Orrick has announced major strategic changes in the Asia-Pacific region. After announcing the closure of its Hong Kong office, the firm has quickly followed up with another major announcement: the opening of a new office in Singapore.

This reflects the firm's interest in maintaining its presence in this region, as it seeks to establish itself in the financial centre of East Asia. The new office will be headed by Jon Thursby, who joins the law firm as a partner in the energy and infrastructure department.

Under Thursby's leadership in Singapore, Orrick will strengthen its renewable energy development and construction operations in Asia. Thursby will work alongside other lawyers from the same department such as Evan Stergoulis, Simon Alsey, Ravinder Sandhu, Simon Folley and Adam Smith.

Jon Thursby

The firm's new location in Asia provides operational benefits and is more relevant to the legal industry. "We do think that, over the last 15 years, that Singapore has become a much more significant player in the region in terms of legal services, where Hong Kong is less of a legal hub for the region than it was 15-20 years ago," says Blake Wintburne, who is head of the firm's energy and infrastructure practice. 

Orrick's bid to close its Hong Kong office has been echoed by other firms, which see the Chinese government's imposition of new laws in Hong Kong leading to increased tension in the city, as well as a spike in uncertainty.

Moreover, US President Joe Biden has recently warned US companies located in Hong Kong that the new national security law, passed in Hong Kong in 2020, may create future risks related to data protection or electronic surveillance.

Despite these warnings, other large companies continue to maintain their offices and operations in Hong Kong, such as UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup, according to Reuters.

Hong Kong was already in the news in March this year due to the large number of COVID infections that occurred among many lawyers from well-known firms, such as Shearman & Sterling and Ashurst, or Herbert Smith Freehills and Allen & Overy, which in some cases had to close their offices in the city.