Legal Business

Bakers takes three partners from DLA as it merges in Mexico while Clydes hires three to launch in Brisbane

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Strategic recruitment Baker McKenzieClyde & CoDLA Piper
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Baker & McKenzie has hired three partners from DLA Piper’s Mexico City office as the latter combines with a local outfit to extend its offering, meanwhile Clyde & Co has launched in Brisbane after taking three partners from Sparke Helmore.

DLA Piper is combining with Mexican firm Gallastegui y Lozano (GyL) in Mexico City under the name DLA Piper Gallastegui y Lozano. In total, seven GyL partners will join with business, telecoms, pharma and M&A specialist Eduardo Gallastegui taking on the role of managing partner.

The combined Mexican firm will house 23 lawyers in total with other partners joining including Maria Eugenia Rios, Gerardo Lozano, Jorge Benejam, Gabriela Alaña, Marcelo Paramo and Cecilia Azar.

However, DLA Piper’s Mexico City office, which opened in 2012, has lost three partners to Baker & Mckenzie with corproate/M&A partners Carlos Valencia and Tatiana Escribano and real estate and infrastructure partner Miguel de Erice joining along with a four-strong team of lawyers.

Meanwhile, Clyde & Co has launched its fourth Australian office – Brisbane – with the hire of three partners from local firm Sparke Helmore.

Partners Matthew Pokarier, Jacinta Long and Maxine Tills join the firm with Pokarier heading the Brisbane practice. The new team will focus on all classes of insurance, but particularly professional, directors’ and officers’, product and general liability, as well as commercial litigation.

Clyde & Co confirmed it is looking to hire a further 20 lawyers in Brisbane this year, in a bid to boost headcount in Australia to over 100. Clyde & Co Australia managing partner John Edmond said: ‘Our opening in Brisbane sees the achievement of our Australian strategy of a four-office national spread.’

Clyde & Co launched in Australia in October 2012 with offices in Sydney and Perth with the acquisition of a specialist insurance team from Australian firm Allens.  In September 2013, the firm opened a Melbourne office, and added infrastructure, transportation and international trade expertise.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘A tactic to intimidate lawyers’: Facebook sues DLA Piper for bringing ‘fraudulent’ US lawsuit

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Litigation DLA Piper
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Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg are suing trans-Atlantic firm DLA Piper for its role in bringing a case which they allege was ‘based on fabricated evidence, for the purpose of extorting a lucrative and unwarranted settlement’.

DLA Piper acted for Paul Ceglia, who had worked with Zuckerberg (pictured) on a website prior to the launch of Facebook, in a claim against the social media company and its founder saying that he was entitled to at least 50% ownership of the company.

The social media giant named DLA Piper’s US chairman of intellectual property and technology, John Allcock, San Diego managing partner Robert Brownlie and San Diego-based attorney Gerard Tippitelli as defendants in the lawsuit.  

The company said in the lawsuit that the defendant lawyers conspired to prosecute a ‘fraudulent lawsuit’ when they ‘knew or should have known that the lawsuit was a fraud as it was brought by a convicted felon with a history of fraudulent scams, and it was based on an implausible story and obviously forged documents’.

The claim against DLA Piper, as well as co-counsel firms Paul Argentieri & Associates, Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman and Milberg, was filed in New York state courts yesterday (20 October 2014). The firms’ 2010 claim against Facebook failed and a federal grand jury dismissed the case as a fraud, with Ceglia indicted for the fraud.

The social media giant is claiming damages for the temporary restraining order preventing Facebook from selling or transferring any assets or stock in the company that Ceglia and his lawyers obtained during the case.

The company alleges that New York attorney Paul Argentieri helped to forge the documents and then enlisted other law firms to support the case through a contingency fee arrangement. Facebook and Zuckerberg’s lawyers said in the filing: ‘DLA Piper and its lawyers prepared, signed, and filed an Amended Complaint, which not only reiterated Ceglia’s reliance on the forged contract but also added quotes from obviously fabricated “emails”.’

The filing also notes that US litigation firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres Friedman, who were also acting for Ceglia, ‘discovered on Ceglia’s own computer the authentic Street Fax contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg’. This information was shared with co-counsel and Facebook asserts that ‘this discovery confirmed beyond any doubt that the lawsuit was based on forgery’.

