The Legal 500

Rocked by the departure of heavy-hitters Christopher Wong and Ng Kay Ian, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will have to work especially hard to preserve its exalted reputation for equity capital markets (ECM). The transfer of senior figure Stephen Revell from the London office will help and he links up with China chairman and Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) veteran Teresa Ko (‘the best in Hong Kong’). US securities partner Calvin Lai is also highly recommended. The firm continues to haul in the landmark deals including advising Samsonite on its $1.25bn Hong Kong IPO. Grace Huang is regarded as a ‘cornerstone’ and ‘fantastic’ partner, being ‘very present on her deals’.

Herbert Smith retains an intense focus on ECM with a major share of landmark deals. In 2010, it advised the banks on the $19.21bn IPO by Agricultural Bank of China. The firm suffered the loss of key US securities partner and Hong Kong-qualified John Moore to Morrison & Foerster in 2011, yet much is expected of US partner and ‘rising star’ Melody Chen. ‘Outstanding’ Hong Kong partner Matt Emsley is recommended for his ‘knowledge’, ‘willingness to help’ and ‘access to senior regulators’. Tommy Tong is also recommended.

Though more selective in the IPO arena than some of its classic rivals, Linklaters has a ‘great team’, with the ‘best’ associates in town, and is still praised for its ‘experience’, ‘judgment’ and ‘responsiveness’. This includes a team led by Christopher Kelly advising the banks on the $21.9bn IPO of AIA in October 2010. The firm followed this up by advising Glencore on its dual-listing on the London and Hong Kong exchanges. It has suffered the departure of star partner Celia Lam to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Paul Chow to Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and the relocation of Teresa Ma to the firm’s Shanghai office.

Clifford Chance has ‘moved on a lot’, is frequently engaged in ‘top-quality deals’ and is a firm to ‘keep an eye on’. The firm has a good mix of issuer and bank instructions. Newly elected partner Virginia Lee led the team that advised the underwriters on Prada’s headline $2.1bn Hong Kong listing. Senior figures Amy Lo and Cherry Chan and US securities partner Crawford Brickley should take much of the credit for the practice’s ascending reputation.

Shearman & Sterling LLP now has one of the largest integrated Hong Kong and US law practices in the jurisdiction. The arrival of Chinese native partner Shuang Zhao, from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in August 2010, has also given the firm greater credibility with PRC issuers and underwriters. The firm recently represented the underwriters on Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development $1.7bn Hong Kong IPO and advised Midas Holdings on the first secondary listing of a Singapore-listed company on the Hong Kong exchange. US partner Matthew Bersani is one of the premier names in this sector, and has able support from Hong Kong partners Colin Law and Peter Chen.

Sidley Austin has a large and established team of Hong Kong and US securities lawyers. It has worked on a high volume of Hong Kong listings including several headline IPOs such as the Hong Kong listing by Goodbaby International Holdings. The firm is principally known for mid-market deals. Contance Choy, Timothy Li and Alexander Lloyd are recommended.

Though somewhat selective, Slaughter and May still does ‘some of the best deals in town’ with rivals having a lot of respect for Benita Yu in particular. Recent landmark deals include advising Prada on its much-awaited $2.14bn IPO on HKSE. Laurence Rudge is also recommended.

Allen & Overy has suffered from a lack of volume in recent years, but still has a hand in landmark deals such as the giant $22.1bn dual listing of Agricultural Bank of China in 2010; David Johnson and Mark Roppel were the lead partners. With the return of Chris Swift to the Hong Kong office, much more is expected from this department.

DLA Piper has an intense focus on PRC issuer clients and has had considerable success, thanks in large part to the efforts of well-connected PRC national Wei Liu. Its advice on Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology’s headline Hong Kong listing illustrates its ability to work on bulge bracket deals. The firm has also become a leading player in India, having worked on the giant Coal India IPO. The team is ‘responsive’ and ‘executes instructions expediently’, with the ‘highly professional’ Esther Leung and US partner Stephen Peepels highly regarded.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has an excellent record in SEC-registered deals in the US and with its new Hong Kong law team will inevitably gain a greater market share of Hong Kong IPOs. With the ‘practical’ Paul Chow, Bonnie Chan and Antony Dapiran having ‘blended in very well’, it now has a more than credible Hong Kong practice to work alongside its much feted US securities practice, which recently worked as US counsel to Prada on its Hong Kong IPO.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s ECM department is smaller than in its heyday, but it continues to work on a sizeable number of Hong Kong IPOs. Much of this is down to its bank-side relationships including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and UBS. The firm recently represented the underwriters on the global offering by Hosa International Limited. Hong Kong partner Victoria Lloyd and US securities partner Joshua Wechsler are the key names. Capital markets specialist Joshua Coleman was elevated to partner in September 2011.

