Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired Clifford Chance competition partner Alastair Mordaunt, who will relocate from London to Hong Kong to head up the jurisdiction’s competition practice.
Mordaunt previously worked at Freshfields before moving to the Office of Fair Trading in 2007 as director of services. He joined Clifford Chance’s London office as a partner in 2011.
His practice focuses on EU and UK competition law. Recent instructions include advising on antitrust aspects of the London Stock Exchange’s takeover of clearing house LCH Clearnet and acting on a number of transactions for private equity house Cinven, including on its £2.3bn sale of pharmaceutical business Amdipharm Mercury Company.
Freshfields Asia managing partner Robert Ashworth said Mordaunt’s background as a regulator “combined with our distinctive competition litigation expertise in Hong Kong will provide a compelling offering to local and international clients doing business in Hong Kong”.
“In Alastair, clients will have access to one of the rising stars of global competition law, and a real asset to Hong Kong’s legal community,” Ashworth added.
Hong Kong has seen a number of magic circle moves in recent months. Latham hired six partners to its Hong Kong office in February including Clifford Chance private equity partner Simon Cooke and Freshfields counsel Amy Beckingham.
Linklaters has also seen a wave of exits from its Hong Kong office recently, including corporate partners Betty Yap and Judie Ng Shortell, who moved to Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
The Lawyer revealed earlier this week Clifford Chance’s London office would also lose banking partner James Johnson at the end of the financial year, who is launching a commercial property fund.