Lathams takes deep, hard look at Asia, says chair

Latham & Watkins has set up an eight-person committee to look at possible options for a South Korean office, how to proceed in China, the best ways to build on Japanese growth and other issues across its 30-partner Asia team.

New York corporate partner Edward Sonnenschein is chairing the committee. Regarding South Korea, Lathams will be evaluating the benefits of following DLA Piper and other internaitonal firms into Seoul. The firm now has five offices across the continent - in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Tokyo, with four partners, appears to be going through a boom as the office is seeing a rise in transactions.

Rebalance in China?

China has been more problematic for most global law firms. Lathams has three partners in its Beijing and Shanghai offices. It will be deciding on where to focus its main efforts and how to balance resources between Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Source: Legal Business