Silicon Valley-headquartered Wilson Sonsini has confirmed the closure of its Beijing office, following a decision not to renew its lease.
A spokesperson for Wilson Sonsini told China Business Law Journal that the firm would continue to provide services in Greater China and the rest of Asia through other offices in the region, without disclosing further details about future arrangements for its Beijing staff.
The spokesperson said the move reflected the firm’s strategy of continually evaluating and adapting its operations to ensure it was “effectively meeting the needs of our clients, while maintaining high levels of efficiency”.
Wilson Sonsini is the third major US law firm to scale back its China presence in 2025 amid an ongoing trend of US departures from the country, the most recent being Cleary Gottlieb and Morgan Lewis.
Apart from Beijing, the firm currently operates two other offices in Greater China, in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Wilson Sonsini expanded to Beijing in 2012, after launching its Shanghai office in 2002 and its Hong Kong office in 2010. Over the years, the firm’s Beijing team have advised clients on matters including US and Hong Kong capital markets, private equity, M&A, and corporate governance.
Beijing was the firm’s largest office in China by partner headcount, and among its five partners, its China head, Chen Weiheng, works across all three locations, while Ouyang Dan is dually based in Beijing and Hong Kong, while Li Ke, Richard Wang and Yin Can were based solely in Beijing.
Founded in 1961, Wilson Sonsini is best known for its deep ties to Silicon Valley’s technology sector, playing a pivotal role in the public listings of major tech giants including Apple, Google, Tesla and Amazon.
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