Hong Kong CNN —
Dentons, the world’s biggest law firm by number of employees, is distancing itself from its business in China in response to intensifying regulation in the country.
The firm notified clients of the move this week in an internal memo shared with CNN Tuesday. Dentons said that starting this month, its China unit would operate as a standalone legal entity. Its Hong Kong practice would be unaffected and remain part of Dentons.
The Chinese entity will operate under its current local name “Dacheng,” and continue to partner with Dentons under a relationship that designates it as a “preferred firm.”
Dentons said the restructuring was a response to “new mandates and requirements relating to data privacy, cybersecurity, capital control and governance.”
“While our legal relationship is changing, we will continue working together to meet our clients’ needs,” the firm said in a statement.
Dentons bills itself as the world’s largest law firm, saying in its memo that it has “more people in more locations across more countries than any of our competitors.” The company has 21,000 employees in more than 80 countries, 12,000 of whom are lawyers.
While Dentons did not provide further detail on the regulatory changes that prompted its move, China widened the scope of an already sweeping counter-espionage law in April, expanding the definition to include handling any “documents, data, materials or items related to national security and interests.” The move spooked foreign...
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO SEOUL – The agency of South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun said on May 27 that “the truth is being confirmed through due legal process and a thorough investigation”, following the ...