8/31/16- DLA Piper office in Miami.
J. Albert Diaz
DLA Piper has shaken up its Asia leadership structure, appointing three senior lawyers to lead its operations on the ground in the region.
The changes complement a U.S.-led committee with on-the-ground leadership in Asia.
Shanghai partner Li Qiang and Hong Kong partner Satpal Gobindpuri will become co-regional managing partners starting Sept. 1. Shanghai-based Roy Chan, who currently shares the firm's China practice leadership with Li, will be Asia senior partner. Gobindpuri and Li will be responsible for the day-to-day management and operations while Chan will look after strategy and client development for the region.
San Diego partner Terence O'Malley will continue to chair the firm's Asia committee, on which he sits with global co-chief executives Simon Levine in London and Jay Rains also in San Diego. O'Malley and Rains took over Asia management in 2014 alongside Sydney partner Andrew Darwin, who in May was appointed managing director for developing markets, overseeing regions including the Nordics, the Middle East, Africa and India. Not long after that, former Asia Pacific managing director Bob Charlton left the firm to become Asia head for U.K. firm Berwin Leighton Paisner.
Gobindpuri, who currently heads DLA's Asia litigation practice, has been with legacy DLA since 1992. Li arrived at the firm only last year from O'Melveny & Myers. Chan, also a longtime DLA lawyer, relocated from Hong Kong in 2002 to launch the Shanghai office for the DLA.
In a statement, O'Malley said that Chan, Li and Gobindpuri represent a good mix of both long-standing and relatively new partners that share our vision of dynamic growth in key practice areas consistent with our global offering.
DLA Piper was formed through the 2005 merger between U.K. firm DLA and U.S. firm Piper Rudnick Gray Cary; at the time of the merger, Piper Rudnick didn't have any Asian offices while DLA had several.
In addition to regional management positions, DLA will also replace Hong Kong managing partner Kevin Chan with Susheela Rivers; Chan will take over Gobindpuri's role as Asia head of the firm's litigation and regulatory practices. Hong Kong partner Luke Gannon will take over as Asia head of corporate from Paul Chen, who will move back to the firm's Silicon Valley office.
Anna Zhang is based in Hong Kong, where she writes about the business of law and legal issues in Asia and Australia. Contact her at azhang@alm.com. On Twitter: @annazhangc.