Bird & Bird has opened a Shenzhen office following Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, marking the firm’s latest expansion after 15 years in China.
Co-head of the firm’s greater China intellectual property practice, Hank Leung, will lead the new office with partners from the other three China offices spending “amounts of time” in Shenzhen to provide support, said Bird & Bird.
The firm’s focus on innovative industries aligns well with Shenzhen’s vibrant ecosystem, which is home to numerous startups, incubators, and companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. Many Bird & Bird clients are headquartered in China’s Greater Bay Area, further reinforcing the growth strategy of establishing a presence in Shenzhen, the firm said.
Ted Chwu, the head of Greater China and co-head of the global tech and comms sector group, said the establishment of the Shenzhen office was in response to client demand.
While some foreign law firms have downsized their teams in China this year – including Linklaters’ recent modest reduction in China – Shenzhen’s thriving startup market has attracted foreign law firms, particularly in the field of intellectual property.
In fact, Holman Fenwick Willan and Morgan Lewis also opened offices in Shenzhen in June, marking the first entry of foreign law firms into the city since the 2020 covid outbreak.
Read more news about the Legal Market in China:
