Fried Frank will 'substantially downsize' its offices in Asia, internal memo says
Less than 10 years after opening offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, a 470-attorney U.S. law firm plans to “substantially downsize” in the region.
Chairman David Greenwald of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson also said in an internal memo that “our growth potential in Asia was not sufficiently attractive from a commercial perspective without significant additional investment, and the governance committee determined that it is not the time to increase our investment in this region,” the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) reports.
It is not clear how the planned restructuring will affect lawyers at the two offices. Fried Frank has about 10 attorneys in Asia.
After a tough 2012, the firm had record-high profit-per-partner of $1.635 million in 2013, the article notes.
Asian Legal Business, Legal Business and Legal Week (sub. req.) also have stories.
