K&L Gates closes Beijing office as US law firms continue China market retreat

By Sara Merken

Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. law firm K&L Gates will close its office in Beijing, marking the latest major U.S. law firm to scale back in China amid geopolitical and market headwinds.

A K&L Gates spokesperson on Friday said the Pittsburgh-founded firm will consolidate its Beijing office into its outpost in Shanghai after the firm's new leadership team reviewed its global operations, including real estate.

K&L Gates appointed Stacy Ackermann as global managing partner effective July 1, along with a new management committee co-chair.

The firm will continue to serve Chinese and other clients from offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and throughout Asia, the spokesperson said.

K&L Gates opened its Beijing office in 2004, advising clients on domestic and cross-border work, according to its website. The firm lists 14 lawyers as members of its Beijing offices, with six already co-located in other cities.

Large U.S. law firms for more than two years have been shuttering offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong amid muted deal activity, geopolitical tensions and growing pressures on foreign businesses in the country.

Major firms including Wilson Sonsini, Cleary Gottlieb, Winston & Strawn and Seyfarth Shaw have said they would close offices in at least one of those locations this year. Meanwhile, other large firms continue to operate in these cities.

The influx of U.S. and other foreign law firms into China appeared to hit its peak about a decade ago, and exits of U.S. firms have mounted in recent years.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on an agreement that would switch short-video app TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership to avoid a ban in the United States, and would meet face-to-face in six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and Russia's war in Ukraine.