Two U.S. firms recently made opposing moves in Hong Kong: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe decided to close its office there after 15 years, whereas Steptoe & Johnson LLP launched a new office in the city.

Hong Kong is the most popular office location in Asia for global law firms. The city’s legal market is fully liberalized and firms have a menu of options to practice local law, U.S. law or U.K. law; corporate or finance; litigation or arbitration—you name it. That has made Hong Kong an incredibly competitive market. Even without additional challenges that include recent protests and the coronavirus, Hong Kong’s legal market requires carefully implemented strategies—and some luck—to succeed.