Central, Hong Kong, where most prestigious law firms are located. According to The Legal 500 , Hong Kong’s legal market has undergone profound change over the last decade. Firms have experienced structural and cultural changes, with the value of China-facing lawyers growing considerably. Firms looking to tap into the dynamic Chinese economy and its further potential have identified language skills and a cultural affinity with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a pre-requisite.[1]
In Hong Kong, a healthy flow of M&A, IPO and other transactional work is creating more work for the legal industry, causing many firms to beef up their corporate and capital markets practices.[2]
With a fully functional Competition Law just around the corner, some firms have started to form new or bolster existing antitrust practices through partner relocations and lateral hires.
This article contains a list of 57 largest domestic and international law firms which own at least one office situated in Hong Kong.[3] There are approximately 2875 qualified lawyers, comprising 766 partners and 1848 associates, working across these top 30 domestic and international law firms in Hong Kong.[3] Note that below is a ranking of law firms in Hong Kong by number of registered lawyers but not revenue.
Rank Name Headquarter(s) Number of Partners Number of Consultants & Associates Number of Registered Foreign Lawyers Number of Registered Lawyers Remarks 1 King & Wood Mallesons Hong Kong China Australia 33 137 61 231 International 2 Deacons Hong Kong 55 129 14 198 Domestic 3 Linklaters United Kingdom 29 89 50 168 Magic Circle 4 Mayer Brown United States 62 96 10 168 White-shoe firm 4 Baker McKenzie United States 43 92 33 168 International 6 Clifford Chance United Kingdom 37 90 35 162 Magic Circle 7 Allen & Overy United Kingdom 24 69 17 110 Magic Circle 8 DLA Piper Hong Kong United Kingdom United States 28 54 16 98 International 9 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer United Kingdom 25 46 24 95 Magic Circle 10 Herbert Smith Freehills United Kingdom Australia 18 55 17 90 Silver Circle 10 Fangda Partners China 17 43 30 90 Multinational 12 Latham & Watkins LLP United States 16 39 32 87 U.S. Vault V-5[4] 13 Kirkland & Ellis United States 32 16 37 85 U.S. Vault V-10[5] 14 Sidley Austin United States 14 39 31 84 U.S. White Shoe 15 Li & Partners Hong Kong 9 56 14 79 Domestic 16 Woo, Kwan, Lee & Lo Hong Kong 26 50 1 77 Domestic 17 Howse Williams Hong Kong China 31 43 1 75 Domestic 18 Reed Smith Richards Butler LLP United States 24 42 7 73 International 19 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom United States 9 33 26 68 U.S. White Shoe U.S. Vault V-5[6] 20 Ashurst Hong Kong United Kingdom 19 37 9 65 Silver Circle 20 Davis Polk & Wardwell United States 7 33 25 65 U.S. White Shoe U.S. Vault V-10[7] 22 Slaughter and May United Kingdom 12 39 12 63 Magic Circle 23 Norton Rose Fulbright Hong Kong United Kingdom United States 15 35 9 59 International 24 Stephenson Harwood United Kingdom 21 33 3 57 International 24 Zhong Lun Law Firm LLP China 15 31 11 57 Multinational 26 Stevenson, Wong & Co. Hong Kong 14 36 6 56 Domestic 26 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett United States 12 22 22 56 International 28 White & Case United States 14 21 20 55 International 29 Holman Fenwick Willan United Kingdom 16 31 6 53 International 30 Eversheds Sutherland United Kingdom 14 29 9 52 International 30 P.C. Woo & Co. Hong Kong 12 37 3 52 Domestic 32 DeHeng Law Offices (Hong Kong) LLP China 14 22 15 51 Multinational 33 MinterEllison LLP Australia 22 28 0 50 International 34 Gallant Hong Kong 17 31 1 49 Domestic 35 Jun He Law Offices China 16 19 12 47 Multinational 35 Bird & Bird United Kingdom 15 26 6 47 International 35 Hogan Lovells United Kingdom United States 14 29 4 47 International 35 Simmons & Simmons United Kingdom 11 29 7 47 International 39 K. B. Chau & Co. Hong Kong 6 38 2 46 Domestic 40 Oldham, Li & Nie Hong Kong China 15 23 6 44 Domestic 40 Lau, Horton & Wise LLP Hong Kong Germany 11 24 9 44 Domestic 42 Haldanes Hong Kong 21 22 0 43 Domestic 42 Morrison & Foerster United States 6 22 15 43 International 44 Tanner De Witt Hong Kong 17 24 1 42 Domestic 44 ONC Lawyers Hong Kong 16 24 2 42 Domestic 44 Hastings & Co. Hong Kong 14 27 1 42 Domestic 44 Kennedys United Kingdom 13 29 0 42 International 44 Iu, Lai & Li Hong Kong 13 27 2 42 Domestic 44 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher United States 12 17 13 42 International 44 So, Lung & Associates, Solicitors Hong Kong 6 36 0 42 Domestic 51 Nixon Peabody CWL United States China 14 22 4 40 International 51 Withers United Kingdom 13 19 8 40 International 51 Dentons Hong Kong LLP China United States 9 26 5 40 Multinational 54 Clyde & Co . United Kingdom 14 24 0 38 International 54 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius United States 9 16 13 38 International 56 Loeb & Loeb LLP United States 9 16 12 37 International 56 Sullivan & Cromwell (Hong Kong) LLP United States 6 21 10 37 International
See also [ edit ] References [ edit ]