DAC Beachcroft is opening an office in Hong Kong, bucking the trend of international law firms pulling out of the city in recent years. 

The office will be the firm’s second in Asia-Pacific after the Singapore base it opened in 2011 and is intended to support the expansion of its global offering across insurance, shipping, international trade and commodities. 

“It’s been a long-time ambition of ours to expand into Hong Kong,” said Gustavo Blanco, DAC Beachcroft’s head of international business. “With a foothold in this important market, we’re delivering on our ambition to be the international insurance law firm of choice for the global insurance industry.”

The new office will launch with two partners – Wai Yue Loh and Ross Risby. Loh is a shipping, international trade and commodities litigator and has extensive experience advising Chinese clients in and outside of China, many of whose business interests are increasingly focused on the region. He is joint managing director of Incisive Law, the independent Singapore practice with which DACB formed an association last year, and is moving from Singapore.

Meantime Risby specialises in financial institutions, professional liability and directors and officers insurance disputes. He has been a partner at DAC Beachcroft for nearly 20 years and is relocating to Singapore from the firm’s London office.

Alongside launching its Hong Kong office, DAC Beachcroft is forming an association with a newly created Hong Kong law firm, CK Lee & Co, to enable it to offer clients both international and Hong Kong law advice. CK Lee & Co will be led by Kelvin Lee, previously a partner at Ince & Co Hong Kong, with support from senior associate Will Chan. Lee focuses on coverage disputes, particularly over property/BI risks and product liability insurance. 

DAC Beachroft’s expansion into Hong Kong contrasts with a trend among law firms of retreating from Greater China amid simmering political tensions between Beijing and Washington and growing regulatory pressure. Office closures and job cuts have been focused on Mainland China but have also happened in Hong Kong, with Dechert and Winston & Strawn announcing in recent months they were closing their bases in the city and Mayer Brown confirming in May it would hive off the bulk of its 160-lawyer Hong Kong arm. 

Loh noted that DAC Beachcroft’s launch in the city comes as trade between China and Latin America continues to grow, with “much of this shipping and trade activity running through Hong Kong”.

Earlier this year the firm opened an office in Peru that focuses on shipping, trade and commodities work, adding to its presence in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico alongside a representative office in Miami and a network of affiliations across the region.

“With our new central hub for global marine and shipping in Lima and a growing presence here in the Asia-Pacific region, we are even better positioned to serve the needs of our clients in this key location and across the globe,” Loh added.  

DAC Beachcroft grew turnover 9% in 2023 to £326.5m, putting it in 18th place in the UK top 50 by revenue according to data published by the American Lawyer. The firm said it remains focused on strengthening its shipping and marine insurance offering globally, pointing to its recent LatAm expansion and its association with Incisive Law, which gives clients access to shipping, international trade and commodities, and marine insurance expertise across Asia-Pacific.