Peter Pantaleo, DLA Piper’s general counsel, said in a statement: ‘This is an entirely baseless lawsuit that has been filed as a tactic to intimidate lawyers from bringing litigation against Facebook. DLA Piper, which was not part of this case at its outset or its conclusion, was involved for 78 days.’

He added: ‘Facebook and Mr. Zuckerberg claim that they were damaged in those 78 days, yet a mere 10 months after DLA Piper withdrew from the case and while the litigation was still pending, Facebook went to market with an initial public offering that valued the company at $100 billion. Today, Facebook is worth $200 billion and Mr. Zuckerberg is among the richest people in the world. We will defend this meritless litigation aggressively and we will prevail.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘Huge experience of growing a business’: DLA Piper’s Knowles lands chairman role at investment banking firm Zeus Capital

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Sir Nigel Knowles, who is set to step down as co-CEO and managing partner at DLA Piper later this year, has been appointed chairman of UK investment banking boutique Zeus Capital.

Knowles, who currently holds the position of global co-CEO and managing partner of DLA Piper, joins Zeus Capital as it looks to build on its early success with the capture of bigger IPO mandates.

Succession plans are in place at DLA Piper for Knowles who, after 18 years at the firm’s helm, is regarded as one of the most entrepreneurial figures in the legal market having transformed DLA Piper into a global firm generating more than £1bn in revenue. While he will continue as managing partner of the firm until 30 April 2015, Knowles is set to relinquish his title as co-CEO to IP partner Simon Levine.

Zeus Capital has offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham, and was ranked by Dealogic in June as the leading IPO fundraiser for AIM companies in the UK. John Goold, joint chief executive at Zeus Capital, said: “The expertise that Sir Nigel brings will be a huge benefit to Zeus Capital. He has been behind some of the largest deals in the last two decades and has huge experience of growing a business. The team at Zeus are really excited about working with him.’

Knowles said: ‘Having led the recent series of IPOs with the likes of Conviviality, Boohoo and DX Group, it is an exciting time to be joining Zeus Capital. Its pipeline of deals is just as impressive and I look forward to adding to the considerable expertise Zeus Capital already has at its disposal.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: US sees spate of lateral hires

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Strategic recruitment DLA PiperMayer Brown
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Lateral hires last week have seen Mayer Brown, DLA Piper and Reed Smith make key hires in their US practices, while a Bingham McCutchen partner exits to go in-house.

Mayer Brown has grown its private equity and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) capabilities in New York with the hire of corporate and securities partner Jeff Legault, as the firm focuses on private investment funds in the States.

Legault joins from Reed Smith and specialises in mergers and acquisitions, both public and private, with an emphasis on private equity transactions across the industrial, manufacturing and financial services. His clients include public and private companies, private equity firms and investment banks.

On the other hand, DLA Piper has expanded its litigation practice in Washington DC with the hire of Jonathan Haray. He was previously assistant chief litigation counsel for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and deputy chief of the fraud and public corruption division at the United States Attorney’s Office.

Haray has experience of advising on complex securities enforcement matters, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and securities fraud violations. From 2007 to 2012, he prosecuted cases involving FCPA violations, False Claims Act violations, health care fraud, corporate and insurance fraud, money laundering, and Bank Secrecy Act violations. He also served as an assistant US attorney in the superior court and appellate divisions from 2002 to 2007.

DLA Piper’s co-chair of its white collar, corporate crime and investigations practice Patrick Smith said: ‘Jonathan’s significant litigation background and extensive trial experience at both DOJ and the SEC add great depth to DLA Piper’s white collar practice both in DC and nationally. As these agencies continue their aggressive efforts to enforce the federal securities laws, Jonathan’s broad government enforcement experience will be a tremendous asset to our clients.’

And going from private practice to in-house is Bingham McCutchen corporate partner Chris Riley, who has quit the firm to join gaming and media streaming website Machinima as its general counsel (GC). Riley will lead the company’s legal department and provide strategic legal and business affairs guidance to the company and will report to Machinima’s chief executive officer Chad Gutstein.

Before becoming a partner at Bingham, Riley was a legal consultant at Disney Interactive, worked as GC and senior vice president at Ticketmaster, and as GC and vice president at Match.com.

