Li Xiaoming, the head of White & Case’s China practice for the past 12 years, has left to join Han Kun Law Offices.
Li specialises in providing advice on cross-border M&A and corporate finance for both Chinese and overseas clients. His addition provides further impetus to Han Kun’s ambitious growth plans.
Indeed, the Beijing-headquartered firm has also hired Li Wei, a former venture capital and private equity partner at Global Law Offices, while its Hong Kong associate firm Miao & Co has hired capital markets and M&A partner Ye Yurong from King & Wood Mallesons.
Han Kun now has more than 200 lawyers at its four offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is primarily focused on private equity, investment funds, M&A and international and domestic capital markets advice, as well as related corporate and financing matters.
Li Xiaoming came to White & Case in 2005 from King & Wood, where he had been a partner since 1999, with a rare and much-sought-after resume. He was one of the few senior mainland Chinese lawyers at the time with significant international experience, having graduated from Duke University School of Law with his JD in 1990 and then worked in New York and Hong Kong for Debevoise & Plimpton.
His departure leaves Alex Zhang, head of the Shanghai office, as White & Case’s most senior partner in China.