RPC prepares for launch of five-partner Hong Kong office
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) is set to launch in Hong Kong in August with a 40-member team led by five partners.
Four of the partners joined from Clyde & Co in April this year (4 April 2012). They are legacy Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) insurance and litigation partners David Smyth and Antony Sassi and shipping partners Andrew Horton and Gary Yin.
The fifth partner is Jason Carmichael, who focuses on corporate and M&A. He joins from local Hong Kong firm CdB and JC& Co, which he co-founded in 2009 after he left Clyde & Co’s Hong Kong office.
Aside from the five partners, the new office will consist of 16 associates and 19 support staff, most of them joining from either the legacy BLG Hong Kong team or CdB and JC& Co. The Hong Kong office will focus on a mix of insurance, litigation, shipping and corporate work.
It will be the City firm’s second office in Asia. Last October, it launched a Singapore base on the back of the hire of BLG’s insurance and reinsurance partner Mark Errington (27 October 2012).
RPC managing partner Jonathan Watmough noted in a statement: “Establishing a presence in Hong Kong marks the next step in the development of our practice in Asia, and gives us an excellent platform for further growth in the region following the opening of our Singapore office.”
A year after the merger between BLG and Clyde & Co, a total of seven legacy BLG Hong Kong partners have left the enlarged firm. The other three partners left Clyde & Co to join the Hong Kong offices of Bird & Bird and Simmons & Simmons respectively. Clyde & Co currently has eight partners in Hong Kong.
Readers' comments (2)
Anonymous | 2-Jul-2012 3:55 pm
What a coupe for 2 Birds and RPC - timing is everthing and they got a bit lucky on that? RPC - To pick up a leading Tier 1 insurance team in Asia (David and Sassi) and the Yin and the Yanhorton of HK shipping is also impressive.
Less well known is BLGs' Walschs already joining 2Birds and the client friendly Keady to follow. Be intersting to see where old HK hand Ganish and Robert Roda go (former well known in comm lit and education) and latter well fancied generally and in arbitration). Tom Fye also off to 2 Simmons ? aka Mr Cool (and a SFO / TMT leader). 2Birds and RPC push and HK the place to be?
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Anonymous | 2-Jul-2012 4:49 pm
@Anonymous - is your name really Jonathan Watmough?
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