Gutstein said: ‘Machinima’s continued success depends on our ability to attract and retain the best people. His [Riley’s] deep legal expertise and advisory skills and multiple stints as General Counsel for leading digital and traditional businesses, bring insights and proven executional excellence to Machinima.’

Reed Smith added two partners to its intellectual property (IP) practice in Chicago with Robert Browne and John Cullis joining from Neal Gerber & Eisenberg.

Browne has experience of advising clients in patent, trademark, copyright and unfair competition law and related litigation in federal district and appellate courts and before the International Trade Commission, while Cullis focuses on intellectual property litigation, counselling and procurement and routinely advises clients on the clearance, registration, enforcement, licensing and acquisition/disposition of IP rights.

Jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: High profile hires for DLA; Chadbourne; Dentons; Osborne Clarke; Simmons and Winston & Strawn

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High profile lateral moves between some of the largest global law firms last week saw DLA Piper hire a four-strong real estate team from RPC in London led by Stephen Malley; Chadbourne & Parke strengthen its City project finance team with the hire of Shearman & Sterling partner Julien Bocobza; Dentons bring in Clifford Chance (CC) partner Perry Zizzi to head its banking & finance group in Bucharest; with further international hires for Osborne Clarke, Simmons & Simmons and Winston & Strawn.

In the City, DLA’s hire of non-contentious construction & projects head Stephen Malley and his team is part of the top 10 Global 100 firm’s strategic effort to boost its real estate offering. Property heavyweight Malley is acknowledged as ‘responsive, and an incredible networker’ by The Legal 500.

Senior associates Jonathan Northey, Peter Lowe and Gareth Williams join the real estate team. Northey, who is also recommended by The Legal 500 joins DLA Piper as a partner.

The hires follow the arrival this year of Berwin Leighton Paisner trio, real estate finance head Laurence Rogers, corporate tax partner Neville Wright and real estate partner Richard Hopkinson-Woolley.

The 3,962-lawyer firm’s UK real estate group head, Ian Brierley, said: ‘Stephen and Jonathan are very impressive individuals. We are delighted to welcome them to DLA Piper where they will strengthen our real estate expertise even further.’

Also in the City, Chadbourne & Parke announced last week that the firm has strengthened its project finance team in London through the addition of international partner Bocobza. Bocobza joins Chadbourne from the project development and finance group of Shearman & Sterling, where he had a particular focus on renewable energy and thermal power. He is the seventh lawyer to join Chadbourne’s London office in the last year.

‘We continue to seek opportunities to add to our project finance capabilities around the world, and Julien brings his deep experience acting for project sponsors and lenders across Africa, the Middle East and Turkey,’ said Adrian Mecz, managing partner of the London office. ‘He fits well with our team and will play an important role in growing our practice throughout the region.’

Bocobza has advised sponsors, financiers and government agencies on energy and infrastructure projects in a broad range of industries, including the mining, transportation, water and telecommunications industries.

In Europe, Dentons’ hire of Clifford Chance (CC) partner Perry Zizzi to head its banking & finance group in Bucharest, meanwhile, comes almost seven years after the M&A corporate specialist left legacy Salans, which merged with SNR Denton in March 2013.

With nearly 19 years of experience practising law in the US, Latin America, Western Europe and the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Zizzi advises on numerous real estate development, financing, acquisition and leasing transactions.

Bucharest managing partner, Anda Todor, said: ‘[Perry’s] return marks yet another step in Dentons Bucharest’s growth strategy, which saw the arrival of a new competition team in April. Perry’s previous experience with the firm and his strong reputation for legal excellence make him a great fit with our existing practice and a valuable addition to the team.’

Also on the Continent, Osborne Clarke hired Baker & McKenzie commercial partner Carsten Dau, who specialises in distribution law and commercial competition, into its Hamburg office, which the top 35 UK firm announced it would be opening in October 2012.

Simon Beswick, CEO of Osborne Clarke said: ‘Following our expansion in Europe, we are keen to continue investing in our offices. Our latest hires bolster our commercial offering both locally and internationally.’

On the 2nd June 2014, Osborne Clarke opened in Amsterdam office with three ex-Baker & McKenzie Partners.

