K&L Gates > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Firm Profile

K&L Gates Offices

K&L Gates
44TH FLOOR, EDINBURGH TOWER, THE LANDMARK
15 QUEEN'S ROAD CENTRAL
HONG KONG
Hong Kong
Visit website 852 2511 5100 852 2511 9515

K&L Gates > The Legal 500 Rankings

Hong Kong > Investment funds Tier 2

Combining ‘nimble and innovative thinking with big international firm resourcing’, K&L Gates ‘excels at providing out-of-the-box solutions’ to private equity and hedge fund managers seeking to make cross-border investments throughout APAC. US and Hong Kong-qualified team head Scott Peterman is a popular choice among private fund sponsors and investors as a result of his ‘incredibly well-rounded knowledge base and skill set’, enabling him to provide ‘innovative and bespoke solutions’ on formation, compliance and associated transactional/financing work.

Practice head(s):

Scott Peterman

Other key lawyers:

Sook Young Yeu; Choo Lye Tan; Chloe Duan; Anson Chan

Testimonials

‘K&L Gates combines nimble and innovative thinking with big international firm resourcing.’

‘The funds practice excels at providing out-of-the-box solutions but can call upon the expertise, experience and resources of a global practice at a moment’s notice.’

‘Scott Peterman stands out as the elder statesman of funds lawyers in Asia. His legal experience, coupled with his in-depth understanding of financial products allows him to deploy a unique approach to problem-solving, providing innovative and bespoke solutions across hedge funds, PE funds, and related financing and M&A transactions.’

‘Scott Peterman is one of the few lawyers in the space that has the ability to be a truly trusted adviser because of his incredibly well-rounded knowledge base and skill set.’

Key clients

Aqua Lake

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Brawn Capital

China Silver Asset Management

Federated Hermes, Inc.

Inception Asia

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Group

Oakseed Ventures

RiverCircle OFC

Synergy Fund Management Group

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Technistock

VCA Capital

Work highlights

  • Advises The Hong Kong Jockey Club and Its Charities Trust (an institutional investor) on an on-going basis on its investments into a variety of private fund.
  • Providing regulatory support to Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Group in connection with new initiatives to be undertaken by them. We also review all private funds placed on their Hong Kong and Singapore high-net-worth platforms.
  • Advised Brawn Capital in the launch of a private equity energy fund investing in green assets in Japan.

Hong Kong > Construction Tier 3

Led by Christopher Tung , the ‘very hardworking but personable’ team at K&L Gates is ‘very knowledgeable in the field of construction law’, and excels in providing a ‘commercial solution’ across a range of disputes, as well as in a risk management context.

Practice head(s):

Christopher Tung

Other key lawyers:

Sacha Cheong

Testimonials

‘The team is very hard working but personable. They are also very knowledgeable in the field of construction law and excellent at finding a commercial solution when one is available.’

‘Chris Tung is very personable and works very hard for his clients. He also has a very good ‘commercial nose’.

Key clients

Incorporated Owners of Morengo Court

Work highlights

  • Acting for the incorporated owners of a residential building who are involved in a dispute with adjacent building incorporated owners.

Hong Kong > Corporate (including M&A) Tier 5

Praised for their ‘good expertise and knowledge’, the team at K&L Gates acts for a variety of clients, including start-ups, SOEs and venture backed companies. Working from both the Beijing and Hong Kong offices, practice head Frank Voon has a great deal of experience in assisting financial institutions and global funds on transactional issues across the energy, logistics, and pharmaceutical industries. Virginia Tam is commended for her deep knowledge surrounding joint ventures, capital markets exits, and pre-IPO investments. Amigo Xie is noted for his expertise in PRC law related issues concerning commercial arrangements, while William Ho, hailed as an ‘excellent lawyer all round’, regularly advises technology companies on capital raisings.

Practice head(s):

Frank Voon

Other key lawyers:

Virginia Tam; Amigo Xie; William Ho; Elsa Mak

Testimonials

‘Good expertise and knowledge about our industry, prompt response, great attention to detail.’

‘William Ho has in-depth expertise and knowledge, his responses are prompt, his advice is holistic, and his negotiation strategy takes into account the future plans of the firm.’

‘William Ho is an excellent lawyer all round, has a great mix of clients. Great technical knowledge and background, and is a thought leader in the fintech space.’

‘Excellent team, top quality work and consistently meets client’s needs and expectations.’

