White & Case cuts Bangkok office

[hillbilly]

White & Case's Bangkok office has been given the axe, the third closure for the firm this year which also saw a significant number of associate lay offs in the US.

The Bangkok office has broken away and will operate independently under the names of three partners, Weerawong Chinnavat & Peangpanor, transferring its 58-lawyer team to the new firm.

It will operate on a 'best friends' basis, referring work to the global firm. "The decision to create the new firm was taken after a period of consultation with the team in Bangkok," said the firm's chairman, Hugh Verrier. "Given the strategic goals of the firm, we agreed that the creation of an independent firm would be mutually beneficial to White & Case and our Bangkok team."

The firm is undergoing a review by consultancy company McKinsey & Co to manage its resources. Last month, it announced the closure of two European offices in Dresden and Milan, but denies that the closures are related to the Bangkok breakaway and that the latest axing of 70 associates are related to the McKinsey review.

Thailand's legal sector has been volatile of late, with political instability coupled with the effects of the global financial crisis affecting businesses.

"The Thai legal market in 2009 will face less direct foreign investment; more restructuring and M&A projects, and more practice work in litigation based on the challenges that will affect businesses in Thailand," said Peter Shelford, office managing partner, DLA Piper Thailand, in the latest issue of ALB magazine.

White & Case cuts Bangkok office

[EmperorTud]

Squeeky bum time for those involved in the legal profession.