July 2, 2014
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that the firm is expanding its presence in Beijing and Hong Kong with two partners, Patricia Tan Openshaw and Fang Xue. Openshaw, formerly with Paul Hastings, has joined the firm’s Hong Kong office and will continue her energy and infrastructure practice. Xue, previously with Shearman & Sterling, has joined the firm’s Beijing office and will continue to focus her practice on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, going private transactions and other general corporate transactions.
“We are pleased to welcome Patricia and Fang to the firm,” said Ken Doran, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “Both women are held in high regard in the Asian business and legal communities. Patricia is best known for energy and infrastructure projects in the region as well as corporate and finance transactions in the Philippines and other parts of Asia, while Fang is best known for inbound and outbound transactions involving China. Their practices will complement our existing strengths in Asia and further enhance our expanding presence in China.”
“We are delighted to have Patricia on board,” said Kelly Austin, Partner in Charge of the Hong Kong office. “She is a very experienced energy and infrastructure lawyer with a well-established practice and strong reputation in the Asia region. Her addition will add depth to our energy and infrastructure practice in Asia and firmwide.”
“Fang is a terrific addition to Gibson Dunn,” said Joseph Barbeau, Partner in Charge of the Beijing office. “She is a savvy lawyer, who is well regarded in the China market. Her experience with Chinese clients on outbound work and with international companies on their interests in China will be an asset to the firm as we continue to expand in China and the Asia region.”
Openshaw commented, “I am very pleased to join Gibson Dunn and be a part of the firm’s expanding energy and infrastructure practice. Gibson Dunn has tremendous depth in the energy and infrastructure space, covering not just transactional work but also environmental and regulatory affairs as well as litigation and international arbitration. Furthermore, the strength of the firm’s corporate and disputes practices in Asia and globally forms a compelling platform that will assist me in delivering excellent service in a broad range of areas to clients.”
“I was drawn to Gibson Dunn’s strong international platform, its premier reputation for high-quality legal work and the breadth of the practice areas it offers,” said Xue. “The firm was the right foundation for me to continue to build out my China-focused international M&A practice.”
About Patricia Tan Openshaw
Openshaw focuses her practice on project development and finance, mergers and acquisitions, and banking and finance transactions in the energy and infrastructure sector. She has substantial experience representing developers, sponsors, contractors, lenders, government agencies and offtakers in connection with the development, financing, and restructuring of power, rail, toll road, water and other infrastructure projects.
Openshaw advises Asian and U.S. companies in cross-border acquisitions, restructurings, refinancings, private equity investments and divestitures of energy and infrastructure assets throughout the region. She has also advised on financings involving commercial banks, export credit agencies, multilateral agencies and private equity funds. She has handled energy and infrastructure transactions in Indonesia, Australia, China, Fiji, India, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and the United States. She has particularly significant experience in the Philippines, where she handles a broad range of matters, including projects, M&A and capitals markets offerings, for the government, international financial institutions and the top conglomerates in the country.
Openshaw has been recognized regularly as a leading lawyer in energy and infrastructure and in finance by Chambers Asia, Chambers Global, Legal 500 Asia Pacific, IFLR1000 and Asialaw Leading Lawyers.
Before joining the firm, she practiced with Paul Hastings and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and Hong Kong. She graduated in 1992 from the UCLA School of Law, where she served on the Pacific Basin Law Journal and was a member of the Moot Court Board. She is fluent in Fukien and Tagalog.
About Fang Xue
Xue has broad-based corporate and commercial experience, with particular emphasis on cross-border M&A transactions. She has represented Chinese and international corporations, state-owned enterprises, and private equity funds in going private transactions, tender offers, stock and asset purchase transactions, venture capital and private equity transactions, including many landmark deals among those. She regularly advises companies on general corporate matters, including the negotiation of commercial contracts, corporate governance and compliance matters.
Representative transactions include advising Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co. in its proposed acquisition of NASDAQ-listed RDA Microelectronics, Acquity Group in its sale to Accenture and the Special Committee of Camelot Information Systems Inc. in the company’s going private transaction.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Xue was counsel with Shearman & Sterling, where she practiced since 2003 in the New York, Hong Kong and Beijing offices. Xue graduated magna cum laude in 2003 from Duke University School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif and research editor for Law and Contemporary Problems. She received her Master of Law in 2000 from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Fluent in Mandarin, she is admitted to practice in the State of New York.