Law firm Herbert Smith has strengthened its international arbitration capability in China, through the relocation of one of its arbitration partners from London and the recruitment of a Ch
Law firm Herbert Smith has strengthened its international arbitration capability in China, through the relocation of one of its arbitration partners from London and the recruitment of a Chinese arbitration expert.
In September 2009 partner Justin D’Agostino (pictured) will relocate to Hong Kong to join the firm’s Asia disputes practice. D’Agostino has acted as counsel and advocate before arbitral tribunals in a number of jurisdictions. He also sits as an arbitrator.
D’Agostino will work closely with the disputes teams in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing and with the firm’s arbitration partners across the region, particularly Graeme Johnston in Shanghai. The team will be further enhanced by May Tai, a senior associate from the international arbitration group in London and Mandarin speaker, who will relocate to Shanghai in October.
On 1 September, Patrick Zheng will be joining Herbert Smith as a senior consultant in Herbert Smith’s Beijing office. A respected figure in the Chinese arbitration community, Patrick worked for eight years at CIETAC, the Beijing-based arbitration institution. He is an experienced arbitrator whose language skills include fluency in Korean, Japanese, Chinese and English. Damien McDonald, a senior associate in the China arbitration team currently based in Shanghai, will relocate to Beijing where he will work with Zheng.
D’Agostino says: "This presents a great opportunity for me, as it does for May, to work in one of the world’s most dynamic arbitration markets. Together with Patrick, we look forward to further developing the excellent reputation already established by Herbert Smith in the international investment community, and with our Chinese multinational client base.’
Paula Hodges, co-head of Herbert Smith’s international arbitration practice, says: "These developments are part of a broader picture of investment we have made in our international arbitration practice over the last few years to service the needs of our clients globally. Justin, Patrick and May will add further depth to our China capability, fully integrating our Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing teams.’
The news follows on from Herbert Smith’s announcement last week that disputes partner Stuart Paterson will be relocating to the UAE to work alongside partner Craig Shepherd in developing the firm’s Middle East disputes practice.
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