Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw Launches Hong Kong Office

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw Launches Hong Kong Office

November 29, 2006

- Jeffrey H. Chen Hired to Spearhead the Firm's Asian Securitization and Structured Finance Practice -

    HONG KONG, Nov. 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Mayer, Brown,
Rowe & Maw LLP has received its operating license from
the Law Society of Hong Kong and will officially open its
doors in the Landmark Building of Hong Kong's Central
Business District on January 1, 2007.  Initially, the Hong
Kong office will focus on securitization and structured
finance throughout Asia, but will soon provide a broad
range of legal services to local Asian companies seeking
advice regarding the U.S. and Europe, and to foreign
companies operating in Asia.  

    "Our primary goal is to provide clients with a
base in China to develop integrated growth between the
United States, Europe and Asia," said Ty Fahner,
Chairman, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. "Additionally,
the firm intends to assist Chinese companies looking to grow
internationally.  It promises to be a rewarding endeavor for
the firm and its current and future global clients
alike."

    Jeffrey H. Chen, formerly a partner with Jones Day in
Hong Kong, has joined Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw to grow
the firm's Asian capabilities. Mr. Chen, a finance partner
specializing in securitization, is recognized in the 2007
directories of IFLR 1000 and Chambers Global as a leading
lawyer in his field.  He will work alongside senior London
corporate partner, Stephen Bottomley, who is relocating to
Hong Kong.   

    "Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is one of the top
securitization and structured finance firms in the
world," commented Chen.  "The firm is at the
front line of every legal, regulatory and accounting
development and reform in the industry.  The firm has
established an impressive network of clients and contacts
in the United States and Europe and the arrival in Asia
gives me an unparalleled opportunity to integrate my
practice with this leading structured finance firm." 

    Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw has pioneered
securitization and structured finance since the practice's
inception in the 1970s.  The firm has dominated the field
in the U.S. and Europe where it has been a leading force in
every type of product innovation in developed markets and at
the vanguard of transactions in emerging markets of Eastern
Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Attorneys at the firm authored The Securitization of
Financial Assets, the leading treatise on asset
securitization used by lawyers worldwide, and created and
sponsor the highly regarded website
http://www.securitization.net .  The lawyers in the
securitization group are also experts in Basel II,
Regulation AB and the Securities Offering Reform. 

    "We are prepared to bring the entirety of Mayer,
Brown, Rowe & Maw's unmatched securitization expertise
to the Asian markets," commented Paul Maher, London
Senior Partner and Vice-Chairman elect.  "Part of the
firm's strategy is to ensure that we are able to surpass
our clients expectations in locations that are increasingly
important to their business. We feel that having two highly
respected partners in Jeff and Stephen gives us the best
possible start." 

    The Hong Kong office expands the firm's Asian
footprint.  For more than eight years Mayer, Brown, Rowe
& Maw's Global Trade Practice has operated a consulting
office in Mainland China under the name MBP Consulting.  The
Global Trade Practice, which includes several former trade
negotiators and senior U.S. Government policy officials,
including former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor,
has provided support to a diverse group of multinational
clients ranging from real estate, financial services and
insurance to energy, pharmaceuticals and mining.  The group
advises in a variety of areas in China including developing
market-entry strategies, identifying local partners for
joint ventures, identifying investment opportunities,
securing regulatory approvals, and developing and executing
strategies to address market access barriers. 

    "The Hong Kong office will significantly broaden
the capabilities we'll be able to offer both our U.S. and
European clients," said Peter Scher, head of the
Global Trade Group and chair of the firm's China Task
Force.  "We look forward to working closely with Jeff
and Stephen to identify key areas for growth throughout
Asia." 

    The firm's license takes effect on December 1, 2006,
and the office expects to be fully operational early in the
first quarter of 2007.  

    About Jeffrey Chen and Stephen Bottomley:

    Jeffrey H. Chen has experience throughout Asia and the
U.S. working with both local and multi-national companies,
focusing on cross-border financing structures of all kinds
and on engineering various types of hybrid instruments. He
is also experienced in various local laws across Asian
jurisdictions and coordinates local law compliance issues
such as netting and collateral across the region.  In
recent years, Mr. Chen has advised on a number of
award-winning transactions out of South Korea, Taiwan and
China.

    Stephen Bottomley, a partner in the London office since
1988, advises on a wide range of corporate matters,
specializing in corporate finance, M&A and venture
capital work and in particular advising on London AIM
admissions. He has been acknowledged as a leader in his
field by both the Chambers UK and The UK Legal 500
directories as well as being recommended for corporate and
M&A work in the PLC Cross-border M&A Handbook
2006/7.  Stephen will relocate to Hong Kong to head up the
new office in January 2007.  

    Notes to editors:

    --  Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP is an
international legal practice 
        delivering advice to leading companies, financial
institutions and 
        multi-national businesses in 14 major cities
worldwide, including 
        London, Chicago, New York, Washington, Frankfurt
and Paris. 

    --  The international reach of the firm is further
enhanced through its 
        trade consulting office in Beijing, a correspondent
relationship in 
        Mexico and an alliance with a leading Italian law
firm giving access 
        to both Italian and Eastern European markets.

    --  The firm currently has over 500 partners and more
than 1,400 lawyers 
        working together to focus its global legal
provision around primary 
        industry and practice groups.  Working
collaboratively with clients to 
        understand the business environment in which they
operate ensures that 
        they receive commercial legal solutions that help
them achieve their 
        objectives and success in their businesses. 

    --  The firm recently announced the creation of an
'Office of the 
        Chairman' to take effect from June 1, 2007, with
the appointment of 
        James D. Holzhauer as the firm's Chairman and
partners Kenneth S. 
        Geller and Paul Maher as Vice-Chairmen. 

    --  Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP is a combination
of two limited liability 
        partnerships, each named Mayer, Brown, Rowe &
Maw LLP, one 
        incorporated in England and one established in
Illinois, USA.

    --  For further information please visit:
http://www.mayerbrownrowe.com or 
        http://www.mayerbrownrowe.com/london .

    For more information, please contact:

     Stephen Bottomley, Partner
     Corporate Group, London
     Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Peter Scher, Partner
     Global Trade Group, Washington DC
     Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Will Hulbert
     Head of Marketing Communications, London
     Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Aimee Jasculca
     Public Relations Manager, Chicago
     Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]  

SOURCE  Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP