SNR Denton plants second flag in Asia

SNR Denton, the law firm  born of last year’s merger between Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Denton Wilde Sapte, has opened up in Hong Kong. The new Asian office will complement the firm’s existing operations in Singapore and is expected to be followed by an office in mainland China at some point during 2011, the firm said in a statement.

The firm’s Hong Kong office, dubbed Brandt Chan & Partners after co-heads Keith Brandt and Anthony Chan, was formerly affiliated with rival legal firm Hammonds. Alongside others, the two partners had declined to participate in a November merger between Hammonds and Squire Sanders & Dempsey, according to various media reports.

The new Hong Kong office adds six partners to SNR Denton’s roster, including both Mandarin and Cantonese speaking lawyers with experience in China’s alternative asset markets.

A place in Hong Kong “is a natural fit with our other locations in prominent business centres, such as New York and London and offers our clients access to dynamic emerging economies,” said SNR co-chief executive Howard Morris, in a statement.

SNR Denton has a footprint in 33 countries across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, Asia Pacific, and Africa.