Leading China Lawyer Arthur Mok Joins Ropes & Gray

May 3, 2010
Attorneys:

Ropes & Gray today announced that Arthur Mok is joining the global law firm in a boost to its corporate offering to clients with interests in China. Mr. Mok was previously with Hogan & Hartson, where he has been the managing partner of that firm's Shanghai office, which he launched in 2004.

Mr. Mok, 38, is a leading corporate lawyer in Greater China with a focus on M&A, private equity financing and other commercial transactions. He will be a partner in the firm's private equity and life sciences practices.

Mr. Mok's appointment is one of the firm's initial steps toward opening a new office in Shanghai, as a base for the firm's further expansion into China. The firm currently advises international clients, including Chinese companies, from its offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London, and throughout the United States.

"I'm delighted to be joining Ropes & Gray, where I have a unique opportunity to team with top-tier colleagues handling the most challenging transactions in China," said Mr. Mok. "The firm is growing in a deliberate, forward-thinking way that fully embraces the importance of being able to serve clients with their China-related business interests."

Mr. Mok's addition to the firm and the planned Shanghai expansion reinforce Ropes & Gray's commitment to growing its practices in Asia and advising clients in the world's most dynamic economies. Since opening offices in Hong Kong in 2008 and Tokyo in 2007, Ropes & Gray has quickly established itself as a leading Asian firm, handling some of the region's largest and most complex transactions. In April, Asian Legal Business honored the firm's Hong Kong-based lawyers for their role in China's "M&A Deal of the Year," GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.'s $3.4 billion acquisition of Jiangsu Zhongneng. In 2009, the firm represented long-term client Bain Capital in its acquisition of Bellsystem24 in the largest buyout by a foreign private equity firm in Japan in nearly two years.

"We are thrilled to welcome a lawyer of Arthur Mok's caliber as we enhance our offering to clients in China," said Ropes & Gray chairman Brad Malt. "His transactional skills, China experience and life science pedigree make for a potent combination that strengthens our position in Asia."

Mr. Mok has been recognized as a leading lawyer for private equity (venture capital investments) by Chambers Asia and Legal 500. His clients include both China- and U.S.-based companies, as well as private equity firms and venture capital funds focused on healthcare, life sciences and technology.  Notable transactions handled by Mr. Mok include his representation of Cathay Industrial Biotech in a preferred equity financing, which is believed to be the largest venture capital financing completed to date in China.  Mr. Mok also advised Hutchison Medipharma Ltd. on its landmark drug discovery partnership with Eli Lilly & Company, the first-ever major drug discovery partnership between a multinational pharmaceutical company and a China-based biotech company. 

Ropes & Gray's global footprint, with about 1,000 lawyers, allows it to serve clients from bases in major world financial centers - Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Silicon Valley and San Francisco - and to provide global execution of transactions.