(Feb. 27, 2008, New York) – LAWFUEL – Legal Newswire – Reed Smith LLP today announced the continuation of its growth in China with the addition of two partners and a team of attorneys and legal professionals from the former Dewey Ballantine’s Beijing office. The enlarged Beijing practice will complement that of the firm’s Hong Kong operation. Already one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, Reed Smith officially began operations in Asia when its merger with Richards Butler Hong Kong became effective at the start of this year.
Attorneys joining Reed Smith as partners in Beijing include Sharon J. Mann, who is a former senior director of the Trade Facilitation Office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and who advises on Chinese investment, capital markets and trade issues; and Hugh T. Scogin, Jr., a corporate partner focusing on investment and other corporate transactions, M&A, and dispute resolution, and a long-time authority on Chinese law. Michael H. Dardzinski will join as Counsel; he handles transactions, M&A and dispute resolution. A number of other lawyers and professionals will also join the team.
“Bringing this group to Reed Smith is a unique opportunity for the firm to move forward quickly with our planned expansion in China,” said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “We are already seeing a significant number of requests from clients for services in China in the areas of acquisitions, joint ventures and other types of investments in China. Having Hugh, Sharon and their team on board will be a huge benefit to our clients doing business there. This fits nicely with our Hong Kong operation and the recent addition in Los Angeles of John Zhang, one of the most widely known native Chinese lawyers in the United States.”
“These attorneys not only have long-standing relationships with a full spectrum of Chinese firms and governmental agencies, but they also speak the language, know the customs, and are well suited to help bridge the cultural, economic and legal divides between East and West,” said Tom Todd, Senior U.S. Partner who is resident in Reed Smith’s Hong Kong office.
“With more than 110 attorneys in Hong Kong and our expanded office in Beijing, we aim to make this firm the ‘go to’ legal resource for inward and outward capital investment in Asia,” Ms. Mann said.
“Sharon, Hugh and Michael are among the true pioneers in the region,” added Michael Pollack, Reed Smith’s Global Head of Strategy. “In providing advice and transactional support, which has proved integral to both Chinese and worldwide companies during the recent unprecedented period of explosive growth, they have paved the way for joint ventures, the expansion of trade, and the resolution of complex business disputes.”
Among their decades of experience representing clients in China, Reed Smith’s new legal team in Beijing represented the first hotel joint venture in the region; the first joint venture-related arbitration; the first and second public listings of a PRC company in Germany; and one of the first acquisitions under the PRC’s provisional M&A regulations. In trade and regulatory matters, the team has worked to open key markets for the technology, construction, and service industries.
About Sharon J. Mann
A 1982 graduate of Stanford Law School, Ms. Mann practiced law in Hong Kong from 1993-2002. During this time, she negotiated and structured investments, and provided advice on intellectual property, technology transfers, and international trade, as well as assisted corporations with their Asian transactional matters. In 2002, Ms. Mann launched the Trade Facilitation Office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, serving as Senior Director of the office until 2005. Ms. Mann previously practiced law in Singapore, and conducted research on Chinese economic laws and regulations for the Chinese Law Project at the East-West Center in Honolulu. She has served as a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce, People’s Republic of China; and the Hong Kong American Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Mann is admitted to the Bar in California and Hawaii. She is fluent in Mandarin.
About Hugh T. Scogin, Jr.
Since first working as a lawyer in Beijing in 1985, Mr. Scogin has more than two decades of experience advising clients on Chinese business matters, including mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, technology transfer, business operations, securities, employment and dispute resolution. He was formerly a partner in the China practice at Coudert Brothers, based in Beijing and Shanghai. Mr. Scogin has published two books and many articles on Chinese law, and has taught Chinese law in several U.S. and international schools of law, including Yale University and New York University. He has also written books and articles on Japanese law, German law, and international business. A 1982 graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Scogin is a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), and he serves on the Board of Advisors for the Beijing Legal Aid Foundation. He is admitted to the Bar in New York and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong. He is fluent in Mandarin, proficient in German, and reads Japanese.
With more than 110 lawyers, in-house translators and other support staff in Hong Kong and Beijing, Reed Smith began formally operating in Hong Kong as “Richards Butler in Association with Reed Smith LLP” Jan.1, 2008.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, with more than 1,600 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its attorneys provide litigation services in multi-jurisdictional matters and other high stake disputes, deliver regulatory counsel, and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising and media, shipping, international trade and commodities, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com
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