AWA Asia in Beijing has added Xiaofan Chen as a partner and Yuanyuan Chu as a senior patent attorney. Chen joins from Liu Shen and has both contentious and non-contentious experience in patent rights management. He regularly advises on patent validity, infringement and freedom-to-operate analysis cases, and has successfully represented clients on civil and administrative patent disputes. Chu’s patent practice focuses on computer science, electrical engineering, electronics, microelectronics, semiconductor devices and processes. Apart from assisting international MNCs on their patent prosecution and disputes in China for the last 13 years while at her last two firms, CPA and Liu Shen, she also has considerable experience in coordinating US patent matters.
Mayer Brown JSM has appointed Alan Linning to the firm’s Hong Kong office as a partner in its litigation and dispute resolution practice. He joins from Sidley Austin. With more than 25 years of experience, Linning focuses his practice on financial services regulatory matters, investigations and proceedings, as well as commercial litigation. In particular, he advises companies that are facing investigations and are defending civil claims and criminal prosecutions brought by various regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the stock exchange. Linning was previously the managing director and head of Asia regional compliance at a leading investment bank and served as the executive director of enforcement and a board member of the SFC.
Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia has poached Clayton Utz’s Jasmine Sprange and Ashurst’s Paul O’Donnell. Sprange will join as a Sydney corporate partner focusing on domestic and cross-border M&A across the financial services, infrastructure and real estate sectors. Her M&A work extends to corporates and funds, acquisitions and restructuring, regulatory issues involving the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Foreign Investment Review Board, and joint ventures. She has advised some of Australia’s largest financial services groups along with global private equity firms and financial sponsors. She will join in October this year. O’Donnell specialises in tax and joins as a special counsel. He focuses on income tax; structured, asset and project financing; and debt restructuring. He also has significant experience advising on the corporate tax affairs of Australian and foreign banking groups, with an emphasis on business and investment banking and funds management. He will also join in October this year.
Seyfarth Shaw has hired Raymond Wong as managing partner for its Hong Kong office. Wong, who joins from King & Wood Mallesons, focuses on mergers and acquisitions, general corporate and commercial, corporate strategies, IPOs, regulatory compliance and public takeovers in Hong Kong, China and the UK. He has advised many Chinese and international clients on a variety of landmark global offerings and listings on the London, New York, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo stock exchanges, as well as cross-border transactions in the real estate and energy / natural resources sectors.
