Dacheng Law Offices will delink from the Dentons Swiss Verein, reportedly amid new national security restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. The split brings an end to the firms’ eight-year relationship.
“In response to recent Chinese government mandates on Chinese law firms, including those relating to cybersecurity and data protection, Dentons is modifying its relationship with Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, the Chinese legal partnership that has been a member of the Dentons Group since 2015,” Dentons said in a statement.
Dentons’ clients were told that Dacheng will no longer be a member of the Dentons network, but will instead operate as a separate, independent legal entity in a “preferred firm” relationship with Dentons. This information was confirmed to Asia IP by a Dacheng employee, who added that Dacheng will become a member of the Dentons’ Nextlaw Referral Network.
The 2015 combination between the firms created a 6,600-lawyer firm, with more than 4,000 of the lawyers coming from Dacheng.