Strong prospects for offshore firms in Asia in 2017, says head of Ogier's Hong Kong office

Prospects for 2017 in the Asian legal market look positive, with dispute resolution and restructuring and insolvency work likely to remain strong, according to the head of Ogier's Hong Kong practice.

Nicholas Plowman, who founded Ogier's Hong Kong office in 2007, says that the Chinese market will remain strong over the next 12 months and that signs also point to an improvement in Japan.

He said: "We feel China will continue to be the strongest market for offshore law firms in the region next year and we would like to think that Japan's economy will turn a corner in 2017, with an uptick in new work coming through in their asset management space.

"Dispute resolution, corporate and asset management work remain the service lines that will be the strongest for the offshore law firms and Ogier is well positioned to deliver in these areas with our Chinese language capability.

"I would expect to see dispute resolution and restructuring and insolvency work continue to remain strong for the offshore law firms as we see disputes rise with the stress placed on existing offshore structures in Asia."

Nicholas, who was named one of the top ten offshore lawyers in Asia by Asian Legal Business in its Offshore Client Choice List 2016, said that 2017 would see changes in asset management in China in particular.

He said: "I would also expect the asset management industry in China to continue to evolve and grow as Chinese asset managers and brokerages look to build out their asset management platforms.

"Corporate work should remain steady in the region with the possibility of take private work coming back on stream as valuations for Asian companies listed on foreign exchanges continue to reduce and make it less viable for these businesses to remain publically listed."