Hogan Lovells is working with an ever greater number of key banks, including UBS, Deutsche Bank, Macquarie, DBS and Morgan Stanley, but has increasing proportion of issuer mandates. It naturally inhabits the mid-market space, with a notable record in real estate, technology, natural resources and infrastructure. Clients highlight the firm’s willingness to ‘devote resources’ to a transaction including ‘partner time’. Key partners include the prominent Jamie Barr and Terence Lau, who is ‘very responsive’ and ‘hands-on’.

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP made a stunning entry to the market in August 2011, with a sequence of lateral hires including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s Li-Chien Wong and preeminent IPO specialist Dominic Tsun, who is ‘very experienced’, ‘fast with good ideas’, and ‘has good relationships and communicates very well with regulators’. They were joined by former Latham & Watkins LLP partner David Zhang, who has a wealth of experience in SEC-registered US listings by Chinese companies.

Latham & Watkins LLP has a fine mix of both issuer and underwriter representations. With six Hong Kong corporate partners, it is not without firepower and while it covers most industries, it has a particularly strong record in the financial institutions space. Recent highlights include advising the underwriters on the $8.9bn rights offering of Bank of China. Clients commend the team’s ‘outstanding language capabilities’ which enable it to ‘work well with local Chinese clients’. Stanley Chow and Michael Liu are the senior partners. The loss of David Zhang to Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is a big blow to its ability to do SEC-registered deals.

Dramatically enhanced by the arrival of senior US securities partner John Moore from Herbert Smith, Morrison & Foerster will have even greater credibility amongst ‘tier one’ investment banks. Clients highlight Moore’s abilities in ‘sticky situations’, especially in dealings with the regulators, and to ‘bridge the US and Hong Kong law issues nicely’. Historically, the firm has done well out of its standing amongst second tier banks such as BNP Paribas. It has excellent connections with mainland China and has an impressive flow of mid-market deals. Hong Kong partner Ven Tan has an excellent reputation.

Though with a principle focus on the PRC market, Norton Rose Hong Kong has had considerable success in acting for non-Asian companies looking to list in Hong Kong. In 2010, Julian Chung led the team that advised Vale on its secondary listing on HKSE. The firm has developed a leading reputation in mining deals and with eight partners working on Hong Kong IPOs, it has unrivalled senior resources.

With an immense volume of IPO instructions, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has a ‘good team’ consisting of ‘solid associates’ that are ‘very familiar with the requirements of PRC clients coming to market’, enabling the firm to ‘significantly increase its market share over the last couple of years’. The ‘very commercial’ Edwin Luk is an eminent figure, while the recent arrival of William Woo from Latham & Watkins LLP gives the firm additional credibility with underwriters. In March 2011, the firm advised China Hongqiao Group on its HK$6.37bn ($822m) IPO on HKSE, including a Rule 144A/Regulation S placement.

Paul Hastings LLP has made dramatic headway over the last three years, having hired Sammy Li (‘rich experience’, ‘sound judgment’) from Morgan Stanley and Steven Winegar from Goldman Sachs, and it now represents a number of major underwriters. With PRC national Raymond Li also having an integral role in mainland China, the team is commended for its ‘knowledge’ and ‘experience’. Key recent deals include China Rongsheng Heavy Industries’ $1.8bn Hong Kong IPO and Goodbaby International’s $217m listing.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP took dramatic strides forward in 2010, by hiring Christopher Wong and Celia Lam from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters respectively to establish a Hong Kong law practice. Alongside eminent US partner Leiming Chen, this is a team to be reckoned with. Historically, the firm has concentrated on SEC registered listings by PRC corporates and has an impressive market share of these deals.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was widely regarded as perhaps the leading firm on Hong Kong IPOs until the shock departure of preeminent figure Dominic Tsun and Li-Chien Wong to Kirkland & Ellis International LLP in 2011. The firm does retain tremendous US securities expertise. Indeed Julie Gao’s prevalence on US listings by PRC companies is definitely worthy of note.

