Here’s the full story from International Law.com
U.K. firm Fieldfisher has merged with Beijing-based boutique JS Partners under a Swiss verein, making it the latest international firms to access Chinese law capability.
JS Partners will adopt the Fieldfisher brand following the merger. The firm has made several partner hires ahead of the tie-up, notably antitrust partner Zhaofeng Zhou, who now serves as managing partner. Zhou joined in July from U.K. firm Bird & Bird’s Beijing office, and had previously practiced with Taylor Wessing and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Former Bird & Bird associate Lauren Feng is now an intellectual property partner at JS Partners.
In addition to antitrust and IP, 12-partner JS Partners also advises on cross-border commercial law matters including corporate, finance, tax and dispute resolution. JS was founded in 2008 by partner Liu Jinshi, who specializes in Japan- and Korea-related work.
Fieldfisher previously had a Swiss verein merger in Shanghai with local firm Ryser & Associates, led by former Baker & McKenzie IP partner Zoe Zhan. That tie-up ended with a mutual agreement as Fieldfisher needed a larger partner in China, said managing partner Michael Chissick. The new China partner firm will open a Shanghai office soon, according to Zhou.
Under the verein structure, Fieldfisher in China will remain a licensed Chinese law firm and have access to all aspects of Chinese law practice. The setup was pioneered in 2012 by legacy King & Wood when it merged with Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques. Last year, the same structure was used by Dentons when it merged with Beijing-based Dacheng Law Offices.
