Asia Spotlight: Gibson Dunn

Overview of Gibson Dunn in Asia

History

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes around the world. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. With more than 2,000 lawyers, spanning 21 offices worldwide and dozens of practice areas, we operate as a unified whole. 

Gibson Dunn opened its first Asian office in Singapore in 2008, in a bid to focus on work from India, Indonesia and Mongolia. In 2010, it launched its Hong Kong office and 2013 it opened the Beijing office.

We have advised on matters in Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Key practice areas: Antitrust & Competition, Compliance Advisory & Investigations, Energy & Infrastructure, Finance, Financial Services Regulatory, Funds, International Trade, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Mergers & Acquisitions, Privacy Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection, Private Equity, Restructuring & Insolvency, Strategic Sourcing & Commercial, Transactions, Technology

Key sectors: Cleantech, Data Centres and Digital Infrastructure, Energy and Infrastructure, Fashion, Retail and Consumer Products, Financial Institutions, FinTech and Digital Assets, Health Care, Life Sciences, Media, Entertainment and Technology, Power and Renewables, Project Development, Real Estate Investment Trust, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, Transportation and Space, Emerging Companies/Venture Capital

Locations in Asia-Pacific: Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore (Gibson Dunn has 21 offices globally)

View the firm’s rankings from the Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Greater China Region, Chambers Global and Chambers High Net Worth guides.

Firm culture

Working at Gibson Dunn offers unparalleled experience to handle the most challenging and significant transactions. One of our key strengths lies in our ability to integrate the skills and resources of our practitioners across different practice areas and jurisdictions. Our lawyers, from trainees and junior associates to senior associates, are given substantial experience and client exposure early in their careers. This approach ensures that the work remains competitive and challenging, while fostering professional growth and development.

Strategy and future

Situated in the financial centres of Asia, our Gibson Dunn lawyers from our Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing offices work seamlessly as an integrated team with our 18 other worldwide offices to provide global coverage for our clients in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the United States and Latin America. Across our practice areas, we operate in small, focused teams, providing quality work customised to each of our clients’ needs. This approach allows us to remain agile and responsive to our clients’ rapidly changing needs, ensuring we provide the highest level of service. We pride ourselves on being able to rapidly and efficiently deliver the full range of skills and services required by our clients.

 

Beijing

Office overview

Core practice areas: M&A, Private Equity, Corporate, Capital Markets

Key sectors: Betting and Gaming, Fashion, Retail and Consumer Products, Financial Institutions, Health Care, Life Sciences, Transportation and Space, Emerging Companies/Venture Capital

Local headcount: 6

Recruitment contact:internationalrecruitment@gibsondunn.com (lateral opportunities only)

Location: Chaoyang District

Strategic focuses

Our Beijing lawyers bring a global perspective and connections to complex matters such as cross-border M&A, private equity, restructuring, investment funds, capital markets, and corporate investigations. Our team offers unparalleled experience and has been involved in many unprecedented transactions in China.

Our Beijing-based lawyers also draw on Gibson Dunn’s reputation and resources as one of the top litigation firms, representing Chinese clients involved in cross-border regulatory and litigation matters, including intellectual property disputes, securities law claims, and other commercial disputes. Unlike most international law firms in Asia, our local lawyers handle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. We have substantial experience advising offshore companies on compliance matters in China, and Chinese companies on U.S. and international anti-corruption and related compliance matters.

Work highlights

We have been involved in many never-been-done-before transactions in China, including China's first sale of non-performing loans to international investors; the first listing of a Chinese enterprise on the NYSE; the first large Sino-U.S. power project; the development and financing of China's first LNG receiving terminal; and the first hostile takeover involving a listed PRC company.

 

Hong Kong

Office overview

Core practice areas: M&A, Private Equity, Corporate, Funds, Finance, Dispute Resolution and Litigation, White Collar Defence and Investigations, Antitrust and Competition, Financial Services Regulatory, Technology, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation, International Trade, Tax

Key sectors: Data Centres and Digital Infrastructure, Energy and Infrastructure, Fashion, Retail and Consumer Products, Financial Institutions, FinTech and Digital Assets, Health Care, Life Sciences, Media, Entertainment and Technology, Project Development, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, Emerging Companies/Venture Capital

Local headcount: 45

Recruitment contact:graduaterecruitment@gibsondunn.com

Location: Central

Strategic focuses

Gibson Dunn’s Hong Kong office provides an extensive range of legal and regulatory advice to clients throughout the Asia-Pacific region. We combine our extensive local knowledge with the strength of a global firm.

We advise our clients on a range of complex corporate transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity, as well as energy and infrastructure projects, finance, and investment funds. In the technology industries, we are particularly skilled at strategic M&A transactions in which technology, data and intellectual property are key deal drivers. We regularly represent Asian and global clients, including high net worth individuals and trusts, in court actions, arbitrations and other forums in connection with their most significant matters. We have particularly strong experience in civil and commercial litigation, including company and shareholder disputes, tax, trust, contentious probate and estate administration, as well advising on corporate governance and crisis management.

Work highlights

Our lawyers in Hong Kong and China are ranked as leading individuals by third-party publications such as Chambers Asia-Pacific, China Law & Practice and China Business Law Journal. We are particularly known for our experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investment funds and corporate investigations/anti-corruption. We have been involved in many never-been-done-before transactions in Hong Kong, including the spin off and separate listing of PCCW's telecommunications business in the form of a novel structure involving a listed trust, which was the first listing of its kind in Hong Kong, raising approximately US$1.2 billion.

 

Singapore

Office overview

Core practice areas: M&A, Private Equity, Funds, Leveraged Finance & Restructuring, White Collar Defence and Investigations, Infrastructure & Energy, Financial Services Regulatory

Key sectors: Cleantech, Energy and Infrastructure, Financial Institutions, FinTech and Digital Assets, Power and Renewables, Project Development, Real Estate Investment Trust, Transportation and Space, Emerging Companies/Venture Capital

Local headcount: 19

Recruitment contact:internationalrecruitment@gibsondunn.com (lateral opportunities only)

Location: One Raffles Quay

Strategic focuses

Opened in 2008, Gibson Dunn’s Singapore office is ideally situated to represent global and Asia-based clients in their business transactions in South and Southeast Asia. Having been awarded a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) license by the Singapore Ministry of Law in 2013, we are able to provide our clients with local Singapore law advice in permitted practice areas. We are one of only nine international firms which were awarded the QFLP licences in Singapore and out of the nine firms, five are U.S. law firms.

Our Singapore lawyers work seamlessly with our Hong Kong, Beijing and other international offices to deliver high-quality, proactive and responsive services to our clients.

Work highlights

Our lawyers in Singapore have a wide range of legal experience and subject-matter knowledge but focus on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance (including project finance), energy and infrastructure (including oil and gas and renewables), investment funds, private equity, restructurings, corporate organizations, capital markets transactions, and regulatory and compliance advice. We are also proud of our experience advising clients on telecommunications, media and technology, and FMCG transactions.