Morrison Foerster has seen four partners exit across Asia this week for Baker McKenzie and PRC firm Jingtian & Gongcheng, including Shirin Tang, the managing partner of its Singapore office. 

Tang will join Baker McKenzie in Singapore, where the firm operates as a joint law venture called Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow, alongside fellow M&A/private equity partner Lip Kian Ang. Two non-partner lawyers are moving over with them, according to a person familiar with the matter.  

Meantime Hong Kong-based corporate transactions partner Vivian Yiu is departing for Jingtian & Gongcheng, with capital markets specialist Ke Huang, who is currently based in MoFo’s Shanghai office, also set to join the firm in Hong Kong.  

The departures leave MoFo with 17 partners across Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai according to its website. Until recently Huang had been based in both Shanghai and the representative office in Beijing that MoFo announced it was closing earlier this year. 

A MoFo spokesperson commented: “We thank the attorneys for their contributions to the firm and wish them well in their next endeavours. We maintain our longstanding commitment to MoFo’s presence in Asia and look forward to continuing to support our clients here.”

Tang has joined Bakers after a decade at MoFo, where she was part of the global executive committee and took over leadership of the firm’s Singapore office in 2019 from co-managing partners Eric Piesner and Paul McKenzie, who are still with the firm in Singapore.

At Bakers she will serve as co-head of the Singapore M&A practice jointly with principal Bee Chun Boo. Admitted to practice in New York, she brings more than 20 years of experience in cross-border M&A and private equity transactions across Asia and the US, including capital raising platforms, joint ventures and club deals, portfolio restructuring and exits. 

In 2021 Tang advised Singapore logistics business GLP on the establishment of a $9.1bn Japan-focused private real estate fund and acted as international counsel to the Everstone Group in its $1bn strategic partnership with the Yondr Group to develop and operate data centres in India. 

Meantime Ang has been a partner at MoFo since 2020, having joined the firm in the 2013. He represents international funds, multinational corporations and financial institutions in large cross-border private equity, venture capital, M&A, real estate and fund transactions. He also brings experience in executing transactions involving cutting-edge technologies and assisting clients in entering into new strategies.

Ang co-led MoFo teams with Tang that acted for GLP on numerous matters, including as international counsel to GLP’s China Logistics Fund I and its affiliates in the $5bn recapitalisation of the portfolio developed within the fund. 

Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie’s Asia chief executive, commented: “The market reputation, calibre and experience that Shirin, Lip Kian and team bring to Baker McKenzie complement our regional offering perfectly. 

“This team hire underscores our commitment to further strengthening our M&A and private equity capabilities across key money markets in Asia and cements our position as the transactional firm of choice in the region.”

The team’s arrival adds depth to Bakers’ global M&A and private equity offering and transactional platform, which the firm said had seen the addition of more than 50 partners in key financial centres including London and Singapore over the past 18 months. With Tang and Ang, the firm’s Singapore M&A practice will include 17 principals. 

Dan Levison, head of the MoFo’s litigation department in Singapore, and M&A partner Tabitha Saw have been named as co-office managing partners in Singapore, according to a report by American Lawyer. Saw joined the office last year from White & Case, shortly after private equity/M&A partner Steven Tran moved over from Mayer Brown. 

Meantime Yiu brings more than 20 years of experience advising on corporate transactions to Jingtian & Gongcheng, including primary and secondary equity offerings in Hong Kong, pre-IPO investments, public and private M&A and joint ventures. She joined MoFo in 2016 after 10 years at legacy Allen & Overy (A&O), the latter four as a partner. 

In 2022 she co-led a MoFo team that advised the sponsor on the HK$1bn listing of special purpose acquisition company HK Acquisition Corporation on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and earlier this year led the team that advised the joint sponsors on the proposed de-SPAC transaction of HK with target company Synagistics. 

For his part Huang joined MoFo as a partner in 2019 having previously been a counsel at O’Melveny & Myers and an associate at A&O. He focuses on international capital markets and related transactions and has particular experience representing issuers and underwriters in Rule 144A and Regulation S international equity and debt offerings throughout Asia. 

Huang and Yiu have worked together on matters at MoFo, including co-leading the team that acted for Flowing Cloud Technology in relation to its proposed HK$782m IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2022. They also represented the sponsors, global coordinators and the other underwriters in relation to Jinke Smart Services Group’s HK$5,941.1m IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020. 

The duo’s hire sees Jingtian continue to pick off talent from international rivals for its Hong Kong office, which the firm opened in 2019 as it moved to become an international law firm and to service Chinese companies looking to list in Hong Kong. 

The office – Jingtian’s only location outside of mainland China – currently has 14 partners according to its website, most of whom work across capital markets and investment and M&A. DLA Piper’s former China head Wei Lu joined the office in 2021, while Elaine Lo, former head of the China practice at Mayer Brown, leads the firm from Hong Kong as managing partner.