Duane Morris LLP has opened a Shanghai office following approval from the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China. Leon Yee, a managing director of Duane Morris & Selvam, will serve as Chief Represecntative of the new office.  He will be joined by Eng Wee Chong, an associate director in Singapore. The Shanghai office opens with five lawyers in total.

Milestone

'Our Shanghai opening is another significant milestone in the firm's growth in Asia, and complements our extensive experience handling China-focused matters for numerous multinational companies,' said Duane Morris Chairman and CEO John J. Soroko. 'Shanghai is another step in our long-term strategy for our international operations generally and for Asia specifically.  We intend to facilitate the growth aspirations of Chinese companies seeking to invest abroad.  Additionally, many of our clients are themselves entering or expanding in the Chinese market, and we are now even better positioned to assist them.'

Joint venture

The Shanghai launch marks the third international opening for the firm since the beginning of 2013.  In March of that year, Duane Morris opened its first office in the Middle East through a joint venture in Oman with the Dr. Said Al Mashaikhi Law Firm, a law firm in Muscat.  More recently, in September, Duane Morris & Selvam established an office in Myanmar, the first of any US-based firm. Duane Morris formed  Duane Morris & Selvam LLP in Singapore in 2011 to extend its footprint in SouthAsia and also has offices in Vietnam. It  is the joint law venture between Duane Morris LLP and Selvam LLC, with its headquarters in Singapore.