Dispute resolution: Litigation: foreign firms in China

An international full-service law firm, Clifford Chance LLP’s onshore practice is the culmination of decades of experience in the region. The team is led by mainland-based Lei Shi and Hong Kong-based Ling Ho and handles a broad range of commercial disputes. Shi has legal qualifications in Hong Kong, New York and on the mainland; associate Nathan Zhou is likewise qualified both in New York and on the mainland, supporting the global nature of the firm’s business. Shi, Ho, and Zhao handle a wide variety of international financial, fraud, trademark and competition disputes; consultant William Wong is highly regarded in the field of financial disputes.

DLA Piper’s position as a global full-service law firm enables its offshore office in Hong Kong, led by Kevin Chan and supplemented by on the ground experts in Shanghai and Beijing, to engage in highly complex, multijurisdictional litigation. Chan represented Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Chow Sang Sang Securities in the recovery of defaulted loans valued at HK$1.5bn and HK$722m respectively. Satpal Gobindpuri is well versed in commercial litigation and disputes in the insurance sector. Harris Chan has experience dealing with cases ranging from corporate restructuring to disputes over high net-worth estates. Xiaoshan Chen is also highly regarded.

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP’s team, co-led by Kelly Naphtali, Tiana Zhang and Cori Lable, is primarily split between Hong Kong and Shanghai, although some members are based in the US, enabling multi-jurisdictional expertise at all stages of the litigation process. Zhang along with Yue Qiu and Jodi Wu are highly knowledgeable of multi-jurisdictional patent litigation. Zhang, as well as Los Angeles-based Yi-Chin Ho, is also well-versed in cases pertaining to corruption. Naphtali, Paul Quinn, Amy Ngan, Fergus Saurin and Richard Sharpe all have extensive experience concerning disputes regarding accusations of negligence in liquidations across multiple jurisdictions. In 2020, David Harrington, previously of MinterEllisonRuddWatts, joined as a partner whilst Saurin and Qiu were both promoted to the partnership. Tarun Warriar departed to Varde Partners.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s Hong Kong-based team, led by Camille Jojo, works across jurisdictions in high profile commercial litigation, IP litigation, fraud including cyber fraud disputes. Jojo and associate Daniel Ng have collaborated on numerous projects ranging from debt recovery, to the management of estates.  Recently-promoted partner Kevin Hong and Alfred Wu   are also key names to note. Wu has also worked extensively with Hong and associate Anita Fong on cases regarding breach of contract. Philip Nunn is also well regarded.

With a central Greater China team led by Hui Xu and supported by Asia-wide litigators as part of the firm’s OneAsia strategy, Latham & Watkins LLP hosts extensive professional expertise in resolving multi-jurisdictional disputes within the region. Xu is experienced in a wide variety of geopolitically sensitive trade disputes and has worked both with Catherine McBride and with Ing Loong Yang when advising on fraud investigations. Both Xu and McBride have conducted a number of internal investigations for clients; McBride and Yang are highly experienced in handling contract violations disputes. Catherine Palmer retired. Since publication, the team saw the arrival of Dominic Geiser who joined from Herbert Smith Freehills in August 2o22.

Morrison Foerster’s China practice is based in Hong Kong and led by managing partner Timothy Blakely; it covers a wide range of corporate and commercial disputes across sectors and jurisdictions. Blakelyregularly works with of counsel Jessica Chan on shareholder disputes, fraud allegations and disputes arising from real estate investment. Chen Zhu joined from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in 2020, and excels in securities fraud, compliance and anti-corruption matters.

Stephenson Harwood’s Hong Kong-based team, led by Ivan Ng, is well versed in handling multi-jurisdictional IP, construction and financial disputes for high-value clients across a range of sectors. The team is particularly strong in handling litigations involving international trade finance and PRC elements, and is recommended for representing PRC clients in large cross-border disputes, particularly shareholders disputes (in which Ng and senior associate Emily Li is a key name to note). The firm also has an association with Chinese law firm Wei Tu Law Firm in Guangzhou, enabling it to advise on both Hong Kong and PRC law. Greater China managing partner Jamie Stranger focuses on corporate insolvency, commercial litigation, fraud and professional liability.

Co-led by Hong Kong-based Melody Chan and Bingna Guo who splits her time between Beijing and Shanghai, White & Case LLP  demonstrates its expertise in contentious matters, as well as advising on transaction-related disputes. The team has established a highly regarded practice representing Chinese banks and financial institutions on contentious debt recovery and restructurings. Demonstrating this, it recently successfully represented Chinese lenders recovering loans made to the troubled Reliance Communications group, one of the largest conglomerates in India. Complementing its litigation practice, the broader dispute resolution team also regularly handles international arbitration, white collar and regulatory matters, and governmental investigations in China. Its recent caseload also features inbound and outbound cases arising from corporate and finance transactions.