As economic activity continues to decline in Greater China, international offshore law firms find themselves in closely contested battles for litigation and restructuring assignments. This significant drop in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and funds-related deals over recent years has led to significant changes in the nature of their work. An article in Law.com from November 2023 notes that a majority of the work from offshore firms like Conyers Dill & Pearman is channelled through Hong Kong from Mainland China, further highlighting the impact of this downturn. As a result, there has been intensified competition among these law firms for the decreasing number of mandates coming out of Hong Kong.
The shift in work trends has also seen these firms competing over the available U.S. take-private and listing deals from Asian corporates. Fund formation work targeting Japan-bound investments is another area experiencing an uplift. The objective of the firms is clear – maintaining the levels of busyness for their capital markets teams in this challenging operational climate.