Michael Liu, who was co-head of Latham & Watkins‘ Greater China practice and was formerly managing partner of its Hong Kong office, has led a seven lawyer move over to US rival Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Liu is joined by partner corporate partner Jane Ng and the switch sees senior associate Stephen Chan made up to partner. The team originally joined Latham from Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy in 2008, where Liu was head of Asia, and the exits leave Latham with just 14 partners in Hong Kong.
Counsel Simon Berry, Olivia Wong, Terris Tang and Eva Tam also make the switch, with the hires expanding Cadwalader’s Hong Kong office from 14 to 20 lawyers.
The team’s experience over the past three decades in Hong Kong and China spans public takeovers, private M&A, joint ventures, IPOs, regulatory and compliance matters under the Hong Kong Listing Rules and securities legislation.
‘Drawing on more than 200 years of history, Cadwalader’s position as one of the most pre-eminent Wall Street firms is what attracted us in the first place,’ explained Liu. ‘Our team has been together for over twenty years and we share the firm’s commitment to building its Greater China practice on the important foundations of quality clients and quality lawyers.’
Greg Petrick, co-chair of Cadwalader’s financial restructuring group and head of international practice development, said: ‘We are fully committed to enhancing our capabilities for clients from our Hong Kong and China offices.’
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk