Elite New York firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has launched its first office in mainland China with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer China head Douglas Markel.
The firm announced yesterday (26 April) that it is to open a seven-lawyer office in Beijing which will focus on M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions.
Corporate partner Markel, who has been practising in Beijing for 16 years and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, will head the office. In addition, Chris Lin, one of the Manhattan firm’s senior partners in the region, will transfer from Hong Kong over to Beijing, giving the firm two partners on the mainland.
Simpson Thacher now has 45 lawyers practicing Asia in its Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo office. Headline mandates the firm has bagged in Asia include representing China Life Insurance, China’s largest insurer, in a consortium to acquire Guangdong Development Bank for $3.1bn (£1.5bn).
