The Hong Kong Law Society has approved Mayer Brown’s plans to spin-off Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) and is now in its initial stages of completion.
JSM, with 125 lawyers moving across with the firm, has regained its independence after a 2008 merger with Mayer Brown. Mayer Brown has formed a separate Hong Kong branch consisting of 26 lawyers.
JSM will continue to operate under its 160-year-old Chinese name 孖士打律师事务所, while Mayer Brown Hong Kong has been renamed 美博香港律师事务所. Until the split is finalised, JSM will function “in association with” Mayer Brown Hong Kong as one firm to maintain consistency in confidentiality and conflicts of interest.
Both firms are based in the Prince’s Building, with JSM occupying the 16th to 18th floors and Mayer Brown Hong Kong on the 19th floor.
JSM senior partner Terence Tung will lead the management committee alongside commercial managing partner Hannah Ha, dispute resolution managing partner Geoffrey Chan and real estate managing partner Keith Cheung.
Previously, Ha served as the chair of the Asia board at Mayer Brown before the split.
Tung said JSM aimed to strengthen its business and position in Hong Kong as a “super-connector” between mainland China and the global market. More than one-third of the firm’s Hong Kong lawyers hold dual practice qualifications and possess expertise in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.
Currently, among JSM’s 125 lawyers are 43 partners, and the firm has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as an intellectual property agency in Beijing. The Beijing office has seven lawyers, led by resident partners Tom Fu and Ian Lewis, while Zhao Chunchun heads the intellectual property agency. Partner Andy Yeo manages the Shanghai office.
Mayer Brown Hong Kong has 12 partners among its 26 retained lawyers, with Thomas Kollar as the managing partner specialising in capital markets. In addition to Hong Kong, Mayer Brown has offices in Singapore and Tokyo.
The history of JSM can be traced back to 1863, when founder Edmund Sharp, one of the earliest solo practitioners in Hong Kong, established the firm. It is one of the oldest law firms in Asia and was once the largest in Hong Kong.
In 2008, JSM merged with Mayer Brown and changed its name to Mayer Brown JSM until 2018, when the JSM name was dropped to maintain the consistency of the brand in the international market.
