In the rankings, the firm stood out in shipping, corporate law, and litigation/arbitration, which were each listed in more than one country. The firm’s strong showing in Hong Kong (recommended in 11 categories) reflects a 40-year presence in the special administrative region. The firm gained two new rankings for the South Korea market. The firm was ranked in the following six practice areas for the first time:
China
- Projects and energy: Foreign firms
- Regulatory/compliance: Foreign firms
Hong Kong
- Capital markets (equity)
Singapore
- White-collar crime: Foreign firms
South Korea
- International arbitration
- Shipping: Foreign firms
Here are the 17 practice areas in which the firm was listed in previous years as well as this year:
China
- Corporate and M&A: Foreign firms
Hong Kong
- Asset finance: Shipping finance
- Banking and finance
- Corporate (including M&A)
- Dispute resolution: International arbitration
- Dispute resolution: Litigation
- Insurance
- Labour and employment
- Private equity
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Shipping
India
- Foreign firms
Singapore
- Banking and finance
- Corporate and M&A: Foreign firms
- International arbitration
- Projects: Foreign firms
- Shipping: Foreign firms
Six individuals were ranked this year, with Donald Sham listed for the first time, and Richard Lovell advancing to the Hall of Fame. Here’s the full list of ranked individuals.
- Peter Lee – Hong Kong Shipping finance
- Belinda Lee – Hong Kong Shipping finance
- Lianjun Li – Hong Kong Shipping
- Richard Lovell – Singapore Shipping: Foreign firms (Hall of Fame)
- Donald Sham – Hong Kong Dispute resolution: International arbitration (Rising Star)
- Jason Toms – Hong Kong Shipping
In the editorials, 41 Reed Smith lawyers were mentioned by name, some more than once, recognizing several facets of their work.
A client said the international arbitration group has “unique in-depth understanding in serving mainland Chinese clients, especially with state-owned entities, in their cross-border commercial dealings with foreign entities.”
About its corporate law services, clients said: “They are practical and down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and understand.” And “Reed Smith stood out due to its ability to grasp the issues and recommend solutions.”
Another client said about the shipping group: “Reed Smith has great depth and back-up. [They] assembled a fine, experienced team across the industry; are very informative through information portals, webinars, and the like, and I would say head the field in the information race.”