In Asia, meanwhile, DLA Piper saw Hong Kong-based partner duo Jolyon Ellwood-Russell and Giovanni Marino exit the firm for Simmons & Simmons and Winston & Strawn respectively. It’s the third hit to DLA’s Hong Kong office in recent weeks, following the exit of corporate partner Esther Leung to Chinese firm Jun He in June.

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

DLA sees leading criminal litigator Rickards leave for Kingsley Napley

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Strategic recruitment DLA PiperKingsley Napley
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Kingsley Napley has made a key hire to its criminal litigation team, as DLA Piper partner Jo Rickards, who recently represented former News of the World (NotW) editor Andy Coulson in the phone-hacking trial, is set to join the firm this August.

Acknowledged as a leading individual for corporate crime work by The Legal 500, Rickards’ appointment brings the number of partners in Kingsley Napley’s criminal litigation practice to 13.

Rickards recently represented Coulson in criminal proceedings where in late June he was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months for conspiring to intercept voicemails at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid following an eight-month trial at the Old Bailey. The trial also saw Rickards cross paths with her new colleagues at Kingsley Napley, with partner Angus McBride representing Rebekah Brooks.

Hers is the second high-profile departure from DLA’s City disputes practice, which in March also saw IT litigation head Lee Gluyas defect to Nabarro. The world’s largest firm made a significant splash when it hired Rickards in 2010 from Peters & Peters in 2010 – and other clients ahave included Silvio Berlusconi and the Maxwells

Kingsley Napley’s criminal litigation head Stephen Parkinson said the firm ‘…is the natural home for someone of Jo’s talent. Having worked alongside her in high profile trials, we recognise her tenacity, meticulous preparation and sound judgement. Her reputation is wholly justified.’

On her appointment, Rickards added: ‘Criminal and regulatory scrutiny of major corporates and senior employees has never been more challenging for clients or for us. In an increasingly competitive environment, I am delighted to join Kingsley Napley and play my part in upholding its reputation as the go-to firm for high-profile criminal and financial regulatory defence work.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Weil Gotshal heads H1 global private equity table as DLA Piper enters top 20

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Finance DLA PiperWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil Gotshal & Manges has come out on top of the latest H1 private equity league tables in a top 20 which also includes DLA Piper, driven by a strong performance on the Continent and after a series of notable hires in the area.

Weil Gotshal leads Bloomberg’s announced private equity deals table by value – ahead of Latham & Watkins in second place and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in third – with 46 deals worth a combined $56.8bn for the first six months of 2014.

The Wall Street firm was ranked ninth during the same period of 2013, this year boosted by instructions including from CCMP, Providence Equity Partners, THLee and Quadrangle on the €7.2bn sale of Spain’s largest cable broadband provider Ono to Vodafone in March. Other notable deals included acting for Baring Private Equity Asia on a $3bn deal to take private Chinese online gaming group Giant Interactive, which was previously listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

US firms dominate the table as the value of global M&A involving private equity firms rose from $214bn during the first half of 2013 to $319bn during the first six months of 2014, with 13 US firms making the top 20.

Latham was involved in $40bn worth of deals with a deal count of 62 to justify its second place ahead of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which advised on 45 deals worth $36bn.

The results reveal improved rankings among the Magic Circle, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer ranked fourth, having led on 43 deals worth $36bn, up from sixth position this time last year. Rival Clifford Chance rose eight places to sixth after having been instructed on 30 deals worth a combined $28bn, and Linklaters, which lost private equity co-heads Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle to White & Case last year, handled 36 deals worth $26bn, rising from nineteenth to seventh.

However, according to the table the Magic Circle trio all lost market share.

Weil’s London-based co-head of international private equity, Marco Compagnoni told Legal Business: ‘A number of our key clients have been very busy over the last year and these results show that the private equity deal space has been strong for a while now. The US law firms are increasingly the ones dominating that market as they have the true international reach and the ability to handle all types of financial structure, not least ones involving the US debt markets.’

DLA Piper, meanwhile, was boosted by a buoyant Spanish office led by partner Juan Picon, who advised Vodafone on its takeover of Ono. The firm, which came in at number 17 with 30 deals worth a total of $12.8bn, advised British private equity firm Bridgepoint in its €450m acquisition of French automotive parts maker Flexitallic Group at the start of May.

