Linklaters is set to make its long-awaited move into Chinese law with a team of almost 20 lawyers breaking off to set up a new ‘best friends’ firm in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ).

Three partners and 16 lawyers are leaving Linklaters’ China offices to set up the new independent firm, which will operate alongside Linklaters on a ‘best friends’ basis, an agreement that is expected to be finalised in the next two to three months.