The ever-acquisitive DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has dealt a blow to rival Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe's Asian ambitions by taking the heart of Coudert Brothers' Beijing office from under its nose.

Hardly had the ink dried on Coudert's decision to disband, when Orrick announced that most of the firm's China practice would be joining Orrick to give it a Chinese network.

Only last week DLA Asian managing partner Nick Seddon revealed that three of Coudert's Beijing partners - including the office managing partner and big hitter Jingzhou Tao - would be joining DLA.

Seddon also revealed to ALB that the firm was taking some of Coudert's Shanghai lawyers as well.

The future of Coudert's Singapore and Jakarta offices is still up in the air. The firm has five partners in its Singapore office and one in Jakarta.

Elsewhere in Asia, the remaining Coudert Bangkok team of Stephen Bennett and Surasak Vajasit (who were previously with Freshfields prior to its evacuation from Thailand last year) have moved to US firm Hunton & Williams.