Goodwin Procter has hired two top lawyers from another major US-headquartered global law firm.
Douglas Freeman and Victor Chen have joined the Goodwin partnership in Hong Kong. The private equity specialists come from Paul Hastings, where they spent two and a half years after moving from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, when the latter closed its Hong Kong and Shanghai offices in early 2015.
Freeman was the former head of Fried Frank in Asia. He and Chen also worked together at US firm O’Melveny & Myers.
“Goodwin’s Hong Kong private equity platform is a vital part of the firm’s international offering that is truly full-service, covering the entire life cycle of clients’ investments – from fund formation to investments and exits,” said Yash Rana, who chairs Goodwin’s Hong Kong office. “Doug and Victor are outstanding lawyers who are joining our platform at a time when we are seeing increasing client demand for local, cross-border, in- and out-bound support on Asia transactions as well as interest from investors seeking more specialized sector experience. Doug and Victor previously worked with several Goodwin partners at their prior firm. We are pleased that they are reuniting with us and we welcome them to Goodwin.”
AJ Weidhaas, who jointly leads Goodwin’s private equity practice, said both lawyers were well-regarded in the Asian private equity and mergers and acquisitions markets. Their move is a good fit for the firm’s international private equity group, which has more than 160 lawyers, Weidhaas said.
Freeman acts in M&A, public offerings, and corporate transactions for public and private companies, private equity firms, and investment banking firms. He is an expert in cross-border M&A, reorganizations, leveraged buyouts, listed company transactions, and hostile or contested control transactions, and going-private transactions of US-listed China-based companies.
Chen focuses on private equity sponsors, multinational corporations, and institutional investors and represents them in M&A transactions and investments. He has particular focus on Asia cross-border deals. Chen also has extensive experience in advising private equity, venture, and institutional investors in Greater China and US transactions.
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