Ashurst Hong Kong in association with Jackson Woo & Associates has done well out of its blossoming connections to major investment banks, with a principle focus on mid-market deals emanating out of China. Beyond this, the Hong Kong team advised the banks on Coal India’s Bombay Stock Exchange listing, the largest ever IPO in India. US partner Stuart Rubin led on the deal.

Baker & McKenzie has a historically potent practice, acting for major PRC issuers. It continues to be active in connection with large rights issues on behalf of clients such as Bank of China and Bank of Communications. Elsa Chan heads the securities practice in Hong Kong, while CY Leung retired in July 2011.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is on an upward trajectory with the establishment of a Hong Kong law team, including the arrival of Freeman Chan from Norton Rose Hong Kong. He links up with eminent figure and Asia stalwart Clayton Johnson.

Deacons does well out of advising second tier underwriters such as BNP Paribas and its large market share of mid-market deals. Much credit should go to the immensely industrious Ronny Chow. Chow and Sabrina Fung are regarded as ‘experienced securities lawyers’, who are ‘familiar with private, public securities transactions and Hong Kong law’. The firm recently advised PRC real estate developer Top Spring International on its $200m global offering.

Despite the recent departure of a team to Minter Ellison and the loss of Virginia Tam to White & Case, Jones Day retains a flourishing capital markets practice in Hong Kong, that has built on its ‘great India experience’, and has now reaped the rewards of its greater emphasis on the PRC. In June 2011, it advised Chinese mining company Newton Resources on its $350m Hong Kong IPO. US securities partners Jeffrey Maddox (‘sensible’, ‘diligent’, ‘experienced’) and David Neuville have an excellent standing alongside new Hong Kong partner Joseph Lee.

Mallesons Stephen Jaques is noted for its prominence in mid-market deals, with particular strength in energy and resources transactions. It recently acted for Mongolian Mining Corporation on its listing. Larry Kwok and Conrad Chan are the principle partners following the departure of Dieter Yih to Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

In keeping with its expanding team, Mayer Brown JSM is gaining further exposure to headline deals including advising Hang Lung Properties on its HK$11bn equity fund raising, the largest ever follow-on offering by a Hong Kong issuer. Jeckle Chiu led on the deal.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy’s hire of seasoned IPO expert Dieter Yih from Mallesons Stephen Jaques now enables the firm to work on the Hong Kong law elements of the many high-value and headline global offerings that it is instructed on. Yih’s American colleagues could not be any more reputable than Anthony Root and Joshua Zimmerman.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP has an excellent record in US listings by PRC corporates. The firm has also increased its profile in Hong Kong listings, now with more regular instructions and referrals from major bulge-bracket banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and Morgan Stanley. The firm naturally inhabits the mid-cap market and is particularly active in the natural resources, healthcare and technology sectors. Gordon Ng is the lead partner.

Reed Smith Richards Butler has a long and prestigious record in mid-market Hong Kong listings with Graham Winter, Christopher Williams, Delpha Ho and Denise Jong to the fore. Crucially, it now has in-house US securities expertise in Hong Kong through Ronald Francis.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is recommended for US listings by PRC companies and for high-value Hong Kong offerings. The new Hong Kong law capability, including the arrival of high-profile figure Ng Kay Ian from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer gives the firm real credibility on Hong Kong IPOs. The firm is building on 2010, when William Chua led the team that advised the underwriters on the giant $20.5bn global offering by AIA Group.

Boutique firm Chiu & Partners is renowned for its impressive volume of mid-market Hong Kong listings with the experienced Leo Chiu a prominent figure.

Minter Ellison’s Anne Ko, Katherine U and Barbara Mok have a strong record in the ECM sector, with a focus on mid-market deals in the $50 to $100m range. The firm represents both issuers and underwriters.

Stephenson Harwood is focused on mid-market deals. In 2010, it advised Global Dairy Holdings Limited on its HK$1.58bn Hong Kong offering. Voon Keat Lai and Hilda Chiu are the lead partners.

Troutman Sanders LLP is known for mid-market IPOS, with Olivia Lee and Joe Sevack covering the Hong Kong and US elements respectively. With an even split between underwriter and issuer instructions, the firm has had notable success in acting for PRC banks.

With a prestigious portfolio of Hong Kong-listed clients, Woo Kwan Lee & Lo maintains an active ECM practice, acting as issuer’s counsel on the major Hong Kong offering of Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust. Angelina Lee, Frank Yuen and Carmelo Lee are recommended.