The office -- which will be the firm’s third in China -- has been cleared by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, according to a report in The Lawyer newspaper, and is now awaiting approval from the Ministry of Justice. An Eversheds spokesperson said that green light is expected ‘imminently’.

One-year delay

Plans for a Beijing office were initially unveiled nearly two years ago, with a preliminary 2011 launch date. Managing partner Lee Ranson has now confirmed that the office will open in 2012, but offered no explanation as to the postponement.
The office will focus on international financial services work, advising foreign companies on direct investment deals in China, and local corporations on outbound investment work. It will join the firm’s existing China outposts in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Eversheds has yet to name the partner who will lead the office, although it is anticipated that the firm will recruit lawyers to work in Beijing.