As economies worldwide continue to find their feet in the wake of the global financial crisis, Asia is fast emerging as the epicentre of growth. Investments and human capital are flowing into and within the region, while Asian companies are ramping up their outbound activity. According to Thomson Reuters data, announced M&A activity with any Asian involvement in the first nine months of 2014 grossed $504.3 billion in value, a 59.1 percent increase over the $317 billion recorded over the same period last year. China remains the most targeted nation in the region with $261.7 billion from 2,789 deals.

The surge in business activity in Asia is also stimulating significant demand for legal services. The past 12 months alone have seen a plethora of new law firm office openings in the region, several mergers and alliances, and the strengthening of existing Asian offices through lateral hires, internal promotions and relocations.

An increasing number of international firms are setting up shop in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and South Korea to develop their Asia-wide practices. While many UK firms have had a sizeable presence in Asia for decades, a number of U.S. firms are also coming to the fore, beefing up their headcount in the region. These trends are reflected in the international firm tables for China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

This year, in order to widen the scope of the research and offer a more comprehensive overview of the legal market in Asia, ALB has separated Asia’s Top 50 Largest Law Firms list into two tables: “Top 50 International Firms” and “Top 50 Asian Firms.”

TOP 50 INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS

OUR RESEARCH

• Firms were contacted in September 2014 and asked to provide partner and lawyer numbers across their Asian offices as of Sep. 1, 2014.

• Total fee-earners is the total number of partners, associates, counsel, foreign counsel and consultants. Trainees or pupils were not counted among fee-earners.

• In the instance where a firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, its submission in 2013, or from available official law society data. ALB accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of information published on a law firm’s website.

• The research did not include law firm fee-earner figures from Australia and New Zealand. Only lawyers and partners based in Asia were taken into account for this research.

• In the instance where two firms had the same total fee-earner headcount, the firm with the greater number of partners was ranked higher.

ASIA’S TOP 50

Baker & McKenzie ranks as the largest international firm by headcount in Asia, with 902 fee-earners across 12 jurisdictions. UK Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance and Linklaters claim the second and third spots, with 464 and 316 fee-earners in Asia, respectively.

U.S. law firms account for 26 of the 50 largest international firms in Asia, though only two American firms feature in the top ten. Meanwhile, UK firms make up 19 of the 50 largest international firms, with five in the top ten. Firms with joint headquarters like DLA Piper (UK-U.S.), Hogan Lovells (UK-U.S.) and Herbert Smith Freehills (UK-Australia) also feature in the top ten. French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel and Australia’s Minter Ellison also enter the Top 50 International Law Firms table, ranked #45 and #48, respectively.

Among Asian firms, Beijing Yingke Law Firm (3,977 fee-earners) claims the top spot as the largest firm in Asia, followed by Chinese rivals Dacheng Law Offices (3,410) and Zhong Yin Law Firm (1,458) in second and third. King & Wood Mallesons (1,231) and Grandall Law Firm (1,210) take the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Unsurprisingly, Chinese law firms account for 23 of the 50 largest Asian firms in the region, with eight firms in the top ten. India’s Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co (705) and Korean firm Kim & Chang (1,000) also feature in the top ten. Eight Indian firms and six Korean firms feature in the Top 50 table, while Japanese and Singaporean firms claim five spots each.

TOP 50 ASIAN LAW FIRMS

Figures as of Sep. 1, 2014

NOTE: In the instance where a firm did not make a submission, figures were obtained either from the firm’s website, its submission in 2013, or from available official law society data. ALB accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of information published on a law firm’s website.

*Total fee-earners is the total number of partners, associates, counsel, foreign counsel and consultants. Trainees or pupils were not counted among fee-earners.

