Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is to effectively close its Hong Kong and Shanghai offices and pull out of Asia, The American Lawyer has learned.

Firm chair David Greenwald flew in to Hong Kong last Thursday to inform partners that the offices, which a source with knowledge of the situation says are operating at a loss, would be wound down by June 30 due to a lack of confidence in the long-term prospects for international legal business in Asia.