The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, tier 5

Allen & Overy’s broad and strong practice has had notable success in representing major PRC banks on outbound transactions, including major LNG deals in Australia, and mining deals in Indonesia and Mongolia. The firm has done well in ‘cracking China’ with much credit going to Joseph Tse, who ‘thinks outside the box’ and is regarded as a ‘finance guru’ and the ‘go-to person’ for PRC outbound and structured deals. Clients commend the team’s ‘industry knowledge’, ‘quality of advice’ and ‘international capabilities’. Other key members are Vicki Liu (‘very commercial’, ‘responsive’, ‘good at focusing on the key issues’), and Asia managing partner Thomas Brown. The loss of Ashley Young to Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is a blow to its leveraged finance credentials.

Within Capital markets (debt), tier 4

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP has entered the high-yield debt fray with the hire of John Otoshi from Latham & Watkins LLP.

Within Capital markets (equity), Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a third tier firm,

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.

Within Corporate (including M&A), tier 4

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP will be a major player on the strength of the recent recruitment of ‘good operator’ Nicholas Norris from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He is widely considered to be one of Hong Kong’s elite public M&A experts and has a good standing amongst Hong Kong regulators. With Dominic Tsun on the ECM side, the firm is poised to become a leading practice.

Within Investment funds, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘highly responsive’ team at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP demonstrates ‘strong commitment’, and is ‘one of the best’ firms specialising in private fund formation work in Asia. The team ‘understands the commercial realities of a fundraising project’ and has ‘significant depth’. The ‘highly effective’ Justin Dolling has ‘very good knowledge in the RMB-denominated funds area’ and a ‘strong technical grasp’. Dolling acted for OneGate Capital on the formation of its RMB3bn China growth equity fund. Albert Cho advised Hahn & Company on the formation of its Korea-focused buyout fund. Newly made up partner Christopher Braunack, (who has ‘solid and technical knowledge of the private equity market’), and associate Carol Liu are also recommended.

Within Legal market overview,

As one of the world’s premier financial centres, and arguably the most active at present, Hong Kong has become a market of intense focus for the international legal profession. While many local and international firms have increased their resources in the special administrative region (SAR), it is US firms that have surprised the market with a sequence of headline lateral hires. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy have all hired elite names, principally from the Magic Circle and elite UK-based firms.

Within Private equity, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a second tier firm,

The private equity practice was the foundation for Kirkland & Ellis International LLP’s newly enlarged Hong Kong platform. It has advised on a series of deals for key client Bain Capital and Silver Lake Partners in Asia. This includes Silver Lake’s investment in Nobao Renewable Energy and Bain’s acquisition of ASIMCO Technologies. David Eich is the principle partner, and the firm has made a sequence of lateral hires, including leveraged finance specialist Ashley Young from Allen & Overy.