 拉丁美洲设有分支机构。该所目前共有6个分支机构 和48位律师，主要为国内外客户提供全方面的新颖 的及低成本高效率的诉讼和非诉法律解决方案。 该所新上海代表处由合伙人Robert Lee 和Adam Ehrlich负责。Lee表示对律所在中国的并购，项目 融资，国际仲裁等业务的发展前景非常有信心。在 上海代表处设立前，该所已通过与上海恒杰律师事 务所签订合作协议，为其客户在中国提供法律服 务。Lee 表示：“在中国经济增长和中国相关业务持 续增加的推动下，我们决定成立上海办事处。” 在过去数年内，随着中国与巴西之间的贸易额大 幅增长，对达瑞而言，在两国均设立办事处有助于 把握业务良机。
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ROUNDUP • Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is set to launch an office in Sao Paulo. The firm will relocate New York corporate partner Lisa Alfaro to Brazil, along with one associate, but the move is yet to gain approval from the Brazilian Bar • Philadelphia-based employment partner John DiNome has decided he will no longer run against Reed Smith’s veteran chief, Greg Jordan, for the position of global managing partner and chairman of its executive team. This leaves Jordan free of competition to continue his nine-year run at the helm of the top-25 US firm • Baker & McKenzie has appointed Mark Carter (formerly of Allen & Overy) as the firm’s new chief financial officer. Carter will join Bakers in September and takes over from Arthur Ferry, who is leaving the firm after two years in the role
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