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K&L Gates Boosts Hong Kong Office With Two New Partners

K&L Gates has added two new partners to its Hong Kong office.

David Johnson and Samuel Ngo are joining the U.S. firm from the local offices of Allen & Overy and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, respectively.

Johnson advises Asian companies, sovereigns, issuers and underwriters on variety of capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions. In 2010, he was one of the partners that led the representation of the underwriters in the $19 billion initial public offering of Agricultural Bank of China. He joined Allen & Overy in 2001 from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Ngo is a litigator who typically represents China- and Hong Kong-listed companies on disputes relating to insolvency, insurance, and construction. He joined Orrick as an of counsel in 2010 and became a partner the following year. Previously, he worked in Hong Kong for Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Simmons & Simmons; and Deacons.

Including Johnson and Ngo, K&L Gates has 22 lawyers in Hong Kong. The Pittsburgh-based firm has more than 1,700 lawyers working across 47 offices.

Freshfields Boosts Hong Kong With Orrick Hire

By Jessica Seah All Articles 

The Asian Lawyer

January 15, 2013

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has recruited a Hong Kong corporate partner from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

William Woo focuses on capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions, frequently representing Chinese companies or their financial advisers. In 2010, he acted for a seven-bank consortium of underwriters in an $8.9 billion rights offering by Bank of China Ltd. The same year Woo also advised JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. and ICBC International as underwriters on the $223 million Hong Kong initial public offering of Chinese solar cell maker Trony Solar Holdings Co. Ltd.

He joined Orrick in 2011 as partner from Latham & Watkins, where he came on board in 2009 as part of a group defection from Allen & Overy led by current Latham Hong Kong managing partner Michael Liu. He had worked at Allen & Overy since 1997, becoming a partner in 2008.

Freshfields has more than 100 lawyers in its Hong Kong office, 18 of them partners. The British firm has more than 2,500 lawyers worldwide.

Ashurst Boosts Asia Disputes With Herbert Smith Hires

By Jessica Seah All Articles 

The Asian Lawyer

December 10, 2012

Ashurst has added two new partners to its disputes practice in Asia.

Robert Palmer and Christopher Bailey are both joining Ashurst from Herbert Smith Freehills, where they were respectively an of counsel in Singapore and a consultant in Bangkok.

The two will both join the firm's Singapore office initially, though Bailey will later relocate to Tokyo.

Palmer specializes in international arbitration work related to energy and infrastructure sectors. Bailey, who will become Ashurst's first disputes partner in Tokyo, will focus on advising Japanese clients on their overseas disputes. Before transferring to Bangkok last year, Bailey had worked in Herbert Smith's Tokyo office for five years, including a period of secondment to a Japanese trading house.

According to its website, London-based Ashurst has 19 lawyers in its Tokyo office and 16 lawyers in Singapore. With its merger earlier this year with Australia's Blake Dawson, Ashurst has more than 1,700 lawyers worldwide.