NORTH ASIA

Beijing Yingke Law Firm, with 3,976 fee-earners in China, displaces Dacheng Law Offices (3,410 feeearners) as the largest law firm in China. Zhong Yin Law Firm (1,458) is the third-largest firm in China, with more than 200 fee-earners joining its offices since September 2013. Grandall Law Firm consolidates its position as the fourth-largest firm, and has added 10 fee-earners to its offices in the past 12 months. In particular, Grandall Law Firm’s M&A, capital markets, outbound investment and litigation practices have experienced strong growth in the last year, says Jianjun (Charles) Guan, managing partner of the firm’s Shanghai office. “Talent is the basis of the firm’s competitiveness. It secures the firm’s steady and healthy development,” says Guan. “In order to maximise employee retention, the firm takes a series of measures, including but not limited to providing competitive salary for both new recruits and other employees, training programs, annual outings, steady promotion opportunities, and enhancing the sense of belonging,” he adds. The firm has major expansion plans in the pipeline for 2015, including the launch of offices in the U.S. and other key cities in China, says Guan.

CHINA INTERNATIONAL   

CHINA DOMESTIC

Baker & McKenzie (86), Hogan Lovells (78) and DLA Piper (63) make up the three largest international law firms in China. All three firms move up a place from last year at the expense of Clifford Chance, which drops three spots from first to fourth. O’Melveny & Myers falls six places from #7 to #13, with the firm’s headcount contracting by 19 fee-earners from 2013.

While the sizes of law firms’ corporate, finance and other core practices in China have fluctuated in the past year, one area that has seen exceptional growth is antitrust. While recruitment of competition lawyers has been on the rise since China introduced its Anti-Monopoly Law in 2008, headhunters say there has been a sharp uptick in the past year. Janet Chan, manager of the legal division at recruiter Michael Page, told Reuters earlier this year that she had seen a 20 percent increase in demand for antitrust attorneys over the past 12 to 18 months. King & Wood Mallesons, for example, now has three partners and more than a dozen associates dedicated to competition law work, and is looking to further expand its China competition team, according to a partner in the firm’s antitrust practice.

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL

HONG KONG DOMESTIC

Deacons is once again the largest Hong Kong law firm, boasting 253 fee-earners, including 51 partners. The firm is also the only Hong Kong outfit to feature in the Asia Top 50 table. One notable entry is Howse Williams Bowers, which slots in at #7. The firm has grown rapidly since its establishment in 2012, and now comprises 41 feeearners, including 15 partners. Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson (44), Stevenson, Wong & Co (33), Oldham, Li & Nie (31) and Smyth & Co (28) are all new entrants this year, partially due to the extension of the Hong Kong-headquartered firms table to include 15 firms.

The Hong Kong International table features many changes, with new firms entering the market and the continuous lateral recruitment of lawyers between fiercely competitive firms. Mayer Brown JSM (174) climbs to the top spot from third in 2013, while Linklaters (157) rises two places to fourth. Fellow Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy (113) jumps five places to #7, while Ashurst (52) leaps six places to #19. Davis Polk & Wardwell falls (66) four places down to #15, the largest drop in the table. With 170 fee-earners in its Hong Kong office, Baker & McKenzie is the only law firm in the table to hold the same position (#2) from last year.

JAPAN INTERNATIONAL

JAPAN DOMESTIC

Nishimura & Asahi cements its standing as the largest law firm in Japan with 467 fee-earners, 13 more than in 2013. TMI Associates (384) climbs one place in the table to clinch second, while Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (358) jumps two places to solidify its position as the third-largest firm in Japan. Atsumi & Sakai (100) climbs one place to #8, with six more fee-earners, including three more partners, than in 2013. Five Japanese law firms feature in the Asia Top 50 table, with several firms opening new offices outside Japan since September last year . Anderson Mori & Tomotsune opened in Shanghai last September and in Singapore last November, while Nishimura & Asahi established a Shanghai office in February this year. Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu launched a Bangkok office this April and a Ho Chi Minh City practice two months later in June. Meanwhile, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto set up shop in Yangon this April.

The top four international firms in Japan remain unchanged from last year, with Baker & McKenzie (157) and Morrison & Foerster (118) both commanding offices comprising more than 100 fee-earners. Linklaters (34) jumps two places to #8, while K&L Gates (23) is a new entrant at #13, after making a host of partner hires across Asia in 2014, including Haig Oghigian, Philip Hyde, Takahiro Hoshino and Takahiro Tsumagari in Tokyo.

SOUTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL

SOUTH KOREA DOMESTIC

With 1,000 fee-earners, including 120 partners, Kim & Chang is the largest firm in South Korea, as well as the largest non-Chinese firm in Asia. Lee & Ko (493) displaces Bae, Kim & Lee (481) as the second-largest firm in Korea. The firm grew by 33 fee-earners, including 10 partners, in the last 12 months. While Shin & Kim (383) and Yulchon (377) retain their positions as the fourth and fifth-largest firms, respectively, the former’s headcount grew by two fee-earners since September 2013, while the latter grew by an impressive 47 fee-earners. International law firms have their sights set on Korea, especially since the signing of U.S. and EU Free-Trade Agreements with Korea in 2011 which allow American and European law firms to open offices in Korea. So far, more than 20 international law firms have set up shop in Seoul, with several more waiting on the sidelines. To reflect this trend, ALB has created a table featuring the largest international law firms in Korea. It is important to note that the office sizes are small, partially due to restrictions that remain in force until Korea’s legal market completely opens up in 2016, which limit international firms to largely international dispute resolution and outbound work. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton boasts the largest international practice in Korea with 14 fee-earners. Paul Hastings is the second-largest firm, with three partners on the ground in Seoul and another six fee-earners. As Korea’s legal market moves closer to full liberalisation in 2016, one can expect to see more international firms set up offices in Seoul, existing firms expand their practices, and perhaps some consolidation between international and local firms.

TAIWAN

Lee and Li retains its spot as the largest firm in Taiwan with 427 fee-earners, 300 lawyers more than Formosa Transnational, the secondlargest Taiwanese firm. Lee and Li is also the only Taiwanese firm in the Asia Top 50 table. Tsar & Tsai (74) climbs two places this year, adding 18 additional fee-earners from last year. Meanwhile, Baker & McKenzie (64) drops two spots in the table to fifth.

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ASIA

South Asia and Southeast Asia are notable highgrowth areas. The regions have seen a rise in M&A activity over the past couple of years and a visible surge in the first half of 2014. The encouraging growth rates, attractive manufacturing costs and burgeoning middle class of several jurisdictions are likely to further stimulate dealflow in the region.

A significant upcoming development is the integration of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC, which is expected to launch by the end of 2015, will create a trading bloc of more than 600 million people with a GDP exceeding $5.6 trillion, which would make it the seventh-largest economy in the world. The AEC is unlikely to be an immediate game changer in the region, as foreign ownership restrictions are not expected to change substantially in the bloc’s early days. Nevertheless, the AEC should open more doors for legal work, especially in the financial services, real estate, telecommunications and consumer goods sectors. Meanwhile, India has struggled with sluggish growth for several years, with the current GDP growth rate fluctuating around 5 percent.

However, the election in May of the country’s new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, could turn things around, lawyers say. Modi has vowed to revive economic growth, cut legal and regulatory red tape, and construct new roads, factories, power lines, high-speed trains and even 100 new cities. Lawyers and industry watchers are cautiously optimistic about the next 12 months, and expect deal activity to pick up slowly but surely. Whether this will have a direct impact on the volume of legal work passing through Indian law firms, and subsequently the size of the firms, remains to be seen.

INDIA

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co (705 fee-earners) consolidates its place as the tenth-largest firm in Asia and the largest in India, boasting more than 300 fee-earners than its nearest Indian competitor, Khaitan & Co (372). Luthra & Luthra (350), J. Sagar Associates (312) and AZB & Partners (240) make up the rest of the largest five Indian law firms, with their positions unchanged from 2013. Juris Corp, Majmudar & Partners and IndusLaw drop down the rankings, largely due to a number of new entrants that feature in the table this year. Of note is the merger of Rajani Associates and Singhania & Partners to create Rajani, Singhania & Partners in October 2013, which catapults the firm into 17th place with 92 fee-earners, including 22 partners.

INDONESIA