Moves – 16 January 2014

Hogan Lovells has recruited Mark Parsons as a partner in its corporate/commercial team in Hong Kong with a particular focus on complex commercial transactions and regulatory matters in the TMT sector. He is expected to join around the end of January 2014. Parsons was formerly a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Asia where he led their IP/IT practice and their work in the TMT sector. He is particularly experienced in the negotiation of multi-jurisdictional outsourcing, technology licensing and distribution agreements, as well as on commercial matters in the internet and e-commerce space. Parsons also has a well-developed practice advising on Asia’s fast developing telecommunications, media and data privacy regulations.

K&L Gates has expanded its Tokyo Office with the addition of Takahiro Hoshino and Takahiro Tsumagari as partners in the commercial disputes and real estate investment, development and finance practices, respectively. Hoshino was founder and managing partner of his own firm, Hoshino & Partners, in Tokyo. He advises on disputes, including domestic and international labour law, commercial litigation and judgments, as well as on a variety of corporate legal matters such as strategic restructurings, joint ventures, M&A, leasings, financings, and other financial transactions. Previously, Hoshino was a judge at the Tokyo and Utsunomiya District Courts. Tsumagari joins from Atsumi & Sakai, where he led the international trade and tax team. He advises and represents leading Japanese and foreign corporations on real estate and structured financings, including cross-border antitrust cases and M&A, as well as international and domestic commercial trade issues.

Shearman & Sterling has expanded its global project development and finance practice with the addition of Anthony Patten in Singapore. He comes from Allens, where he led the firm’s oil and gas sector team in Asia and Australia. Before that he was a partner in Ashurst’s London energy, transport, and infrastructure group. He also spent six years working in London and the UAE as a senior in-house counsel at Royal Dutch Shell. Patten’s practice has focussed on corporate and project development work in the energy industry, with emphasis on oil and gas. His clients have included international and national oil and gas companies, trading houses, utilities, particularly in Japan, Korea, China and Southeast Asia. Patten is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Australian Petroleum Producers and Explorers Association, and the Australian Mining and Petroleum Lawyers Association.

Sidley Austin has expanded its Beijing office with the addition Lan Tao as a partner in its M&A and energy practices. Admitted in New York, Lan regularly advises China-based companies on their outbound M&A activities and large multinational corporations in their inbound transactions into China. Most recently, he has been representing China-based companies in their investments in the energy and natural resources sectors, and has advised on some of the most significant outbound transactions in these sectors. His inbound experience is also substantial, and covers a wide range of industries.