Key clients

Antalpha Holdings Limited

Aigens Holdings Inc.

CBX Limited

DIC Corporation

DiDi Chuxing

GP Industries Limited

Luye Pharma

Silicon Motion

Taiwan Liposome

Wolfspeed, Inc. (formerly known as Cree, Inc.)

Work highlights

  • Advised Silicon Motion Technology Corporation on entering into a US$3.8 bn cross-border take-private acquisition with MaxLinear, Inc., a California-based leading provider of radio frequency, analogue, digital, and mixed-signal integrated circuits.
  • Advised DIC Corporation in the highly complex acquisition of two chemicals manufacturers in the PRC through asset and equity structures.
  • Advised Wolfspeed, Inc. in connection with the sale of its global LED business and transfer of employees in 12 countries (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, India, Germany, the U.K., France and Italy) to SMART Global Holdings, Inc.

Hong Kong > TMT

Hong Kong > Capital markets (equity)

The arrival in October 2022 of the ‘incredibly diligent and responsive’ Iris Leung  from Linklaters was a major boon for K&L Gates and has already begun to pay dividends for PRC issuers including on GDR listings on the Swiss SIX exchange.

China > Investment funds: foreign firms Tier 3

Malaysia > Foreign firms Tier 3

Based in the Singapore and Hong Kong offices respectively, senior counsel Sreenivasan Narayanan and Choo Lye Tan jointly lead the Southeast Asia practice at K&L Gates. The team advises on a broad range of matters, including M&A transactions and joint ventures, in addition to banking and finance mandates, with demonstrable experience across the aviation, financial services, energy, life sciences and manufacturing sectors. Based in Singapore, Henry Kim focuses on disputes arising out of commodities, shipping, energy, and power infrastructure projects and is another key contact in the group. Team changes include the departure of James Bradley to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in October 2022, and the departure of Lian Yok Tan to Squire Patton Boggs in May 2023.

Practice head(s):

Narayanan Sreenivasan; Choo Lye Tan

Other key lawyers:

David Tang

Key clients

Asia Pacific Aviation Leasing Group

JP Lease Products & Services Co. Ltd.

Liquidators of Ocean Tankers (Pte.) Ltd

Luye Pharma

Serba Dinamik Indonesia

Simmtech Holdings

Work highlights

  • Acting for the former Judicial Managers and present Liquidators of OTPL, one of the entities that is involved in one of Singapore’s largest cases of corporate fraud and breaches of accounting regulations by Lim Oon Kuin, one of the shareholders and directors of OTPL.
  • Acting for Asia Pacific Aviation Leasing Group in their restructuring of their portfolio of aircraft on lease to various lessees in Asia including the restructuring of aircraft on lease to AirAsia X by way of a scheme of arrangement of its $15bn debt in Malaysian Court.
  • Advising the Indonesian joint venture arm of Serba Dinamik on various corporate and financing matters including in particular, cross-border structured financing, including Islamic finance arrangements.

United States > Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)

K&L Gates brings strength to advising household names brands such as TripAdvisor and Abercrombie & Fitch, on the clearance, prosecution, maintenance, policing, enforcement, and licensing of their global trademark portfolios. The team is led in Chicago by veteran portfolio manager Robert Barrett, who applies experience to advising clients in sectors ranging from biotech, chemical and software, to e-commerce, health care and manufacturing. In Boston, David Byer provides expertise in appearances before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Susan Kayser in Washington DC handles complex global brand launchers. Other key figures include practice area expert Pam Jacobson in Seattle, Stewart Mesher in Austin, who utilizes in-house experience, and Sana Hakim, who guides clients through social media and Web-related issues, and filing strategist Kathryn Starshak in Chicago. Eric Lee in Boston was promoted to partner in January 2023.

Practice head(s):

Robert Barrett

Other key lawyers:

David Byer; Susan Kayser; Pam Jacobson; Stewart Mesher; Sana Hakim; Kathryn Starshak; Eric Lee; Terrance Roberts

Testimonials

‘The trademark team at K&L Gates is one of the most thorough, creative, and thoughtful team of legal professionals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. They go out of their way to make my job as in-house counsel easier, adapting quickly to changing preferences, risk tolerance, and business style.’

‘Susan Kayser, Eric Lee, and Terrance Roberts make an all-star team! They are responsive and helpful, even under difficult circumstances. I greatly appreciate their constant adaptations to better suit my style and the way in which I like to deliver advice to business teams.’

