DLA Piper boosts Asia with White & Case duo

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has raided White & Case's Singapore operation to secure two new partners for its Asia operation.

Corporate specialists Minh Dang and Kevin Murphy were both longstanding partners in White & Case's Singapore office. They join DLA Piper's Hong Kong and Singapore offices respectively.

The hire of Murphy takes the number of partners in DLA Piper's Singapore office to seven. In total, the firm will have 32 partners across its Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore offices.

Nick Seddon, DLA Piper's Asia managing director, said: "Forecasts have estimated an average of 6.5 per cent growth across China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines this year. The addition of Minh Dang and Kevin Murphy, with strong track records in big projects and deals across Asia, strengthens our corporate team." DLA Piper has mounted a concerted campaign to boost its Asia offering in recent months. In April, the firm picked up former Perkins Coie IT/IP partner Gigi Cheah to head its Asian IT group. Earlier this year, the firm plundered Coudert Brothers for two Bangkok partners, including Couderts' Bangkok managing partner. And last year, DLA Piper lost out to Couderts in securing the vestiges of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's two-partner Bang-kok office, which was closed as part of the firm's strategic review of Asia.