King & Wood Mallesons’ (KWM) China arm is in talks to take on large teams of lawyers from the firm’s Dubai, Germany, Italy and Spain offices as well as City corporate and litigation teams, with the news coming as former partners have been emailed about potential liabilities they may face relating to the firm’s pending January tax bill.
Dubai office head Tim Taylor QC is leading discussions between KWM China and various parts of the struggling European business, according to partners, with KWM China hoping to buy some of the legacy SJ Berwin business in order to retain a small presence across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
