Mr Kelly has joined the firm from the Hong Kong office of rival Linklaters, where he was serving as the firm’s head of private equity for Asia. The path from Linklaters to White & Case is well-trodden in the region – last year, the firm snapped up three Linklaters lawyers for its offices in Hong Kong and Seoul, including current White & Case Asia head of private equity Penny Wang. In March this year, Linklaters also lost Asia partners Betty Yap and Judie Ng Shortell to rival firm Paul Weiss.

Hong Kong heavyweight

Mr Kelly’s imminent move to White & Case was first announced in January, when news of his resignation from Linklaters was made public. Ranked in the Legal 500 as one of Hong Kong’s top corporate lawyers for private equity matters, Mr Kelly has 12 years’ experience working in Asia and will be tasked with spearheading White & Case’s M&A push in the region.

Sources: Australasian Lawyer; Legal Business