According to reports in The Lawyer, Clifford Chance has held discussions with several major Chinese firms about a potential tie-up in the PRC. The effort has been spearheaded by the firm’s Beijing and China managing partner Stephen Harder, who is retiring this month after 14 years with the firm. His successors, new co-heads Terence Foo and PRC national Tim Wang, will take over the task under the leadership of global managing partner Matthew Layton. ‘Matthew Layton would do a deal in China tomorrow if he could,’ reported once source close to the firm.

Zhong Lun talks

China’s third-largest firm by revenue, Zhong Lun, has been confirmed as one of the firms that Clifford Chance has approached about a potential tie-up. The two firms reportedly decided to go their separate ways after holding early-stage merger discussions last year. In September, Zhong Lun’s partnership locked in an international strategy that will see the PRC firm build up its international presence as an independent player rather than pursuing a tie-up with a foreign firm.

Source: The Lawyer