Latham & Watkins has appointed real-estate specialist Raymond Kwok as a partner in its Hong Kong practice.

Kwok joins the firm from the local office of US firm Blank Rome, where since March 2009 he has been advising on Mainland real estate, M&A, and corporate transactions. Prior to that he headed real estate matters at Fried Frank’s local Hong Kong office.

The addition of Kwok means Latham will have 44 lawyers in its Hong Kong office. Earlier this year, it opened its second office in the PRC – in Beijing. It launched its Hong Kong law service in April after gaining en mass a team of seven corporate partners Allen & Overy.

Latham’s joint head of China, Michael Liu, said that Kwok’s addition will allow the firm to specialise in complex issues in the real estate sector.

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