Perkins Coie launched its Shenzhen office on 8 April after closing branches in Shanghai and Beijing in 2024, strengthening its ability to provide cross-border and US legal services to China and Asia-based companies.
The move came ahead of the firm’s planned merger with Ashurst in the third quarter of this year, making it the latest foreign law firm to set up a presence in Shenzhen.
Explaining the choice of location, Ai Bing, chief representative and managing partner of the office, told China Business Law Journal: “Perkins Coie’s longstanding focus on the technology sector makes Shenzhen a natural and important addition to our Asia platform.
“As a global centre for innovation and advanced manufacturing – and a core city within the Greater Bay Area – Shenzhen allows Perkins Coie to be closer to technology companies and better support clients with complex US and international cross-border needs. Our presence here ensures closer co-ordination and more timely, practical and targeted support for companies in the Shenzhen region and Greater China that are increasingly active in their business in the US and other global markets.”
The Ministry of Justice approved the office in January 2025. As early as 2019, the firm established an IP Agency, with an office in Shenzhen.
Since last year, several foreign law firms have entered the Shenzhen market.
(1) Appleby and Pinsent Masons, approved at the same time as Perkins Coie, commenced operations in October 2025 and January 2026, respectively.
(2) In February 2026, Australian law firm Starlight Legal, Brazilian law firm Licks Attorneys and German law firm Michalski Hüttermann & Partner were approved to establish offices in Shenzhen.
(3) In March 2026, China Commercial Law Firm entered into an association with Pinsent Masons.
(4) In March 2026, Taylor Wessing secured approval to relocate its Beijing office to Qianhai, Shenzhen.
The Perkins Coie new office is located at China Resources Tower, No. 2666 South Keyuan Road in Nanshan district, and is led by Ai and Yuan Wei, representative and litigation partner.
Both partners have dual backgrounds in law and technology, with extensive experience in assisting Chinese companies in aligning with US legal frameworks and meeting business needs in the US.
Ai has practised at Perkins Coie since 2010 and was formerly a physicist. He spent 14 years at Fish & Richardson and has more than 25 years of experience in patent procurement, patent strategies and patent portfolio management, covering sectors such as semiconductors, electronics and medical devices. His work also includes patent due diligence in matters such as patent licences, portfolio sales, corporate financing, investments and M&A.
Yuan specialises in intellectual property, particularly patent litigation. During nearly five years at Perkins Coie, he rose from associate to partner, having previously worked at US law firm Finnegan. He regularly represents clients in patent infringement disputes in section 337 investigations before the International Trade Commission and in US district courts.
Before receiving his JD from Georgetown University Law Centre, he obtained a PhD in biomedical engineering from the City University of New York and a BSc in computer science from Nanjing University of Science and Technology.
Perkins Coie and Ashurst will combine to form a new firm named Ashurst Perkins Coie, bringing together more than 3,000 lawyers across 52 offices in 23 countries.
Founded in 1912, Perkins Coie has more than 20 offices across the US, Asia and Europe, with practices spanning corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property and regulatory compliance.
