In this week’s installment of the ongoing Squire Patton Boggs saga, the newly combined Am Law 100 firm made its first lateral hire by bringing on a partner with close ties to the Chinese government.

LI HUA, a trade disputes and antitrust expert with French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, has joined Squire Patton Boggs’ Beijing office, according to sibling publication The Asian Lawyer. Hua, a partner at Gide, joins the roughly 1,500-lawyer firm whose tie-up took effect on June 1.