The lateral-phobic Slaughter and May has returned to the market barely a year after its first London foray with its third-ever partner hire, adding investigations and litigation lawyer Wynne Mok to its Hong Kong office.
Mok joins from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), where she has been a director of enforcement since 2016. Her experience there includes complex litigation, enforcing good governance and shaping regulatory policy. She was previously a disputes resolution partner at Norton Rose Fulbright from 2012.
Slaughters Hong Kong senior partner Peter Brien said Mok would play a key role in building the Asian practice, focusing on regulatory inquiries and investigations, including multi-jurisdictional investigations undertaken by the firm’s global investigations practice. He added: ‘She is a highly respected practitioner who brings a combination of regulatory experience at the highest level and an outstanding track record of advising clients on complex litigation and investigations.’
The firm’s co-head of global investigations Jonny Cotton commented on the hire: ‘This is a great appointment for our global investigations team and our wider international contentious practice.’
Mok is Slaughters’ third lateral in its history. It first broke the duck four years ago with another Hong Kong appointment in John Moore, while the second came last year with the hire of pensions partner Daniel Schaffer in London from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF).
Partner exits from Slaughters remain a relatively rare occurrence as well, with finance partners Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya and Mark Dwyer and tax partner Graham Iversen being among the few departures from the firm in recent years.
Last month, Slaughter and May announced four new partners were being made up in a reduced promotion round.
