Last year, on April 28, The New York Times ‘s Dealbook blog tweeted to its many followers that Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was opening a Hong Kong office.

It was a mistake, swiftly corrected. (The New York firm had been in Hong Kong since 1993.) The news was actually that Simpson was launching a Hong Kong law practice. From the firm’s perspective, that development was perhaps just as momentous as a new office.