Last month, the Chinese law firm Fangda Partners poached real estate partner Maria Wang from Morrison & Foerster in Shanghai. At first glance, the hire might not seem all that remarkable in an age when partners move from firm to firm all the time. But this was not just another lateral move. Wang, who had been a partner with the U.S. firm since 2014, is the sixth partner Fangda has lured away from a large global firm in the past year.

And Fangda is only one of several elite Chinese firms that are on a recruitment tear that targets senior lawyers from global firms. Throughout 2018, nine Chinese law firms hired 22 partners who most recently practiced at global firms, according to an analysis conducted by Law.com’s  The Asian Lawyer of 228 partner-level hires recorded across Asia during the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2018.