Fancy lawyers at elite Wall Street law firms are having a tough time of it in Asia these days. But while the conservative white-shoe firms pack their bags and head home, a new breed of bolder US firms are doubling their efforts to crack the Asian market for legal services.
Jones Day, a firm which traces its routes to Ohio, is one such upstart. The firm has poached three partners in ex-Japan Asia this year - a fair number for a firm with around 20 partners in Asia-Pacific. The latest of these is Jeff Maddox, a securities lawyer drafted in from Clifford Chance's Hong Kong office. Jones Day tends to focus on corporate...