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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Asia Pacific

We opened our first Asia Pacific office in 1980 and have since gone on to build a significant presence in the region. Our 400-plus lawyers advise clients on the full range of business law for their regional and international activities. 

Our Asia Pacific network began with our Hong Kong and Singapore offices which opened in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Since then, we've invested to keep pace with our clients' businesses and worked on opportunities both within and beyond the region.

We now have seven offices in four Asia Pacific countries. These include Beijing (1985) and Shanghai (1993), Tokyo (1987), Sydney and Perth (2011). In other countries where we don’t have offices, we have close working relationships with local law firms. This gives us a cost-effective way to deliver results for clients in every country in the region.

Multi-jurisdictional teams with a dedicated ASEAN focus

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) offers huge opportunities for investors. The ten country bloc – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos the Philippines and Cambodia – is one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was set up in 2015. It is built to create a single market across ASEAN nations. With the AEC beginning to emerge, we offer a dedicated taskforce of partners and associates focusing on industry trends, opportunities and challenges for clients in the ASEAN region. Our Country Focus Groups for Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, include teams of lawyers based in all our practice areas and offices worldwide. These teams pool their knowhow and expertise for issues involving ASEAN jurisdictions.

Directory and client comments

Directory Listings

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023

  • Band 1 in Aviation: Finance
  • Band 1 in Banking & Finance
  • Band 1 in Capital Markets: Debt
  • Band 1 in Capital Markets: Derivatives & Structured Products
  • Band 1 in Capital Markets: Equity
  • Band 1 in Capital Markets: Securitisation
  • Band 1 in Corporate/M&A
  • Band 1 in Corporate/M&A: Private Equity
  • Band 1 in Investment Funds: Hedge Funds
  • Band 1 in Investment Funds: Private Equity
  • Band 1 in Investment Funds: Registered Funds
  • Band 1 in Projects & Infrastructure

Client comments

  • "The team is very strong, with great attention to detail and a clear focus on the important issues." 
  • "The team are experienced in the commercial requirements with a great understanding of the dispute pain points. They are able to guide us to ease the process."
  • "The Clifford Chance team has demonstrated strong legal strength throughout the entire arbitration case. It clarified multiple complex issues and helped clients gain key information in the process."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023 – Arbitration

  • "With the Clifford Chance Australian team, I find they strike the right balance between legal advice and possible or likely commercial outcomes. They can be left alone to complete all task requests and consistently deliver well ahead of expected time frames. In addition, I often encounter the Clifford Chance team pre-empting requirements and making inbound enquiries on strategy and approach." 
  • "The team is prompt and reliable. It is able to work through issues and come up with appropriate solutions." 
  • "Clifford Chance have very strong capability in handling complex matters. The team shows good communication skills in understanding our business logic throughout negotiations."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023 – Banking & Finance

  • "Clifford Chance is a convenient choice for multi-jurisdictional work as they have their own firms in different locations. They also function as a full-service firm." 
  • "The team's commercial awareness was extraordinary. It consisted of partners, senior associates and associates who are qualified in various jurisdictions, with expertise in capital markets legal matters." 
  • "Clifford Chance have helped us with a complex IPO and we are happy with them." 
  • "They provide practical legal advice and suggest solutions from the client’s perspective."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023 – Capital Markets

  • "Clifford Chance has an experienced team with deep understanding of customer needs; theteam is willing to spend time with clients to discuss solutions to their goals."
  • "The lawyers are quick to understand the commercials of the matter andthat understanding helps the handholding of the transaction."
  • "Clifford Chance are fantastic when it comes to theirresponsiveness, depth of experience and their ability to support during complex M&A transactions." "The team's depth ofexperience and breadth of deals worked on are evident."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023 – Corporate/M&A

  • "The team is able to provide sound solutions to practical problems."
  • "These deals are inherently complex and Clifford Chance have provided us with thoughtful advice."
  • "The partners in charge are very knowledgeable and helpful in providing alternatives to consider."
  • "The team is commercial, practical, responsive and friendly."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023  – Investment Funds: Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Registered Funds

  • "Clifford Chance is uniquely qualified to handle complex and sophisticated matters, presenting to clients in a simple and non-sophisticated manner." 
  • "The team has a strong understanding of international project finance transactions and market standards, and is able to guide us effectively."
  • "Their team is first-class."

Chambers & Partners, Asia Pacific 2023 – Projects & Infrastructure

Awards

Our teams of talented lawyers have won us a string of awards that include:

  • Asia Pacific Law Firm of the Year
    Chambers Asia Pacific and Greater China Region Awards 2023
  • China (International Firms) Corporate & Finance Firm of the Year
    Chambers Asia Pacific and Greater China Region Awards 2023
  • Innovative Law Firm (headquartered outside of Asia Pacific)
    FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia 2023
  • Innovative Lawyers in Transforming Industries
    FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia 2023
  • International Firm of the Year
    China Law and Practice Awards 2022
  • Competition International Firm of the Year
    China Law and Practice Awards 2022
  • Aviation Law Firm of the Year
    Asian Legal Business Hong Kong Law Awards 2022
  • Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year
    Asian Legal Business Hong Kong Law Awards 2022
  • M&A International Firm of the Year
    China Law and Practice Awards 2022
  • TMT International Firm of the Year
    China Law and Practice Awards 2022
  • International Firm of the Year
    IFLR Asia Pacific Awards 2022

 

Responsible Business reporting

Future Focus 

In FY23, our firm continued to focus on helping our clients navigate a complex legal and regulatory landscape and on advancing our own responsible business strategy. We did this with an eye towards the future, concentrating on areas critical to our sustainability and the challenges and opportunities we know our clients will face in the future.

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News

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Our Asia Pacific coverage