List of Hong Kong law firms by size
According to The Legal 500, Hong Kong’s legal market has undergone profound change over the last decade. Firms have experienced structural and cultural changes, with the value of China-facing lawyers growing considerably. Firms looking to tap into the dynamic Chinese economy and its further potential have identified language skills and a cultural affinity with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a pre-requisite.[1]
In Hong Kong, a healthy flow of M&A, IPO and other transactional work is creating more work for the legal industry, causing many firms to beef up their corporate and capital markets practices.[2]
With a fully functional Competition Law just around the corner, some firms have started to form new or bolster existing antitrust practices through partner relocations and lateral hires.
Ranking by Scale[]
This article contains a list of 56 largest domestic and international law firms which own at least one office situated in Hong Kong.[3] There are approximately 2875 qualified lawyers, comprising 766 partners and 1848 associates, working across these top 30 domestic and international law firms in Hong Kong.[3] Note that below is a ranking of law firms in Hong Kong by number of registered lawyers but not revenue.
| Rank | Name | Headquarter(s) | Number of Partners | Number of Consultants & Associates | Number of Registered Foreign Lawyers | Number of Registered Lawyers | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deacons |  Hong Kong
|
57 | 181 | 11 | 249 | Domestic |
| 2 | King & Wood Mallesons | Hong Kong China Australia
|
31 | 114 | 76 | 221 | International |
| 3 | Mayer Brown |  United States
|
66 | 115 | 18 | 199 | White-shoe firm |
| 4 | Linklaters |  United Kingdom
|
25 | 83 | 74 | 182 | Magic Circle |
| 5 | Clifford Chance | United Kingdom
|
42 | 75 | 48 | 165 | Magic Circle |
| 6 | Baker McKenzie | United States
|
38 | 82 | 44 | 164 | International |
| 7 | Allen & Overy | United Kingdom
|
20 | 62 | 35 | 117 | Magic Circle |
| 8 | DLA Piper Hong Kong | United Kingdom United States
|
29 | 49 | 31 | 109 | International |
| 9 | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | United Kingdom
|
22 | 38 | 40 | 100 | Magic Circle |
| 9 | Herbert Smith Freehills | United Kingdom Australia
|
20 | 62 | 18 | 100 | Silver Circle |
| 9 | Stephenson Harwood | United Kingdom
|
28 | 62 | 10 | 100 | International |
| 12 | Sidley Austin | United States
|
17 | 40 | 44 | 95 | U.S. White Shoe |
| 13 | Kirkland & Ellis | United States
|
27 | 28 | 37 | 92 | U.S. Vault V-10[4] |
| 14 | Latham & Watkins LLP | United States
|
14 | 39 | 36 | 89 | U.S. Vault V-5[5] |
| 15 | Howse Williams | Hong Kong
|
27 | 52 | 3 | 82 | Domestic |
| 15 | Woo, Kwan, Lee & Lo | Hong Kong
|
31 | 49 | 2 | 82 | Domestic |
| 17 | Fangda Partners | China
|
15 | 29 | 35 | 79 | International |
| 17 | Li & Partners | Hong Kong China
|
9 | 59 | 11 | 79 | Domestic |
| 17 | Norton Rose Fulbright Hong Kong | United Kingdom United States
|
19 | 46 | 14 | 79 | International |
| 20 | Reed Smith Richards Butler | United States
|
25 | 59 | 6 | 70 | International |
| 21 | Eversheds Sutherland | United Kingdom
|
18 | 37 | 12 | 67 | International |
| 22 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | United States
|
10 | 28 | 28 | 66 | U.S. White Shoe
U.S. Vault V-10[6] |
| 23 | Stevenson, Wong & Co. | Hong Kong China
|
13 | 32 | 16 | 61 | Domestic |
| 24 | Hogan Lovells | United Kingdom United States
|
13 | 30 | 15 | 58 | International |
| 25 | Slaughter and May | United Kingdom
|
13 | 37 | 6 | 56 | Magic Circle |
| 26 | Ashurst Hong Kong | United Kingdom
|
15 | 22 | 18 | 55 | Silver Circle |
| 27 | Holman Fenwick Willan | United Kingdom
|
18 | 26 | 10 | 54 | International |
| 27 | Simmons & Simmons | United Kingdom
|
18 | 24 | 12 | 54 | International |
| 29 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | United States
|
9 | 23 | 21 | 53 | U.S. White Shoe
U.S. Vault V-5[7] |
| 30 | Clyde & Co. | United Kingdom
|
15 | 35 | 2 | 52 | International |
| 30 | P.C. Woo & Co. | Hong Kong
|
14 | 35 | 3 | 52 | Domestic |
| 32 | White & Case | United States
|
13 | 22 | 16 | 51 | International |
| 32 | Wilkinson & Grist | Hong Kong
|
26 | 25 | 0 | 51 | Domestic |
| 34 | ONC Lawyers | Hong Kong
|
13 | 35 | 0 | 48 | Domestic |
| 35 | MinterEllison LLP | Australia
|
17 | 30 | 0 | 47 | International |
| 35 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | United States
|
10 | 20 | 17 | 47 | International |
| 37 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | United States
|
13 | 18 | 10 | 46 | International |
| 37 | Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP |  Cayman Islands British Virgin Islands
|
0 | 0 | 46 | 46 | Registered Foreign Law Firm |
| 37 | Morrison & Foerster | United States
|
11 | 21 | 14 | 46 | International |
| 40 | Robertsons | Hong Kong
|
17 | 28 | 0 | 45 | Domestic |
| 40 | Ropes & Gray | United States
|
12 | 16 | 16 | 45 | International |
| 40 | Withersworldwide | United Kingdom
|
17 | 25 | 10 | 45 | International |
| 41 | Oldham, Li & Nie | Hong Kong China
|
12 | 22 | 9 | 43 | Domestic |
| 42 | Bird & Bird | United Kingdom
|
13 | 25 | 4 | 42 | International |
| 42 | Hastings & Co. | Hong Kong
|
15 | 26 | 1 | 42 | Domestic |
| 42 | Kennedys | United Kingdom
|
16 | 25 | 1 | 42 | International |
| 42 | Tanner De Witt | Hong Kong
|
14 | 27 | 1 | 42 | Domestic |
| 48 | Haldanes | Hong Kong
|
15 | 26 | 0 | 41 | Domestic |
| 49 | Gallant | Hong Kong
|
16 | 22 | 2 | 40 | Domestic |
| 49 | Harney Westwood & Riegels | British Virgin Islands
|
0 | 0 | 40 | 40 | Registered Foreign Law Firm |
| 49 | Pinsent Masons | United Kingdom
|
16 | 22 | 2 | 40 | International |
| 52 | Zhong Lun Law Firm | China
|
11 | 19 | 9 | 39 | Multinational |
| 53 | Ince & Co. | United Kingdom
|
11 | 20 | 7 | 38 | International |
| 53 | Nixon Peabody CWL | United States China
|
16 | 18 | 4 | 38 | International |
| 53 | Yip, Tse & Tang | Hong Kong China
|
17 | 17 | 4 | 38 | Domestic |
| 56 | Iu, Lai & Li | Hong Kong
|
13 | 24 | 0 | 37 | Domestic |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "The Legal 500". © 2016 www.legal500.com.
- ^ "Asian Legal Business Report 2015". Asian Legal Business. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ a b "ALB Asia Top 50 2018: Another Year of Growth and Expansion". Dec 12, 2018.
- ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- Law firms of Hong Kong
- Lists of companies of Hong Kong