Dechert has hired restructuring and insolvency specialist Daniel Margulies from US rival Kirkland & Ellis to launch a new global financial restructuring practice in Hong Kong. 

Margulies brings with him more than a decade of experience as part of financial restructuring teams in Asia and becomes the eighth partner to join the US firm’s Hong Kong office. He joins Dechert after nearly four years at Kirkland, where he was a partner. 

As a registered foreign lawyer in Hong Kong, Margulies has acted in a number of complex corporate defaults and restructurings in the region, acting for debtors, creditors, private equity and hedge fund clients covering a range of financial restructuring and insolvency matters, as well as distressed asset sales and cross-border and special situation financings. 

With Margulies’ appointment, the firm aims to build its emerging markets restructuring practice and strengthen its capabilities in Hong Kong, which it identified as an ‘important strategic location’ in Asia. 

David Cho, head of Dechert’s Hong Kong office and Asia co-managing partner, described Margulies as a “superb” addition to the firm. 

“His arrival bolsters our growing presence and creates financial restructuring capabilities in Hong Kong and across Asia, enabling us to further enhance our client offerings in this critically important region,” he said. 

Adam Plainer, co-chair of Dechert’s global financial restructuring practice, added that Margulies adds “enormous valuable experience” to the firm’s Hong Kong team that will contribute significantly to its global financial restructuring offering. 

“His appointment demonstrates Dechert’s ongoing commitment to expand our restructuring capabilities in Asia and globally, which is one of the firm’s strategic growth priorities,” Plainer said. 

The firm has made a series of high-profile hires to expand its financial restructuring practice over the last two years, including Plainer, who joined Dechert’s London office as co-chair of the practice group from Weil Gotshal & Manges back in March. Dechert also hired London financial restructuring veteran Kay Morley from Jones Day in June. 

In Asia, the firm also strengthened its Hong Kong capability with the addition of global litigation partner Maria Sit from Davis Polk & Wardwell in 2019, while its Singapore bench received a boost when corporate and securities partner Maria Tan Pedersen moved across from Jones Day last January. 

In other Hong Kong news, Mishcon de Reya, which is gearing up for a listing on the London Stock Exchange, established a presence in Hong Kong through a tie-up with local firm Karas last month. 

HFW also recently bolstered its Hong Kong capabilities, hiring disputes partner Karen Cheung from local independent Li & Partners to grow its private client work in the region.