Camille Jojo, the former Hong Kong managing partner of Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, has moved to Norton Rose with a six-strong team of Barlow associates. 

Jojo will be appointed to a newly created position--head of Asian disputes. The reformation of the team will bring Norton Rose's Asia disputes practice to 11 lawyers - the four existing partners in Norton Rose's Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Hong Kong offices - plus the new additions.

Norton Rose expects the disputes practice to grow further within the global business. "[The practice] has grown significantly in the last couple of years and we expect that to continue," said Antony Dutton, the firm's global head of dispute resolution "It's a very substantial and growing part of the business, not just because of the current economic climate....the practice contributed about 12% of revenue in the last financial year and we're looking to grow that. We have a five-year business plan which is hopefully going to move up towards the 20% of firm revenue target."

Dutton added that the Asian practice would be a key part of that growth. "Asia is a key market for us. We've been there for 30 years and like most commentators, we see the region emerging from the global recession...it's an obvious place for our firm to grow."

Barlow has since replaced Jojo-who quit as its Hong Kong managing partner earlier this year having held the position since 1995-with litigation partner David Smyth. Barlows recently announced that it is currently undergoing a redundancy consultation which will see around 49 staff cut from the firm.