Wilmer Cutler launches first mainland China base

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has become the latest foreign firm to launch an office on the Chinese mainland.

The US giant formed by the merger of Wilmer Cutler Pickering and Hale and Dorr today announced the launch of their Beijing office.

The launch represents a milestone for Wilmer Cutler as it is the firm’s first Asian office.

The Beijing office will be headed by partner Lester Ross and will focus on corporate and regulatory matters as well as intellectual property issues.

Other foreign firms that have recently marched into the Chinese mainland include Weil Gotshal & Manges, which opened its first branch in mainland China after securing a licence to launch a Shanghai office.