Chicago-based labor and employment law firm Seyfarth Shaw announced on Wednesday their launch of a new office in Shanghai, China. The law firm intends the Shanghai office to function as a work hub covering the entire of Asia. The office in Shanghai will be managed and led by Wan Li from DLA Piper, who is one of the most high-profile China practitioners. The Shanghai office is Seyfarth Shaw’s second office outside the USA. The other one is in London.
J. Stephen Poor, the chairman and managing partner of Seyfarth said, “Opening our Shanghai office is part of aligning our international services with the needs of our clients … In speaking with our clients during the last 12 months, there has been overwhelming feedback for us to open an office in Shanghai to support our clients in some of our core practice areas. We are delighted to open the Shanghai office to help us better serve our clients in China.”
Darren Gardner, the chair of Seyfarth’s International Practice said, “It is an exciting development for us to open our office in Shanghai. This is an important next step in the evolution of our international service model, following the very successful opening of our London office in 2011.”
Speaking on the recruitment of Wan Li, Gardner said, “We are very pleased to welcome Wan Li to the firm. He is an experienced and highly-respected member of the Chinese legal community who we have known and worked closely with for mutual clients over a long period of time. We are very much looking forward to building out our team around him, especially in the employment and corporate practice areas.”
The new office of Seyfarth Shaw will be in Shanghai’s “Jing An” business district and located in the Jing An Kerry Centre Tower II.