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Fortin’s appointment is aimed to strategically position the firm to help further penetrate the crucial projects and infrastructure sectors of the energy-rich market. Fortin will take the spot vacated by Ahmed Anani, who resigned last August to join Latham & Watkins as a partner in its Doha office. Jones Day
Minter Ellison
Minters pulls off triple-partner lateral with Jones Day hires Australian firm Minter Ellison has significantly increased its partner ranks in Hong Kong, with a triple -partner lateral hire from US firm Jones Day. Barbara Mok, Anne Ko and Katherine U, all capital markets and M&A lawyers, will join the firm in the New Year, increasing the total number of partners in its Hong Kong office to nine. Mok’s practice focuses on China M&A and also includes work on behalf of issuers and sponsors in relation to listings on the HKSE. Ko’s work centres on equity Barbara Mok offerings on the HKSE as well as regulatory and compliance, securities law and corporate finance matters, in addition to M&A and general corporate matters. Katherine U also maintains a practice that focuses on cross-border deals in Greater China. Her previous experience includes acting for Chinese issuers and Hong Kong investment banks on HKSE listings and secondary fund-raisings, takeovers, and privatisations of Hong Kong-listed companies. Minter Ellison
King & Spalding
Abu Dhabi: King & Spalding hires energy lateral from Minters David Lavery, an oil & gas, LNG and mining specialist based in Australian firm Minter Ellison’s Perth office, has joined King & Spalding as counsel in the firm’s Abu Dhabi office. Lavery is the second energy expert to join the David Lavery Abu Dhabi office this year and the 15th energy addition to King & Spalding’s global practice in the past 24 months. Lavery will work closely with construction and infrastructure partner-elect Tim Burbury, who joined King & Spalding’s Abu Dhabi office in February 2010, to Tim Burbury further expand the firm’s energy sector footprint in both the Middle East and Caspian regions. To serve as a hub for the firm’s work in both energy transactions and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific, King & Spalding opened an office in Singapore in September 2010, adding international arbitration partner John Savage – who hails from rival Shearman & Sterling’s Singapore practice – to its ranks. www.legalbusinessonline.com
Mayer Brown JSM
Mayer Brown promotes six partners in HK Emphasis on its Asian banking & finance, corporate & securities, IP and real estate practice has seen Mayer Brown JSM elevate six lawyers in Hong Kong to Francis Chen partnership – part of 32 partner promotions worldwide. In the latest round of promotions, which will take effect from 1 January 2011, Francis Chen (banking & finance) Maggie Cheung (banking & finance), Jeremy Cunningham (corporate & securities), Yong Ren (corporate & securities), Raymond Wong (real estate) and Benjamin Choi (intellectual property) will be promoted. Norton Rose
Ashurst
Norton Rose hires new energy head to lead charge into Indo market Norton Rose is strengthening its foothold in the Indonesian energy market with its latest lateral hire, ex-BP UK gas & power senior legal counsel and current energy partner with Ashurst Singapore, Ashley Wright. He will lead Norton Rose’s Asia-Pacific oil & gas team in the New Year. Wright, a specialist in energy and project finance, has spent three years in Indonesia seconded to BP as a legal manager and has lived in Asia for 13 years – first Ashley Wright arriving in Indonesia in 1995 and returning to the UK in 2000. Wright spent three years at Clifford Chance working with the firm’s London capital markets team. In his time out of Asia, he briefly spent a year with Norton Rose in Bulgaria working on two power projects. Following that, he took up an appointment with Linklaters in Singapore for four years, then spent four years with Milbank and worked for the next four years with Ashurst, also in Singapore. Jones Day
Jones Day brings christmas cheer to 36 new partners US-based firm Jones Day has promoted 36 lawyers to its global partnership, a third of whom are located in offices outside the US and a quarter of whom are female. Those promoted include Joe Bauerschmidt in Singapore, John Lin in Taipei, and Sebastien Evrard and Ian Lian both in Beijing. Bauerschmidt, a capital markets lawyer with more than 15 years of experience, arrived in Asia in 1997, and has been based here since. Lin, who is from the firm’s Taipei office, specialises in a broad range of mergers and acquisitions and cross-border transaction matters. His work includes representation of public and private clients, investment banks, and institutional investors.
Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling elects new partners in Asia and Middle East Shearman & Sterling has elected seven counsels to the partnership worldwide. Significantly for Asia and the Middle East, new partners will be elected in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Abu Dhabi. Lorna Xin Chen, an asset management lawyer in Hong Kong, who specialises in representing private funds on their global investments, has been promoted to the partnership effective from 15 December 2010. Etienne Gelencser, a project development, finance and asset management lawyer based in Shearman’s Tokyo office, has project finance clients across Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Gelencser also regularly represents institutions and private equity funds in Japan and Asia. Brian Clayton, a project development and finance specialist in Abu Dhabi, focuses on construction and oil & gas projects. He has represented sponsors, developers, contractors and lenders in a variety of industries including petrochemical, LNG, power, water, mining, industrial, renewables and infrastructure. Ropes & Gray
Ropes & Gray promotes new partner in HK Ropes & Gray has promoted 10 lawyers to the partnership globally, including Hong Kong PE lawyer Brian Schwarzwalder. The Hong Kong office of the US-based firm was launched in May 2008 by two PE partners – Alison Bomberg (who relocated to HK from Massachusetts) and MoFo lateral hire Scott Jalowayski. Schwarzwalder, who is fluent in Mandarin, has practised in Hong Kong since 2004 and joined Ropes & Gray in 2008. Schwarzwalder’s practice focuses on representing PE and venture capital firms, investment banks and strategic investors in a broad range of cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on China. Holman Fenwick Willan
Berwin Leighton Painser
Hiring coup impacts HFW Singapore The Singapore office of Holman Fenwick & Willan has been dealt a severe blow, as its head of corporate finance leaves, taking with him five other lawyers – including one partner –across to the Singapore office of English firm Berwin Leighton Paisner. Alistair Duffield has joined BLP as its managing partner, after serving almost eight years at Holman as a partner. Based in Singapore for more than 20 years, he has worked across the region, particularly in Indonesia. A specialist in mining and natural resources, Duffield’s practice focus includes asset and project finance, M&A, energy and offshore projects. Duffield spent 10 years at White & Case as a partner prior to his role at Holman, and was also the legal director of Deutsche Bank till 2003. The relocation of the six-lawyer team from Holman more than doubles the size of Berwin’s Singapore practice, which it opened in 2007.
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