Dentons is rekindling its relationship with Beijing-based Dacheng Law Offices, two years after the firms severed formal ties, citing concerns over Chinese regulations.
Dentons in Hong Kong said on Wednesday (10 December) it had entered into a formal and exclusive association with Dacheng, which will open its first office in Hong Kong, according to a Law.com report. The two firms have registered as association firms with the Law Society of Hong Kong.
Dentons said the arrangement would strengthen both firms’ capabilities in serving clients across Greater China and global markets by combining Dentons’ global network with Dacheng’s strong domestic footprint in mainland China.
Keith Brandt, managing partner of Dentons Hong Kong, commented: “This marks a new chapter in our partnership with Dacheng. With our complementary strengths, especially in cross-border matters involving Hong Kong and Mainland China, we are confident this collaboration will deliver greater value to clients and enhance our market presence across the region.”
The two firms began working together a decade ago when they joined forces in a tie-up that created the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount. The tie-up was structured not as a formal merger but as a verein, an association between partnerships that share the same name but are financially independent.
That came to an end in 2023, with Dentons citing “recent Chinese government mandates on Chinese law firms, including those relating to cybersecurity and data protection”, after which the two firms operated as separate, standalone law firms with Dacheng acting as Dentons’ preferred law firm in China.
Dentons’ Hong Kong practice, which had joined the firm in 2013 before the combination with Dacheng, remained an integrated part of Dentons after the separation and currently houses 38 lawyers, according to the firm’s website.
Together, the two firms will offer clients counsel on cross-border transactions, advisory matters and multi-jurisdictional disputes.
Their association comes as many large international law firms rethink their China strategies amid simmering geopolitical tensions between China and the West, tightening regulation and business drying up as the country’s economy cools.
Just this week, King & Wood Mallesons, the Sino-Australian international law firm formed through a high-profile 2012 merger, confirmed its Chinese and Australian partnerships would go their separate ways next year.
A spate of US and UK law firms have also closed offices in mainland China, where the headcount of Am Law 100 firms has fallen by 25% over the last two years, according to publicly available data tracked by Pirical. Cleary, Milbank, Paul Weiss, Skadden, Morrison & Foerster, Sidley Austin and Weil are among the firms to have shut offices there since the start of last year, while Mayer Brown and Taylor Wessing have split from their Hong Kong partnerships.
Going the other way, CMS has been investing in Hong Kong, merging with its local alliance firm and hiring from BCLP, while Mishcon de Reya plans to open there. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer also remains committed to its offices in China and Hong Kong following its recent US merger.
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