K&L Gates has recruited a Hong Kong partner from China's Haiwen & Partners, a hire that runs counter to a current trend in which partners and associates have been jumping from international firms to Chinese ones.

Guiping Lu previously led the Chinese firm's Hong Kong office. Dual-qualified in Hong Kong and the U.S., he advises on debt and equity securities offers in Hong Kong and related transactions. Last year, he advised on Chinese ticketing site Maoyan Entertainment's pre-IPO convertible bond offer in Hong Kong.

Lu joined Haiwen in 2016 from Latham & Watkins, where he had been counsel based in Hong Kong. He first helped the Chinese firm launch an office in Shenzhen, at the time only the firm's third office nearly 25 years into its existence. He went on to open a Hong Kong office for the Beijing-based firm the next year. For Haiwen to have access to Hong Kong law practice, Lu set up his own practice, Lu & Partners, and formed an association with Haiwen in 2017.