Law Firms

Reed Smith has hired a two-partner team from the Beijing office of legacy US firm Dewey Ballantine.

Corporate partners Sharon Mann and Hugh Scogin, along with one counsel and five associates and consultants, will join Reed Smith after formerly having worked with Dewey Ballantine in Beijing.

The team was part of the Beijing office of Dewey Ballantine but were not part of the New York firm’s union with LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae, which went live on 1 January. The combined Dewey & LeBoeuf has a Beijing practice from the legacy LeBoeuf.

Mann’s focus is on Chinese investment, capital markets and trade issues. She has spent 15 years in the region practising as a lawyer and working for the US Embassy.

Scogin focuses on investment, M&A, corporate transactions and dispute resolution, having advised on Chinese business matters for more than 20 years. Before joining Dewey Ballantine he was a partner in the China practice at the now-defunct Coudert Brothers, based in Beijing and Shanghai. Michael Dardzinski is joining as corporate counsel.

The team joins after Reed Smith last September secured its long-awaited Asia launch after signing a merger deal with the respected Hong Kong and Beijing arm of its London merger partner Richards Butler.

Richards Butler’s London practice, which was financially separate from the 28-partner Hong Kong and China arm, had already merged with Reed Smith in 2007.

“Bringing this group to Reed Smith is a unique opportunity for the firm to move forward quickly with our planned expansion in China,” said Reed Smith managing partner Gregory Jordan.

“We are already seeing a significant number of requests from clients for services in China in the areas of acquisitions, joint ventures and other types of investments in China,” he added.

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