After an initial announcement earlier this year in May, global law firm Mayer Brown has completed the reorganisation of its Asia office platform with the establishment of Mayer Brown Hong Kong LLP (MBHK), and the re-establishment of Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM), as two independent Hong Kong-based law firms.
Following the reorganisation, Mayer Brown said in a media release that, elsewhere in Asia, it will retain offices in Singapore, where it has 51 lawyers, and Tokyo, where it has seven laywers, in addition to a new Hong Kong presence. MBHK will comprise of around 20 lawyers, focused on practices, products, and industries, including capital markets, M&A, finance, IP/cybersecurity, projects and infrastructure, insurance, and energy.
The representative offices in mainland China, in Beijing and Shanghai, will become part of JSM.
MBHK will be led by capital markets partner Thomas Kollar, who has been appointed managing partner in Hong Kong.
“We are pleased to announce our new integrated offering in Hong Kong that reflects our continued commitment to our clients and to the region,” said Mayer Brown chair Jon Van Gorp.
He added: “This is an exciting time for our firm as we continue to develop our presence in Hong Kong with a first-class offering that aligns with our strategic priorities — advising our multinational clients on complex transactions and disputes while leveraging the strengths of our premier international platform.”
The decision to split came after several years of turmoil in Hong Kong from protests, the introduction of a National Security Law and relatively strict Covid-19 policies.
JSM’s returns
JSM is starting new chapter as an independent Hong Kong law firm after the 160-year-old Hong Kong partnership received approval from The Law Society of Hong Kong to revert to its legacy name following the partnership’s separation from Mayer Brown, with whom JSM entered into a combination in 2008.
The management committee of JSM is led by senior partner Terence Tung, with the other members being commercial managing partner, Hannah Ha, dispute resolution managing partner, Geoffrey Chan, and real estate managing partner, Keith Cheung.
JSM is one of the largest law firms in Hong Kong with more than 120 lawyers, including 40 partners. It has representative offices established in Beijing and Shanghai, and an intellectual property agency office in Beijing, JSM has been working in mainland China since the 1990s representing clients in cross-border transactions and disputes.
Core to JSM's strategy is sectors such as cybersecurity, ESG, insurance, private capital and technology, in addition to banking, finance, real estate and construction.
JSM said it will advise across complex disputes and deals including M&A, capital markets and regulatory compliance. It wants to support clients headquartered in Hong Kong and mainland China, who are looking to grow locally and expand internationally, as well as international and regional clients on their businesses and investments in Hong Kong and mainland China, particularly across the Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a media release.
Tung said in a media release: “Our vision is to support our clients to capitalise on an exciting and unique range of local and global opportunities. Strategically this entails focusing our capabilities as a pre-eminent law firm in Hong Kong, particularly in those sectors significant to the growth of Hong Kong as a super-connector between mainland China and global markets.”
Tung added: “With more than a third of our Hong Kong lawyers dual-qualified from key international jurisdictions, our clients benefit from our deep experience and understanding of the application of those laws across the world’s most dynamic markets, including Belt and Road Initiative countries.”
