Fresh on the heels of opening its fourth office in Mainland China, international law firm Clyde & Co is now “actively engaged with evaluating opportunities across the region” according to Ik Wei Chong, a partner and the chief representative of Clyde & Co’s Shanghai office. Mr Chong told me of Clyde & Co’s plans in an exchange of emails between us subsequent to the firms announcement of their new presence in Chongqing (a joint venture with Westlink Partnership). Therese Gallenero, Marketing Executive at Clyde & Co’s Singapore office told me, also in an email exchange that: “The JLV is the first formally approved Joint Law Venture with an international law firm in Southwest China”
Mr Chong outlined that “Clyde & Co’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region over the last two years has included new offices in Sydney, Perth, and Beijing, joint ventures in Chongqing and Singapore, and associations with Indonesian and Mongolian firms.” While Mr Chong did not reveal an interest in any specific location in the region, Clyde & Co does not yet operate in the newly liberalized legal markets of Malaysia and Korea. Both markets have attracted significant interest from foreign law firms recently.
Chongqing: The rationale
Clyde & Co corporate partner Michael Cripps explained the firms rationale for selecting Chongqing as the location for its next China office in the firms formal announcement: “Southwest China’s economic growth in 2012 was estimated at between 12-14%, while almost half of Fortune 500 companies have established substantial operations in Southwest China. Chongqing is the beachhead for the development of Western China”
As the firm outlined in the same announcement: “Clyde & Co Westlink JLV will service local, inbound and outbound clients and trade-flows, and draws together Clyde & Co’s international expertise with the full domestic China law capability of Westlink Partnership. The establishment of the JLV will enable more effective servicing of international clients with Chinese interests, and will act as a hub for foreign direct investment, advisory and employment work in relation to Western China. For Chinese and in-region clients, the JLV will act as a hub for outbound investment and dispute resolution services.”
“We are…one of a handful with 4 offices in Greater China (including Hong Kong) – this extensive China coverage is unrivalled and should see us offering seamless legal services to our Chinese and international client base” Chong explained via email.
Asia legal market growth a major attraction for international law firms
As was outlined earlier this year in Seoul at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association’s Annual Conference — the regions legal market is the fastest growing legal market in the world. While at the same time — many local markets within the region are liberalizing restrictions to access their markets for foreign law firms. These two factors along with overall economic growth in many countries in the region in double digits – has created a near perfect storm for international law firm growth. With this in mind, time will tell as to which markets Clyde & Co will focus on next.
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