Asia Legal Blog ( Cypress Recruiting’s Blog)? reports that? l ess than a year after forming their alliance, King & Wood and Swiss firm SG Fafalen are already parting ways.
Here’s the report – it can be found at?? http://asialegalblog.com/?p=3614
The firms? motivations for this move are yet unclear, however, SG Falafen did announce the following statement: ??After unsuccessfully attempting to combine our culture and operations with [King & Wood], we have resolved to spin off and to resume our independent legal practice in Hong Kong.? The Swiss firm will resume their alliance with Hong Kong firm Huen & Partners.
Their alliance, formed in March 2010, was largely seen as evidence for the increasing internationalization of PRC law firms. This move on the part of King & Wood adds to speculation that the firm is streamlining its staff to prepare for a harder push in Hong Kong and SAR.
Atsumi & Sakai has been rocked by the departure of partner Horoaki Takahashi and seven-strong team to Canadian firm Davis to create a joint venture, Davis & Takahashi. Davis, the only full-service Canadian firm in Japan, is a project finance-focused law firm specializing in major infrastructure projects ? in particular PPPs, M&A, energy and natural resources. Takahashi?s team specializes in banking, finance and capital markets. According to Takahashi, the new team aims to capture domestic and international business from Japanese clients more effectively.