‘Stewart Mesher’s unique ability to combine his in-house experience with private practice make this team unique.’

Key clients

Abercrombie & Fitch

MiiR

Minitab

TripAdvisor, Inc.

Valve Corporation

Stratus Technologies

Zulily, Inc.

Orale Charlie Productions

Work highlights

  • Acting as the primary U.S. trademark counsel for the Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, GILLY HICKS, Social Tourist, and YPB brands, providing daily clearance and counseling relating to use and registration of new marks, phrases, and designs to be used by the brands.
  • Acting as global IP counsel for drinkware company MiiR, handling its worldwide IP litigation, IP enforcement, and IP prosecution matters.
  • Managing trademarks owned by TripAdvisor, directly and through its subsidiaries.

China > Corporate and M&A: foreign firms

Working across Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, K&L Gates‘ corporate and M&A team focuses on restructurings, joint ventures, private equity, venture capital and public M&A. The team’s sector expertise covers automotive, energy, infrastructure and resources, and financial services and fintech. It is also active in deals involving healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, technology and transportation. Corporate law specialist Frank Voon splits his time between Beijing and Hong Kong, and in Shanghai Simon Poh focuses on cross-border M&A, while Max Gu‘s practice covers cross-border business deals and private equity investments.

Practice head(s):

Frank Voon

Other key lawyers:

Simon Poh; Max Gu; Yujing Shu; Chloe Duan

Testimonials

‘A very efficient team.’

‘Attentive and with great business acumen.’

‘Great attention to detail while keeping the big picture in mind.’

‘More efficient than other firms and have great commercial sense.’

‘Aware of what terms impact clients’ business most and prioritises effectively. ’

‘Delivers great value for money.’

Key clients

Antalpha Holdings Limited

Aigens Holdings Inc.

CBX Limited

DIC Corporation

DiDi Chuxing

GP Industries Limited

Luye Pharma

Silicon Motion

Taiwan Liposome

Wolfspeed, Inc. (formerly known as Cree, Inc.)

Work highlights

  • Advised Silicon Motion Technology Corporation on entering into a $3.8bn cross-border take-private acquisition with MaxLinear.
  • Advised DIC Corporation on the acquisition of two chemicals manufacturers in the PRC through asset and equity acquisitions.
  • Advised Wolfspeed, Inc on the sale of its global LED business to SMART Global Holdings, Inc.

K&L Gates > Firm Profile

The Firm: K&L Gates has seven offices that are strategically located in major financial and commercial centers across Asia. Our full-service Asia-based team is closely integrated with the firm’s offices in Australia, Europe, South America, and the United States. The collaboration across our global platform, coupled with our focus on long-term relationship building, allows us to effectively advise our clients on a national and global basis.

We established our presence in Asia by opening our Hong Kong office in 1996. Today, we are strategically located in key financial and commercial centers throughout Asia. We have lawyers on the ground in Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. In 2019, we further expanded our capabilities in Singapore by combining with Singapore law firm Straits Law Practice LLC, creating K&L Gates Straits Law LLC and becoming one of a few international law firms in Singapore with the capability to advise clients on Singapore law and cross-border legal issues. The combined firm has bolstered our disputes, corporate, funds, and banking and finance service offerings and further opened our global platform to clients across Southeast Asia. We also have designated India, Indonesia, and Malaysia practices, allowing our capabilities to span beyond our physical office locations.

Through our integrated network of offices, we are positioned to advise both domestic and international clients throughout Asia Pacific and beyond. Our lawyers understand the legal challenges that clients face today, and they have the experience to respond to those needs creatively and efficiently. Our on-the-ground experience, knowledge, and networks in each market enable us to give clients valuable insights into local policies and practices. We have advised local and multinational companies at every stage of their development in Asia, from local start-ups, to mid-sized overseas companies looking to enter the market or mid-sized regional companies looking for outbound opportunities, to experienced global businesses with well-established operations in the region. We also regularly advise local governments, NGOs, educational institutions, financial institutions, and other key market players. To learn more about our service offerings, visit klgates.com/services.

Offices

Asia: Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo. Australia: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney. Europe: Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Paris. Middle East: Doha, Dubai. United States: Austin, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Harrisburg, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Newark, Orange County, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Wilmington. South America: Sao Paulo.