Jones Day boosts M&A team

Jones Day has announced the hiring of Steven Goodman as a partner in the firm's M&A practice. He will be based in Jones Day's Hong Kong office. He joins from Denton Wilde Sapte where he was the firm's senior partner for Asia and the head of the Hong Kong office.

"Steven is a distinguished lawyer with a wealth of expertise in the M&A arena," said Barbara Mok, Partner in Charge of Jones Day in Hong Kong. "His experience in leading high profile M&A transactions, such as the acquisition by CNOOC of the Indonesia oil and gas assets of Repsol-YPF will further augment the development of Jones Day's M&A practice in Asia."

The move comes at a time of flux for many international law firms operating in Asia. Many firms are finding life tough and are closing their offices. Cravath Swaine and Moore shut its Hong Kong office in March as did CMS Cameron McKenna. In Singapore two US firms - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff - shut their offices in the first quarter of the year.

However, Jones Day has made a conscious decision to bulk up its Asian practice in a counter cyclical move. This hire is the latest in a string of high profile additions to its Asian practice. In January Bruce Schulberg joined the firm from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff, while in late 2001 and 2002, the firm spent a lot of time building up its China practice and hiring local and international lawyers for its Shanghai office.

"I am delighted to be joining such a high calibre team, as well as the opportunity to be part of Jones Day's strong international platform and to help further strengthen its world-leading M&A reputation," said Goodman commenting on his move.