Ms Lui who was previously Winston & Strawn’s head of corporate in Asia, has over 40 years of experience on China related matters, including advising the foreign investor in the first Sino-foreign joint venture in China in 1979.  The team also consists of two partners, four associates, three paralegals and other support staff. Ms Lui said: ‘Withers is the premier international law firm for representing owners and investors of private capital and adds to our ability to advise on major transactions and to give our clients access to top quality international advice on their personal, business and charitable and philanthropic activities.  We look forward to working with our new colleagues across the international Withers network.’

Expanding corporate services

Margaret Robertson, chief executive officer at Withers, added: ‘We are delighted to have Mabel and her team join us to expand our corporate services in Asia Pacific.  Their team brings with them considerable experience of representing the core of our client base, including family offices, major shareholders, entrepreneurs and privately-held companies, as well as state-owned enterprises.  There is an immense amount of common ground in our transactional track records and approach to clients.’

Complements Chinese wealth planning team

Jeremy Wakeham, CEO of Withers' business division, added: ‘There are few lawyers of the calibre of Mabel and her team.  Their depth of corporate and commercial expertise in the Greater China region complements our already strong Chinese wealth planning and matrimonial law offering in Hong Kong.  We have already started to establish a strong relationship with the team through collaborating on several international opportunities.’

Wide range of areas

The new team advises on a wide range of areas, including corporate, commercial, IP, real estate and trusts and estates matters. Ms Lui, who focuses in M&A, investment, capital market, real estate and private wealth management matters. Before joining Winston & Strawn, she led DLA Piper's Asian Corporate team for 17 years, developing its capabilities across the region.  She is qualified in Hong Kong, England & Wales, New York, Victoria, Australia and Singapore and speaks fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

The team

Polly Chu is a partner specialising in corporate real estate matters, including M&A and real estate transactions including acquisition finance, bank finance, leasing and management advice, as well as wealth planning and probate and estate work. Daniel Tang is a partner focused on cross-border international M&A, joint ventures, private equity/venture capital and corporate and commercial matters relating to investment in mainland China and Hong Kong. Other members of the team are associate and private client specialist Deirdre Fu, associates David Cheng and Kathy Ku (both joining Withers on the 20th July), trainee Bobby Fung and paralegals Quinncy Wu, Mei Ching Yeung and Lana Yuen.