In the first half of 2022, Han Kun Law Offices launched a new office in Haikou, merged with a local Shanghai boutique and hired partners from firms like Kirkland & Ellis, Fangda Partners, King & Wood Mallesons and Tian Yuan Law Firm.
Han Kun’s latest coup is Fangda’s intellectual property partner, Song Haining, who has joined the firm in Shanghai. Notably, Song is the third IP partner to leave Fangda this year. King & Wood Mallesons took a team of IP litigation experts from the firm in Beijing last month, including veteran partner Gordon Gao and partner Sherry Yao.
Song specializes in IP litigation, handling patent and trade secret disputes involving telecommunications, semiconductor and computer engineering sectors. He also advises on IP-related due diligence and commercial transactions. He was previously a partner at elite Chinese law firm JunHe.
In April, Han Kun also added private equity partner Qi Shuting to its ranks in Shanghai. Qi joined from Kirkland & Ellis, where she was a partner and had practiced for almost a decade. Qi advises on M&A, buyouts, growth equity investments, divestitures, joint ventures, foreign direct investment, and general corporate matters. Her departure leaves Kirkland with four partners in Shanghai, one of whom splits his time between Shanghai and Beijing.
Han Kun’s steady and rapid expansion doesn’t end there. Over the course of six months, the firm added five additional partners in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Its biggest move this year, though, took place in January, when the firm merged with Shanghai Young-Ben Law Firm, a boutique finance and dispute resolution law firm established in 2007. The merger, driven by a desire for greater market share in the Yangtze River Delta region, gave Han Kun another ten partners and 20 additional lawyers.
Two months ago, Han Kun also launched a new office in Haikou, which the firm says will “further meet the growing demand in the Hainan Free Trade Port.” The Haikou office will work closely with the firm’s operations in Shenzhen and Hong Kong to serve clients in South China on matters related to funds, wealth management, IP, compliance, equity investments and dispute resolution.
