US litigation boutique Kobre & Kim has opened its third Asia office in Shanghai, the firm’s first location in mainland China.
Kobre & Kim has relocated Hong Kong partner Shaun Wu to head the new office. Wu focuses on commercial disputes and US government investigations involving China. He joined the US firm in 2012 from King & Spalding, as part of the firm’s plan to strengthen its judgement enforcement practice in Hong Kong.
He is qualified in the US, UK and offshore jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands, where he handles China-related matters that have offshore implications.
The Shanghai opening comes two years after the firm launched an office in South Korea, which is led by co-founder Michael Kim. It is also an extension of the firm’s Hong Kong office, which was established in 2010 and obtained a Hong Kong law practice with the hire of a partner from local litigation firm Gall in 2014.
Kobre & Kim now has 10 offices globally and four investigation and trial support centres in Buenos Aires, Chicago, Tel Aviv and Turks and Caicos Islands.
According to The Lawyer Litigation Top 50 report 2017, China has become an increasingly important market for global litigation practices. In 2015, US litigation giant Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan launched an office in Shanghai through the hire of Kirkland & Ellis’ Asia government enforcement and investigations head Samuel Williamson.
