ST. LOUIS, December 10, 2007 – LAWFUEL – Law Newswire – Law The international law firm Bryan Cave LLP has announced an affiliation with Alpha & Leader, a Chinese law firm in the corporate and finance sectors with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.
“A broader footprint in China is increasingly important in today’s business environment,” said Don Lents, chairman of Bryan Cave. “Alpha & Leader is well positioned to provide a local law complement to our international practice in China and around the world.”
Under the terms of the exclusive affiliation, Bryan Cave and its trade consulting subsidiary, Bryan Cave International Trade LLC (BCIT), will be the preferred firm to support Alpha & Leader on work in the U.S. and other countries outside of China where Bryan Cave and BCIT have a presence.
Alpha & Leader, in turn, will become Bryan Cave’s preferred firm for local law services in China that foreign firms are not permitted to offer under Chinese rules.
The affiliation will enable Bryan Cave and Alpha & Leader to better handle corporate, finance, transaction and international-trade matters in China and across the globe. The association also will provide Alpha & Leader support for litigation matters in other parts of the world, as well as government relations counsel in the U.S.
In addition, designated lawyers from Alpha & Leader and Bryan Cave will be assigned to work periodically in each other’s offices under an exchange program.
“A strategic alliance with Alpha & Leader allows Bryan Cave to offer current and future clients an integrated capacity in China that only an affiliation with a local firm can provide,” said Curt Dombek, the leader of Bryan Cave’s international trade practice who manages the firm’s Asian offices. “It also will improve our ability to attract lateral candidates to our Shanghai and Hong Kong offices.”
Headquartered in Guangzhou, Alpha & Leader has more than 100 professionals who advise many of China’s domestic banks, as well as U.S. commercial and investment banks and multinational corporations. The firm’s practice areas include risk and asset management and arbitration.
“The affiliation with Bryan Cave is a big step forward in Alpha & Leader’s globalization,” said Wesley Pan, managing partner of Alpha & Leader. “Our influence will be enhanced, because more international institutions and investors will come to know Alpha & Leader’s capability in providing finance and corporate legal services, as well as business solutions in China.”
Alpha & Leader Senior Partner Ricky Li noted that another important objective of the affiliation is to enhance the international perspective and experience of its Chinese lawyers when providing legal services.
Bryan Cave LLP has a diversified international legal practice. The firm represents a wide variety of business, financial, institutional and individual clients, including publicly held multinational corporations, large and mid-sized privately held companies, partnerships and emerging companies. Subsidiaries Bryan Cave International Trade LLC and Bryan Cave Strategies LLC, provide trade and customs consultancy and government relations and strategic counsel, respectively. Aided by extensive investments in technology, Bryan Cave’s more than 900 lawyers and other consulting professionals in 21 offices across the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia efficiently serve clients’ needs in the world’s leading business and financial markets.
For more information, contact:
Meghan Clinton at (212) 576-2700 ext. 223
mclinton@goodmanmedia.com
