International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Lu as a partner in London. Peter joins as the Global Head of the Firm’s China Practice. He has over 14 years of experience in advising Chinese clients on their most strategic mandates, with a particular focus on complex transactions (corporate and restructuring) and strategic litigation. In addition, Counsel Tina Hartwright, associate Ennio Keyte, corporate transactions specialist Alonso de Reyes Lanfranco and paralegal Ziye Ke are joining the Firm with Peter.

“China is currently the EU’s largest trading partner, and outbound investment from Chinese investors into the EU remains robust despite recent legislation on foreign direct investments in Europe,” said Harris Siskind, Global Head of McDermott’s Transactions Practice Group. “Peter’s exceptional skill set will enhance McDermott’s credibility in the China-Europe deals market. He is an excellent fit for our global transactions practice.”

“Peter is a top-rated practitioner with an excellent reputation in the industry. His expertise in supervising large-scale complex international litigation cases on behalf of Chinese clients is outstanding and fits our robust cross-border litigation offering at the Firm,” added Steve Scholes, Head of McDermott’s Global Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group.

Peter advises Chinese clients on cross-border M&A, joint ventures, directors’ duties, governance matters, complex restructurings, disputes, crisis management and more. His clients are private, public and state-owned enterprises, and they span a number of industries, including healthcare, financial services, media, infrastructure, consumer, energy, transportation and professional services. They include Fortune 500 companies such as Novartis, Bank of China, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, China Telecom and ICBC.

“I am thrilled to join McDermott and be part of such an entrepreneurial and collaborative venture,” Peter said. “McDermott is achieving ambitious growth globally and provides a great platform to serve my clients.”

“We are very excited to welcome Peter to the Firm and to the London office in particular. Transactions and litigation are two key areas of his practice and these perfectly complement many of our strengths in London,” said Hamid Yunis, Managing Partner of McDermott’s London office. “In addition, I am confident that Peter will thrive with McDermott’s collaborative culture and work seamlessly with our high-calibre transactions and litigation teams – and, indeed, other areas – in London, Europe and across the world.”

McDermott continues to expand its London offering, adding strength across several practice areas. Since January 2021, Mark Fennessy and Sunay Radia (Restructuring), Simon Airey (White-Collar), Shah Khandokar (Energy & Infrastructure), consultant Marcia Shekerdemian KC (Restructuring), Kevin Cummings (Tax), Jack Thorne (Litigation) and Garrett Hayes (Corporate) have all joined the Firm’s London office.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.