Greenberg Traurig has hired a trio of energy and infrastructure lawyers from Hogan Lovells ahead of plans to open an office in Singapore, which will be its fourth in the region. 

The hires, initially set to be based in Tokyo, are the second high-profile group to join the Miami-based firm this week after it secured six real estate finance lawyers from Winston & Strawn in New York and Charlotte, North Carolina. 

The latest team moving to Greenberg is led by Joseph Kim, who is joining as a shareholder and head of the firm’s Asia energy and infrastructure practice. He moves alongside William Wu and Da Woon Jeong, who are also joining as shareholders from Hogan Lovells.

Jeong was an associate at Hogan Lovells in Tokyo, while Wu served as counsel in the UK firm’s office in Hong Kong. 

Kim, who is based in Tokyo, has more than two decades of experience covering Asia’ energy and infrastructure sectors – he spent seven years as a partner at Hogan Lovells in Tokyo after moving from Paul Hastings in 2014, where he was also a partner. 

Rounding out the new team is Jared Raleigh, who is relocating from Melbourne where he was senior legal counsel at Acciona Construction Australia. Prior to going in-house, Raleigh worked for Jones Day and Hogan Lovells in Singapore between 2014 and 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

The four newcomers will initially be based in Tokyo before the Singapore office opens for business ‘shortly’, the firm said. 

In their new roles, the quartet will focus on energy transition matters and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments in the renewable power and infrastructure sectors. 

‘With governments pledging to decarbonise their economies to net-zero carbon economies, the team will be ready to work with clients to handle matters dealing with new energy solutions and technologies such as building the green hydrogen or ammonia economy,’ the firm said. 

Once in Singapore, the team will collaborate with Greenberg’s teams in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai to assist institutional funds and private equity clients with expanding their investment activities in the Asia Pacific region. 

Richard Rosenbaum, Greenberg’s executive chairman, commented: “Singapore is fast becoming the key hub in Southeast Asia, and in many ways surpassing Hong Kong as a major regional business centre. We hope to announce further additions to the Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul offices soon.”

Last year, US rival McDermott Will & Emery opened its doors in Singapore, regaining a presence in Asia a year after the transfer of its Shanghai joint venture office to Winston & Strawn.

It appointed the former co-head of Sidley Austin’s government litigation and investigations group, Yuet Ming Tham, to lead the office last week.