The Legal 500

Within Asset finance, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM continues to maintain a leading practice, and has a top reputation for aviation and ship finance work. Alastair MacAulay is noted for his longstanding experience, and recently advised ICBC Financial Leasing Company on its first cross-border vessel leasing transaction (worth $150m) to finance a 13,100 TEU container vessel. The ‘very good’ Richard Stock has aviation expertise, and advises on export credit-supported financings, aircraft-secured loans and hire purchase arrangements. Clients include Cathay Pacific, Bank of China and Mitsui OSK Lines.

Within Banking and finance, Mayer Brown is a third tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM is principally known for its real estate and asset finance work. It still maintains a close connection to cornerstone client HSBC, but it has diversified its client portfolio, with particular success in representing the major PRC banks. In this regard, Joe Tam is becoming a recognised name for PRC financings.

Within Capital markets (debt), tier 4

Mayer Brown JSM’s Jason Elder is recommended for high-yield debt and links into the firm’s broader DCM and strong structured finance practice.

Within Capital markets (equity), tier 4

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.

Within Construction, Mayer Brown is a third tier firm,

In 2010, Mayer Brown JSM saw the departure of Nick Longley to Holman Fenwick Willan. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong group is praised as an ‘excellent team, with depth in all areas of construction’. David Boyle and Menachem Hasofer are ‘real experts in construction law’, and Geoffrey Chan delivers ‘sound advice’. Recent work includes acting for Wynn Resorts Macau on issues relating to its Cotai Resort Project.

Within Corporate (including M&A), Mayer Brown is a third tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM still benefits from its connections to many of Hong Kong’s blue-chip corporates. In 2010, it represented Li & Fung in connection with its proposed acquisition of Integrated Distribution Services by way of scheme of arrangement. The firm is also active in relation to cross-border deals involving US entities, including advising ACE Limited on its $425m acquisition of the Hong Kong and Korean life insurance operations of New York Life.

Within Dispute resolution, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

Acting for ‘all the blue-blooded clients in town’, such as Li & Fung and Cathay Pacific, Mayer Brown JSM has a formidable record in banking cases, contentious insolvency, medical negligence, shareholder disputes and judicial review cases. In relation to judicial review, the firm acts for all the major statutory bodies in Hong Kong. The department is ‘commercial’, ‘prudent’ and ‘extremely helpful’. ‘Heavy hitter’ Nicholas Hunsworth is still a go-to name for ‘big disputes’, while department head Thomas So is ‘responsive’, ‘practical’, ‘a superb adviser’ and ‘sees the bigger picture’.

Within Employment, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM’s ‘very responsive and commercial’ employment and benefits practice handles all forms of employment and HR-related matters including contentious, transactional and strategic employment issues. The two-partner team continues to advise longstanding client Cathay Pacific Airways on a number of headline cases, and is also representing Bank of America Merrill Lynch on a claim by a former employee for breach of implied contract terms and unlawful discrimination. Duncan Abate is ‘pragmatic, commercial and understands his client’s business culture’.

Within Insurance, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM is rated for its ‘professional, efficient and pragmatic approach’ and for ‘preserving clients’ reputations’. It is particularly known on the contentious side, where the ‘very professional’ Angela Yim, who is ‘good at handling complicated cases’, is singled out. The highly recommended Tow Lu Lim advises on professional indemnity and D&O claims, and recently assisted Chartis Insurance Hong Kong in this respect. Jacob Tse handles cases of medical malpractice, and counts the Hospital Authority as a key client.

Within Intellectual property, Mayer Brown is a second tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM has a broad practice in Hong Kong, highly regarded for filing and IP litigation. Kenny Wong handles both commercial and contentious IP, but also has niche expertise in the entertainment sector; while Benjamin Choi, who was recently promoted to partner, handles trade mark and enforcement work for clients such as Sevens Town (the owner of the Rubik’s Cube), Shell, and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Within Projects and energy, tier 4

Mayer Brown JSM’s projects capability decreased significantly in Hong Kong with the departure of Jack Su. The practice is now led by Xiang Yang Ge in the Beijing office, and the Vietnam-based Dao Nguyen.

Within Real estate, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM has a sizeable real estate team, well equipped to handle all manner of property-related transactions. The group recently acted for Swire Properties in the purchase and partial sale of the PCCW Tower in Quarry Bay and advised CSI Properties in the partial sale of Hong Kong’s AXA Centre. Andrew MacGeoch is recommended for hospitality and leisure-related developments, and Keith Cheung is skilled in real estate finance matters. Other clients of the firm include Kerry Properties, Citigroup Property Investors and ING Real Estate Investment Management.

Within Regulatory, tier 4

Mayer Brown JSM advises financial institutions on banking and securities regulation and licensing issues. The team has experience advising on the regulation of retail investment products, insurance-linked and structured products. Sara Or assists in data protection and privacy work, and is advising The Hong Kong Association of Banks on a personal data ordinance review. Litigator Nicholas Hunsworth acts in contentious regulatory cases.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Mayer Brown is a first tier firm,

At Mayer Brown JSM, the team continues to advise KPMG as liquidators of the nine Asia-based Lehman Brothers entities. It is also assisting Avenue Asia Group in the reorganisation and restructuring of Thai-listed telephone company, TT&T. With a ‘wealth of experience’, Steven Miller heads up the restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency group in Asia. John Marsden is advising Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia on the cross-border restructuring of First Mobile Group Holdings. Current clients include Bangkok Bank, Deloitte, PwC and HSBC.

Within Shipping, Mayer Brown is a second tier firm,

Well known in Hong Kong for its ship finance capabilities, Mayer Brown JSM acts for major financial institutions including Bank of China, Citibank and HSBC. The firm also handles ship-related M&A transactions, mortgage enforcement issues and contract disputes, and recently represented ICBC Financial Leasing in its first cross-border vessel leasing transaction relating to a 13,100 TEU container vessel, currently under construction. Alastair MacAulay is highly regarded.

Within Structured finance and securitisation, Mayer Brown is a second tier firm,

Mayer Brown JSM has a ‘strong structured finance practice’. Jeffrey Chen handles securitisation matters, advising clients on various structured products. In 2010, Ben Sandstad joined from Clayton Utz in Sydney, bringing substantial experience in securitisations, structured finance and derivatives instruments to the team.

Within TMT, Mayer Brown is a third tier firm,

Well known for technology and outsourcing matters, Mayer Brown JSM’s three-partner TMT practice is going from strength to strength. Work highlights included advising Hong Kong Hospital Authority on the creation and implementation of a centralised system for holding patient health records for use by public and private providers; this HK$700m project is one of the largest public sector IT projects in the region.