Firm completes Beijing merger, plans Shanghai return in 2017
Fieldfisher re-established its China practice in November by merging with 12-partner Beijing firm JS Partners in a combination that operates under a Swiss Verein structure.
The merger replaces Fieldfisher’s previous relationship with Shanghai-based Ryser & Associates, which had operated since 2013 but ended ‘by mutual consent’ earlier this year.
To cement the deal, JS Partners has changed its name to FeiShi and adopted the Fieldfisher brand, which the City firm’s managing partner Michael Chissick said is something Fieldfisher didn’t do with Ryser, but will help the combination succeed this time around.
Chissick said: ‘The combination with Ryser was our first foothold into China and we learnt a few lessons from that. It wasn’t quite delivering in terms of where the firm was going; it was just in Shanghai and it was Fieldfisher Ryser – a different proposition. This is Fieldfisher China. There’s no other branding and it is a different size office, with a different business plan.’
He added: ‘We are a different firm from four years ago. We took some of the learning that we got from our initial venture, which wasn’t really growing the way we were in Europe, and felt we should be in China again given the market opportunity.’
‘We learnt from our initial venture, which wasn’t growing the way we were in Europe, and felt we should be in China again given the market opportunity.’
Michael Chissick, Fieldfisher
Fieldfisher’s Beijing office now includes corporate, litigation, inward investment, employment, tax, arbitration and anti-bribery teams, with all of its Chinese lawyers qualified in either the UK or the US. Chissick added the deal gives Fieldfisher a unique opportunity to stand alongside Dentons and King & Wood Mallesons in the Chinese market.
‘What we’re doing is very different to many other law firms, which go to China to open up their own offices there but cannot do Chinese legal work. They act as intermediaries and outsource the work to local firms, as given the high regulation they are not actually authorised to appear in front of Chinese courts. China is the second-largest economy and will become the largest in the next few years. The legal industry in China is still in its infancy, but the opportunity is huge and we are now trying to tap into the wave of Chinese companies that are coming into Europe.’
Chissick expects rapid growth in the country, aiming to be in Shanghai and Chengdu in 2017. The firm also aims to open offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Amsterdam next year.
georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk