The Legal 500

Morrison & Foerster excel in advising on technology matters, where Japan is a key Asian market for the team of Nigel Stamp and Gordon Milner. It advised a Japanese investment house on technology matters in the APAC region, and on an IT outsourcing project to China. NetEase.com instructed the practice on its licensing and operation of the “World of Warcraft” online game, including PRC telecoms regulatory advice and the outsourcing of $100m data centre arrangements. Metro International, Dell China, Goldman Sachs and Nomura are on the impressive client roster.

Bird & Bird are an ‘obvious choice’ in the TMT arena, and dedicated technology specialist Marcus Vass, who gets ‘a fair bit’ of the market share, draws on the additional resource Grace Cheng in the Beijing office. TeliaSonera International Carrier were advised on telecommunication regulation issues, and the team acted for Liz Claiborne and its affiliates on a major outsourcing operation.

DLA Piper operates a combined TMT/IP practice, and clients rate co-heads of the team, Gigi Cheah and Justin Davidson, as ‘top’. The team covers a broad range of matters, recently a major IT outsourcing project and advice on telecommunications licence requirements. Symantec, GE Money, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Accenture and Boeing are clients of the team, that has been strengthened by the arrival of telecoms specialist David Olds.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer receives praise for Connie Carnabuci who is a ‘very able lawyer with sterling clients’. Clients rate her as ‘among the best in the market’, acting for Hutchison Telephone and Hong Kong CSL in a dispute involving a contested competition appeal in Hong Kong. The transaction-focused practice often is instructed on major deals, among them the advice to Nomura on the separation and integration aspects of its Lehman Brothers acquisition in Asia.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison traditionally enjoys a good reputation for telecoms transactions, but recently gained recognition in the media arena as well. The corporate driven practice has a ‘fantastic stable of clients’, and the team, led by the regarded Jeanette Chan, closely interacts with the firm’s China offering. Recent highlights include the advice to MIH China on an equity investment in a joint venture company with ADPG Media Group, and to Hutchison on the sale of its stake in Hutchison Essar to Vodafone.

Simmons & Simmons is known for the transactional advice given to major telecommunications companies, and the ‘highly responsive’ team ‘does not make a mountain out of a molehill’. Damien Bailey’s clients find ‘it is a huge comfort to know he is available’. Bailey advised PCCW on the sale of the Indian assets of Reach, and acts for China Telecom on all aspects of its non-PRC operations. Jodie Coutts left, to take up an in-house role.

Allen & Overy are known for their PRC work, where the team focuses on transaction related advice. Head of practice Will McAuliffe returned to Hong Kong from the Beijing office, and advised Macquarie Media on the sale of its 60% interest in Taiwan Broadband Communications. In another highlight, the team acted for the seller on a 47.58% indirect interest sale in Asia Television to Antenna.

Baker & McKenzie focuses on cross-border transactions and venture work. The team, headed by Nancy Leigh, has seen an increase in outsourcing and privacy work, and acted for China Network Communications and its subsidiary China Netcom on the proposed privatisation of PCCW. SK Telecom continues to instruct the practice, and AT&T is a client in outsourcing matters.

Clifford Chance focuses on telecoms transactional advice, with one highlight being the advice on a China-related merger and restructuring matter in the telecommunications industry. Corporate partner Cherry Chan is now one of the main pillars of the practice that suffered a major blow when Alison Lindsay left in June 2009, and it remains to be seen how the team manages to cope with the loss.

Herbert Smith can rely on a strong corporate client base, and built up significant expertise in the telecoms sector. Head of team Michelle Chan has been promoted to partner and works closely with Karen Yip in the Beijing office. The team advised TPG on its proposed acquisition of 45% interest in Hong Kong Telecom, and Fujitsu in relation to network procurement and maintenance arrangements in Asia. Telecoms disputes expert Stephen Crosswell is a consultant to the team.

Lovells has seen a growth in data protection and regulatory matters, and the team, closely linked to the firm’s highly praised IP department, displays a broad geographical and technical reach. Head of team Gabriela Kennedy advised clients such as Prudential, ExxonMobil, Anheuser-Busch, Alibaba, Deutsche Telekom and Oceanspray on domain name matters.

Pinsent Masons’ team, led by respected practitioner Peter Bullock, displays a ‘high level of knowledge’, drawing on the firm’s global resources. Technology importation has been a recent focus, and the team acted on claims arising out of delays in the delivery of a mobile network across Indonesia, also advising on a series of data centre outsources to banking and telecoms sector clients in Hong Kong. Clients praise the ‘excellent response times’.