Johnson Stokes & Master (“JSM”) unveiled a new chapter today as a leading independent Hong Kong law firm. The 160-year-old Hong Kong partnership received approval from The Law Society of Hong Kong to revert to its legacy name following the partnership’s separation from Mayer Brown, with whom JSM entered into a combination in 2008.
The Management Committee of JSM is led by Senior Partner, Terence Tung, with the other members being Commercial Managing Partner, Hannah Ha, Dispute Resolution Managing Partner, Geoffrey Chan, and Real Estate Managing Partner, Keith Cheung.
“Our vision is to support our clients to capitalise on an exciting and unique range of local and global opportunities” said Mr. Tung. “Strategically this entails focusing our capabilities as a pre-eminent law firm in Hong Kong, particularly in those sectors significant to the growth of Hong Kong as a super-connector between Mainland China and global markets. With more than a third of our Hong Kong lawyers dual-qualified from key international jurisdictions, our clients benefit from our deep experience and understanding of the application of those laws across the world’s most dynamic markets, including Belt and Road Initiative countries.”
JSM is one of the largest law firms in Hong Kong with more than 120 lawyers, including 40 partners. With representative offices established in Beijing and Shanghai, and an Intellectual Property Agency Office in Beijing, JSM has been working in Mainland China since the 1990s representing clients in cross border transactions and disputes.
Core to JSM’s strategy is harnessing the Firm’s experience in high-growth sectors and related services such as cybersecurity, ESG, insurance, private capital and technology which are critical to Hong Kong’s future growth and stability, while leveraging the Firm’s heritage in sectors such as banking, finance, real estate and construction which are foundational to Hong Kong’s status as a global hub.
JSM’s practice capabilities are also aligned with Hong Kong’s status as a global legal services hub, enabling the Firm to advise on the full spectrum of legal issues arising on the most complex disputes and deals including M&A, capital markets and regulatory compliance. JSM remains committed to supporting clients headquartered in Hong Kong and Mainland China to grow locally and expand internationally, as well as international and regional clients on their businesses and investments in Hong Kong and Mainland China, particularly across the Greater Bay Area.
Serving the broader community in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area is an integral part of JSM’s heritage – in 2023 the Firm’s pro bono efforts amounted to over 4,000 hours. In recognition of this effort, The Law Society of Hong Kong awarded the firm Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year and Distinguished Community Service Law Firm of the Year, along with several other individual and firm awards. The Firm will continue to invest in a broad range of schemes with charitable organisations across the Greater Bay Area.
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About JSM Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) is a pre-eminent law firm in Hong Kong with representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai and a Beijing IP agency which handles trademark registration matters in Mainland China. JSM advises clients on the full spectrum of legal issues arising on the most complex deals and disputes in and from Hong Kong and Mainland China. For more information, please visit www.jsm.com