The past year has seen DLA hire private equity heavyweight Tim Wright from King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin and launch a private equity group in Australia after the hire of Bryan Pointon from Gilbert + Tobin as its Asia Pacific corporate head.

David Raff, a private equity partner at DLA Piper, told Legal Business: ‘We’ve had a very good year in terms of volume and value, partly because of very good teams in France and Spain, as well as new hires in the US and Australia. International reach is increasingly a problem for UK firms due to the internationalisation of deals taking place. It’s not just about having offices, it’s about having private equity expertise in those offices.’

Tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: DLA hires in France and the US; Simmons grows Bristol; Gibson Dunn expands in Beijing and Hong Kong

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Strategic recruitment DLA PiperSimmons & Simmons
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International expansion last week saw DLA Piper hire Holman Fenwick Willan’s (HFW) Paris head of tax Hervé Israël and bolster its US practice with a double litigation partner hire from Greenberg Traurig, while Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher expanded in Beijing and Hong Kong. Closer to home, Simmons & Simmons bolstered its growing Bristol presence with the hire of Osborne Clarke corporate partner Patrick Graves.

Israël, who was previously head of tax at Hogan Lovells in Paris before assuming the same position at HFW, joins DLA Piper in the French capital with more than a decade of experience in corporate tax matters, including the structuring and financing of M&A transactions, asset financing and securitisation transactions and acquisition structuring.

DLA has also added litigation partners Kevin Finger and Jeffrey Torosian, the former co-chairs of Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago litigation practice, to strengthen its US operations. The firm’s Chicago office has been at the centre of its recent expansion stateside, with technology and sourcing partner Gregory Manter having joined in February from Mayer Brown.

Elsewhere, Los Angeles-headquartered Gibson Dunn sought to bolster its presence in Asia Pacific, with partner hires in Beijing and Hong Kong as it targets local clients. Patricia Tan Openshaw joins the firm from Paul Hastings in Hong Kong, bringing with her significant experience in energy and infrastructure.

Openshaw said: ‘The strength of the firm’s corporate and disputes practices in Asia and globally forms a compelling platform that will assist me in delivering excellent service in a broad range of areas to clients.’

The top 10 Global 100  firm has also taken on Beijing-based corporate transactions lawyer Fang Xue, who becomes a partner after moving across from Shearman & Sterling, where she was counsel. Xue, who has practiced since 2003 in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing, offers the ability to provide East-West advice and recently represented state-owned Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co. in its proposed acquisition of NASDAQ-listed RDA Microelectronics.

Joseph Barbeau, partner in charge of Gibson Dunn’s Beijing office, said: ‘Fang’s experience with Chinese clients on outbound work and with international companies on their interests in China will be an asset to the firm as we continue to expand in China and the Asia region.’

Back in the UK, Simmons & Simmons has welcomed its fourth partner hire in Bristol in two months with the addition of Graves. The firm launched its Bristol office in 2012 with 5 partners as a lower-cost proposition and Graves becomes the ninth partner and thirty-fourth lawyer at the office.

His arrival follows that of Burges Salmon’s head of fund structuring Mahrie Webb, DLA Piper’s transactions partner Hinal Patel and DAC Beachcroft partner Jocelyn Ormond, all of whom have joined since the beginning of May.

Simmons’ head of corporate, Mark Curtis, said: ‘Patrick Graves’ arrival marks a further milestone in the expansion of our corporate practice. His extensive ECM experience and knowledge of all aspects of corporate finance will be invaluable to our international practice. Together with the recent appointments of Hinal Patel and Jocelyn Ormond, we have an even stronger team with the capability to provide our clients with the full service of corporate requirements.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

DLA Piper stands by scandal-hit lawyer Nick West as he issues apology

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Following a conduct review, DLA Piper has opted to stand by Nick West, whose sexist email exchanges with Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore were leaked last week, after the partner today (21 May) publically apologised for letting down the firm and its clients.

Like the Premier League, which resisted calls to sack its chief executive, DLA Piper will stick with media lawyer West following a conduct review. A spokesperson for the firm said in a statement: ‘We have concluded that there was a failure to meet the high professional standards in which we take pride as a firm, whilst recognising that these were emails exchanged between friends and accessed without permission.’

The firm has ‘accepted Mr West’s assurances that these emails are not reflective of his beliefs and values and that there will be no recurrence of this behaviour’.

