Will More Biglaw Firms Follow Dentons And Leave China?
Dentons may be the first Western firm to fall.
Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
Dentons is not the first professional services firm practicing law to pull out of China. It is not going to be the last. Given the conditions, which make it virtually impossible to practice there as a Western firm and comply with the laws and regulations, it wouldn’t be unsurprising if other firms follow suit.
— Kent Zimmermann, a U.S.-based principal at Zeughauser Group, in comments given to the American Lawyer, concerning Dentons’ withdrawal from its combination with Dacheng in China due to government regulatory issues. “The solution may be exactly what Dentons is doing—to have an independent Chinese firm with which the Western firm has a close relationship, but they’re independent entities,” he said.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
