Dallas-based Locke Lord has added five partners in Hong Kong.
The firm is expanding through an association with local firm Cheung & Lee, which was established earlier this year and now counts five partners -- Balbir Bindra, Wing Cheung, Alfred Lee, Tejinder Mahil and Matthew Wong. The Hong Kong Law Society requires foreign firms to enter into such associations for a period of time before fully merging with local practices.
Locke Lord, heretofore little-known on the international stage, has lately been pushing hard to expand overseas. The firm recruited several partners from Salans last year to launch a London office that now counts 34 lawyers.
The Hong Kong office will be led by Bindra, who previously led the Hong Kong banking and finance practice for French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel. He joined Gide in 2009 from Sidley Austin. Earlier in his career, he was head of international banking and finance practice at the former Wilde Sapte.
Mahil is joining from Winston & Strawn's Hong Kong office, which he joined in 2011 from DLA Piper and left last September. He focuses on finance and merger and acquisitions deals in the hospitality and leisure sector.
Lee and Cheung both previously worked in the Hong Kong office of K&L Gates, where the former was a corporate partner and the latter a consultant. Corporate finance specialist Wong is joining Locke Lord from Stephenson Harwood, where he came aboard as a partner in 2011 from Bird & Bird.
The new hires are something of a relaunch in Hong Kong for the 650-lawyer Texas firm, which opened an office there in 2011 led by Brad Markoff, a former DLA Piper partner. Markoff left the firm last September to become managing director and general counsel at real estate investment and asset management company Encore Asia Ltd.
