Pinsent Masons Expands Chinese Operations

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

18 January 2007

Law firm Pinsent Masons announced on Monday that it is celebrating the start of 2007 with a significant expansion of its operations in the Asia Pacific region - the opening of its second office in mainland China (PRC).

The firm's new Beijing office will complement its existing successful offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and gives Pinsent Masons' clients a full-time legal resource in the two major commercial centres in the PRC.

The step reflects an explosive growth of economic activity in the region generally and in mainland China in particular, and comes on the back of significant growth for Pinsent Masons' Asia Pacific operations in the past two years.

The firm now has more than 40 lawyers working full-time in the Asia Pacific region, of which 12 are partners, in addition to a 20-partner UK-based group of lawyers who concentrate on international work.

The new Beijing office will offer construction, projects and corporate and commercial services initially and will be headed by John Bishop, the firm's Senior Resident Partner Asia. The office will open with a staff of six, but has plans to expand rapidly.

John Bishop commented:

"Opening an office in Beijing has been a top priority for us and we are delighted to see this dream come true. This region is growing rapidly across all sectors, with the industrial landscape of the PRC changing almost daily. We will now be in an even better position to help our clients develop their business here and benefit from the specialist knowledge and experience that comes from having been here as a firm for 20 years. The Beijing office will strengthen the service we provide to a large number of Chinese clients in their international ventures."

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