In 1981, Paul Weiss became one of the earliest foreign law firms to open an office in Beijing, but it is one of the latest of a growing number of American and global firms to leave China or shrink China operations. In early December, Mayer Brown spun off its Hong Kong office. In October, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr said it would close its Beijing office, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom announced it would close its Shanghai office. Reed Smith, Perkins Coie, Dechert, Morrison & Foerster and Sidley Austin are other firms that have announced downsizing of their China operations.
What do these closings and departures mean for foreign law firms and their clients in China? Why the rush for the door? And does the exodus concern the Chinese government, or is it welcome news for a party-state increasingly focused on centralized control?
