King & Wood today announced the opening of new offices in Vancouver and Los Angeles, further enhancing its service capabilities across North America. Both offices are now operational.
The firm has also formally completed its separation from Australian law firm Mallesons, bringing an end to a 14-year association. King & Wood now operates offices in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and the US. It has three offices in the US, in New York, Silicon Valley and now Los Angeles.
King & Wood’s global chairman Wang Junfeng said in a statement: “North America is a critical market for our clients, and this expansion reflects the growing scale and sophistication of Chinese investment into Canada and the United States. Vancouver and Los Angeles are natural hubs for cross-border work, and the new overseas offices mark a key step in King & Wood’s international strategy, embodying our firm’s commitment to supporting clients’ global business development.”
The firm’s press release said the choice of location reflected both cities’ roles in China-related trade. Vancouver and Los Angeles served not only as important gateways for Chinese enterprises and high-net-worth individuals entering the North American market, but also as key departure points for North American businesses expanding into Asia, it said.
Partners Hu Zaichi and Liu Cheng are jointly leading the Vancouver office. Hu brings 25 years of cross-jurisdictional experience across Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vancouver and the American Northwest. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A, inbound and outbound investment, corporate governance, commercial transactions and regulatory compliance under both North American and Chinese legal regimes.
Prior to rejoining King & Wood, he was a partner in the Vancouver offices of Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Dentons. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at King & Wood’s Beijing office.
Liu Cheng joined King & Wood as a consultant in 2010 and was subsequently promoted to partner. His practice covers antitrust and competition law, corporate investment and M&A, and international trade. He advises clients across sectors including pharmaceuticals, internet and technology, automotive, machinery, agriculture, food, chemicals, energy, IT, real estate and trading. He also has substantial experience in responding to US and EU anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard investigations.
The Los Angeles office is led by partner Lu Yinghao, who also serves as head of the firm’s US banking and finance practice. Lu practised at King & Wood’s Melbourne office from 2012 to 2015 and has been a partner at its Beijing office since 2015. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Beijing representative offices of Sidley Austin and Clifford Chance. Prior to King & Wood’s 2012 merger with Mallesons, he practised at the firm’s Beijing office.
Lu has extensive experience advising domestic and international commercial banks, investment banks, investment funds and corporate borrowers on financing transactions across industries including mining, energy, power, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality and information technology.
The firm’s North America managing partner Meg Utterback said: “The Vancouver and Los Angeles offices will significantly enhance our ability to serve our clients across North America. By deepening our West Coast presence, we are strengthening cross-border connectivity and delivering more integrated, responsive legal support to clients operating across China, Canada and the US.”
