Taiwan: Duane Morris launches new office

Duane Morris announced Monday it is opening a Taiwan office through its foreign arm, Duane Morris & Selvam Taiwan.

Duane Morris & Selvam – formed in 2011 with Singapore firm Selvam – already operates five offices in Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar and mainland China.

The Taipei, Taiwan office will focus on intellectual property work, along with transactional, antitrust, regulatory, white-collar, and foreign trade and investment law.

John J. Soroko, chairman and CEO for Duane Morris, said in a statement that the firm has experience with multi-national companies in Taiwan and with high-tech, biotech, pharmaceutical and alternative energy industries that make up Taiwan’s economy.

Duane Morris has more than 750 lawyers, with Soroko’s office in Philadelphia, Pa.

In an interview, Soroko explained that the new office was more than eighteen months in the making. The firm’s leaders began planning a Taiwan office after Richard L. Thurston rejoined Duane Morris in March 2015 after retiring as general counsel of firm client, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC).

“Once Dick was at the firm, we started working in a more definite way toward opening an on-the-ground office in Taiwan,” said Soroko. “We live in an era where there is a premium on being as close to your clients as possible.”

Full content: Bloomberg

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.