Moves – 28 October 2010

Meanwhile, Lee and Kong will both join the firm’s Shanghai office. Lee has been the leading lawyer on many large corporate investment and restructuring matters in the PRC and the Asia Pacific region for nearly two decades. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced law with a leading Australian firm and was a partner for 5 years at a large Chinese law firm. Lee’s main practice areas are corporate, general commercial and M&A. Her areas of specialty are establishing and restructuring foreign invested enterprises in the PRC and real estate. Kong has wide experience in general corporate law and has advised leading multinational companies, major Chinese state-owned enterprises and international private equity funds on M&As, private equity and strategic investments, joint ventures, and inbound and outbound investment. Kong, who has been admitted to the bar in both New York and Ontario, Canada, was engaged prior to joining the firm as a senior lawyer in the Shanghai office of Jones Day.

Tony Wassaf, one of Australia’s top legal specialists in the energy and natural resources sectors, has joined the Sydney office of US firm Jones Day. Wassaf, who was previously a resources partner at Allens Arthur Robinson, has more than 25 years’ experience in the sector, including in major Australian mining, pipeline and energy projects. He has built an international reputation for his commercial focus, his ability to quickly identify issues and find solutions, and his strength in contract drafting. Wassaf is the immediate past president of AMPLA Limited, the resources and energy law association, where he has served as a director for the past 10 years. He is also an officer of the International Bar Association’s section council on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law.

Khaitan & Co has appointed Vaishali Sharma as a partner in its corporate and competition law practice. Before joining the firm, she was a partner in a reputed Indian law firm where she spent almost five years focusing on corporate and M&A practices. During more than one decade of experience, Sharma has been involved in various high value domestic and cross-border acquisitions, contract negotiations, reconstructions and reorganisations, and has regularly advised clients on joint ventures, corporate and commercial matters and competition law. She is qualified as a solicitor both in England and Wales.

Minter Ellison has appointed Katrina Groshinski as partner in its competition and regulatory group. Groshinski has acted for infrastructure owners, industry participants, government and independent statutory regulators, and is a trusted strategic advisor to organisations operating in heavily regulated industries such as energy, rail, water, telecommunications and broadcasting. She advises clients on all aspects of the operation of regulatory frameworks, including the optimal application of existing regimes and legislative reform, and has leading expertise in the interaction of technical, economic and legal issues in both advisory and dispute context. She also possesses extensive experience in the review of regulators’ decisions and the resolution of disputes in court, using ADR and before specialist bodies such as the Australian Competition Tribunal.

Vinson & Elkins has expanded its Middle East practice with the addition of Jon Nash as a project development and finance partner. Nash, a former partner at Chadbourne & Parke in London, represents public and private entities involved in major energy, infrastructure, transportation, and water projects in the MENA region, Asia, and Europe. A 1992 graduate of Nottingham University School of Law, he has advised on several award-winning project finance transactions in the infrastructure sector, including independent power and water projects in the Middle East, and is also well known for his work on construction matters.

Winston & Strawn LLP has expanded its transactional capabilities in China with the addition of Jem Li as managing partner of its Beijing office. Li, who has been practising in China since 2004 and speaks native Chinese and fluent English, is known as one of the most active international lawyers in China handling various mining rights investments around the world. His experience includes complex cross-border commercial transactions, M&As, private equity and venture capital investments, and foreign direct investment in China, and his clients have included Warner Music Group, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, IBM Corp, Johnson & Johnson, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, United Parcel, Fidelity Investments, and Agriculture Bank of China. He joins the firm from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.