An email exchange between West and Scudamore, which was contained sexually explicit and sexist comments about a female colleague of Scudamore’s – who the pair had nicknamed ‘Edna’ – was made public by Scudamore’s former personal assistant Rani Abraham.

West said in a statement: ‘I sincerely apologise for my actions. In sending the emails in question I let myself, my firm and its clients down. I have an obligation to uphold the highest professional standards and I give my assurance that this will be the case going forward.’

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Premier League told Legal Business that ‘Nick West is still one of our lawyers’ but refused to rule out changes to its outside counsel in the near future.

TV deals with the Premier League continue to climb and provide lucrative work for law firms. The last British broadcasting battle, intensified by the competition for matches between BSkyB and BT, pulled in over £3bn for three seasons from 2013. The Premier League has brought forward its next auction, for the season beginning with 2016-17, to later this year.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Asia: Ashurst bolsters Singapore with W&C hire; DLA appoints Asia corporate head; Fenwick & West opens in Shanghai

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Strategic recruitment AshurstDLA PiperFenwick & West
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The Asian market has over the past week seen investment from international law firms including DLA Piper, Fenwick & West and Ashurst, which most recently bolstered its finance practices in both Singapore and Hong Kong.

Ashurst this week hired White & Case finance partner Kate Allchurch in Singapore, as it relocated London-based finance partner Chris Tang and Sydney-based Doos Choi to Hong Kong.

Allchurch joins from White & Case’s Singapore office, which she relocated to from London in 2009. She specialises in acquisition finance, structured lending, asset-backed lending, debt buy-backs, telecoms finance, restructuring and secondary debt market transactions. Her arrival brings Ashurst’s Singapore office up to three banking partners, as well as two project finance partners.

‘Kate is a highly experienced lawyer with strong international experience and a great reputation for her work in South East Asia’s emerging markets, particularly Indonesia. Her arrival complements our existing finance practice, which already has a very strong position in Indonesia and other South East Asia-related work,’ said Matthew Bubb, Asia managing partner of the firm.

Ashurst’s Hong Kong office now has four banking partners as Doos Choi and Chris Tang join fellow partners Matthias Schemuth and Dominic Gregory. Choi specialises in acquisition finance, and investment grade and sub-investment grade corporate finance. Tang, meanwhile, is a specialist in derivatives and structured finance products.

‘Through a combination of targeted lateral hires and the relocation of some of our brightest international talents to the region we have built a very strong team across Asia, offering a full range of services in relation to bank lending, structured products, derivatives, restructuring and investment banking services, as well as dedicated banking litigation and regulatory coverage,’ said Paul Jenkins, co-global head of the firm’s finance division.

Elsewhere, DLA Piper has regrouped after a four-lawyer team that included Asia corporate head Mabel Lui left for US firm Winston & Strawn earlier this month. The firm has appointed US M&A partner Paul Chen as its new head of corporate for Asia, with Chen relocating from DLA’s Silicon Valley office to Hong Kong in June.

Chen has previous experience in the role as he was Hong Kong managing partner for the now defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf. His experience includes advising corporates and private equity funds on a mix of transactions including M&A, capital raising, investments, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts and divestitures, with a particular focus on insurance clients.

Chen’s appointment follows on from DLA’s decision last year to boost the number of US partners in Asia. The firm set up a US-led, three-partner Asia management committee in December to develop more synergies between its US and Asia offices.

Meanwhile, US technology and life sciences firm Fenwick & West has opened a representative office in Shanghai. The office will be led by partner Eva Wang, who joined the firm last year, along with four associates. Wang’s clients include US and China-based venture capital funds that invest in China, emerging growth companies based in China and the US and public companies based in China and listed on the US and Hong Kong stock markets.

Wang’s pre-Fenwick & West experience includes acting as general counsel at Spreadtrum Communications during its initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock market in 2007.

‘In response to increasing work for technology and life sciences clients based in China as well as U.S. companies doing business in China, we’re making additional investments including recruiting lateral partner Eva Wang a year ago, and now, opening an office in Shanghai and expanding the team to 20 attorneys, including those who reside in the firm’s US offices,’ said Richard Dickson, chairman of the firm.

David.stevenson@legalease.co.uk