Eversheds Sutherland is deliberating on closing the Beijing office, but its co-operation deal with King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) will remain unchanged, a move the firm has confirmed with China Business Law Journal.
The firm’s plan, which comes in the wake of international peers retreating from the country, may make it the first UK law firm to reduce its presence in China this year.
Last Thursday, the firm revealed it was contemplating the closure of the Beijing branch, but emphasised that “no final decision has been made regarding its future”, and it had no intention of taking a similar step with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
With 17 partners and another 58 lawyers working in its China branches, Eversheds’ Beijing office houses three lawyers including managing partner Jay Ze, according to its website.
The potential China downsizing plan follows Eversheds’ exclusive agreement with Beijing-headquartered KWM in July 2023, as the latter firm then decided to close six offices outside of China.
The year-old agreement allows both firms to refer work to each other. Specifically, KWM’s outbound work to the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America is directed to Eversheds, while KWM handles China-based work for Eversheds.
Since then, the firm has taken onboard KWM’s partners in London, Dubai, Frankfurt and other locations.
Looking ahead as an alternate Asian strategy, Eversheds said it was seeking to open an office in Singapore soon, subject to regulatory approvals.
Eversheds’ announcement came within the same week as US firm Dechert’s decision to close both of its China offices in Beijing and Hong Kong.
This year alone, six US-based law firms have announced the closure of their China offices as they seek to consolidate their operations in Asia or expand to Singapore.
