Case Study - Heller Ehrman (law firm)

US law firm, Heller Ehrman Strengthens Hong Kong Presence

Top 50 US law firm Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP was one of the first US law firms to establish a presence in Hong Kong in 1979. Heller Ehrman withdrew for a few years, only to return in 1993 with what has proved to be a highly effective business strategy and service mix.

With the firm's heritage being in San Francisco, its network of 10 US offices account for the lion's share of over 720 attorneys and professionals. Heller Ehrman's other three offices are in Asia: in Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore.

InvestHK assisted Heller Ehrman to develop its Hong Kong office of 28 legal professionals into the firm's Asian regional HQ. InvestHK spoke to Asia Administrative Partner, Dick Cassin, to learn more:

Heller Ehrman's Chairman, Barry Levin, and China Practice Chair, Carson Wen, greet a guest at the firm's open house in Hong Kong.

Why did Heller Ehrman choose to expand its office in Hong Kong?

"It was a very easy decision for us, which made sense from many perspectives.

The catalyst for our decision was the result of a survey of our top 50 clients. Of these multinational companies, 25 had business in the Mainland and 25 had plans to do business in the Mainland; therefore, it was the logical progression for us. If we wanted to best serve these key clients, it made sense for us to invest in a geographically convenient location, as well as a place that would be a good source of the right legal, language and cultural skills and experience. This also sat very well with our strategic objective of targeting new clients outside the Mainland wanting to enter that market and assisting enterprises in the Mainland with their global strategies.

Although the firm is a full service law firm, Heller Ehrman does have a bias towards the technology sector (particularly start ups), intellectual property and intellectual property litigation. So, once again, this proved to be a very good fit with opportunities in the Hong Kong and Greater China economies."

What are Heller Ehrman's priorities, challenges and expansion plans?

"Heller Ehrman has decided to make Hong Kong the regional base for our Asian practice. We now have three offices, but have plans to grow this network. The Hong Kong office will drive the integration of the Asian practice into the rest of the firm and make sure it stays relevant. Hong Kong will also be the base from which our entire PRC practice is managed and, for now, will be the home for most of our staff. They will be deployed on a project basis, depending on where our clients require them to be."

How has Hong Kong met your expectations?

"Hong Kong has far exceeded our expectations. The level of economic activity in Hong Kong is incredible " much greater than we anticipated. The intensity of business is high. As a service provider in a competitive industry, such high volume of business is very attractive."

How and at what stage did InvestHK help?

"InvestHK helped Heller Ehrman from very early on, before we undertook the expansion in Hong Kong. The original contact and relationship was instigated by InvestHK in the US. It has been convenient to have InvestHK people on hand in both New York and San Francisco. They, together with InvestHK people based in Hong Kong, have helped provide general information about the city, as well as assisting with my family's relocation from Singapore. InvestHK events have provided useful networking opportunities, too. In fact, we have established a great relationship with InvestHK and know we can count on their help as we require it going forward."

What top three tips would you give to a law firm thinking about investing in Hong Kong?

Have a strategic plan that capitalises on your areas of strength. Given that the Mainland market is so vast, a focussed approach is a must.

Make sure your Hong Kong presence is relevant, well integrated and well supported into your global operations. It should blend in and add value to the whole rather than operate in isolation.

One size does not fit all. It is important that management maintains a flexible approach to remote offices; what works at home may not work so well overseas."