Orrick Takes On Coudert's China Law Practice

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

29 August 2005

San Francisco law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, which has been expanding rapidly outside the US in recent years will take over much of Coudert Brothers' China practice. Coudert decided to wind down its international operation last week.

Orrick has hired Coudert partners in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Orrick had already filed its own application to open in China, but will attempt to transfer Coudert’s existing China licence into its own name. Coudert was the first US law firm to open an office in China.

The nine partners and roughly 30 other lawyers joining Orrick presently comprise all of Coudert's Hong Kong and Shanghai staff and a large part of its Beijing office. Through the agreement, Orrick will gain its first presence in China.

Last May the two firms nearly came to blows when all eight partners in Coudert's London and Moscow offices decamped to Orrick after failed merger talks.

Orrick Chairman Ralph Baxter said the firm would be privileged to continue Coudert's China legacy. "Their decision [to disband] created a very different situation," said Baxter. "It became possible to do things in a mutually agreeable way."

Orrick has added around 90 lawyers in Europe and Asia this year. The firm said revenue climbed to $484 million in 2004. Since 1998, Orrick has opened offices in Taiwan, London, Tokyo, Paris, Milan and Rome. The firm opened an office in Singapore in 1995 and closed it in 2003, due to a severe slump in the Southeast Asian economies.

Baxter said the firm is exploring other countries to enter, including China and Germany.

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