Simmons & Simmons Bolsters Hong Kong Dispute Resolution Practice

admin | January 12, 2021 | UK News | No Comments

Simmons & Simmons has added a litigator in Hong Kong to bolster its greater China dispute resolution practice, which will now have six partners.

Gary Yin joins as a partner with his team of three associates from Jingtian & Gongcheng, where he led the Chinese firm’s Hong Kong disputes and investigations practice for almost two years. Prior to that, he was a partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain for more than eight years, also in Hong Kong.

A specialist in China-related commercial and international trade litigation, Yin advises Hong Kong, mainland Chinese, and foreign entities on court and international arbitration matters. He is a member of the greater China legal affairs committee of the Hong Kong Law Society, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a panel arbitrator of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration.

“I look forward to contributing to the expansion of the dispute resolution offering and adding to the practice’s existing contentious regulatory knowledge base. I am also eager to collaborate closely with the various teams to leverage their cross-sector expertise to address our corporate clients’ broad legal needs,” Yin said in a statement.

Dispute resolution is a promising growth area for law firms in the Asia-Pacific region this year. Keith Brandt, managing partner of Dentons Hong Kong, told Law.com International recently that litigators and international arbitration lawyers in Hong Kong should see greater demand for their services this year, as pandemic-related disputes continue to increase.

Launched in 1979, Simmons & Simmons’ Hong Kong office is staffed by more than 120 people, making it the firm’s biggest office in the Asia-Pacific. Last year, the London-headquartered firm delayed partner distributions and temporarily reduced pay by 20% in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Simmons & Simmons’ Shanghai office recently lost partner Matthew Durham, who’s joined Hong Kong-based litigation boutique Gall. An employment disputes specialist, Durham was a partner with Winston & Strawn before moving back to Simmons & Simmons in 2017. An English lawyer, he had an earlier stint with the British firm in the late 2000s.

In addition to Hong Kong and Shanghai, Simmons & Simmons also has Greater China offices in Beijing and Shenzhen.