Seven years ago, a seven-partner team of Hong Kong corporate lawyers from Allen & Overy (A&O) shocked the local market when they moved to US outfit Latham & Watkins. Their exit, at that time considered among the most dramatic departures ever seen from the foreign network of a magic circle firm, marked the start of a new trend in Asia. As was already the case in London, Hong Kong partners at UK firms were growing increasingly susceptible to the advances of their US rivals, and could be lured in groups.
In January this year a significant portion of that team made the move to Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft – a smaller but still prestigious US outfit, albeit one with traditionally a far more conservative approach to international expansion. Coming as Fried Frank made the decision to pull the plug on its Asia operations, the move highlighted the different approaches US firms are taking to investing in the overcrowded, competitive and price sensitive market.
