Baker McKenzie appoints new Chair for Asia Pacific
Baker McKenzie appoints new Chair for Asia Pacific
Shih Yann Loo, a partner in Baker McKenzie's Intellectual Property group in Hong Kong, has hired to lead the firm's Asia Pacific operations going forward.
After Michael Wong's two-year term was up, Loo assumed the new role on October 21 and succeeded him. Wong has since resumed his corporate and tax practice in the firm's Taipei office.
Loo will remain a member of Baker McKenzie's worldwide executive committee while serving as the Asia Pacific chair, according to the law firm. Loo has been with the firm since 1993 when he initially joined in Hong Kong. Since then, he has risen through the ranks to head the firm's Intellectual Property (IP) group in matters of both domestic and international litigation and enforcement.
His previous senior positions with the company include serving on the management team that established the company's joint operation with FenXun Partners in China in 2015. This ground-breaking partnership was spearheaded by the current global chair Milton Cheng. In addition, he was a member of the committee responsible for directing the operations of Baker McKenzie's eight Asian Pacific jurisdictional offices and businesses.
Cheng expressed his "pleasure" in welcoming Loo to his new position. He mentioned, "I am certain that he will continue to drive our firm's growth in Asia Pacific and engage with other executive committee members to serve the requirements of our clients and people throughout the world.
"I'd want to express my appreciation to Michael for the guidance and support he provided to our executive committee over the previous four years. This was a time of great transition and change," he added.
When his four-year stint on the executive committee came to an end in September 2022, Wong and Dallas-based corporate partner Michael Santa Maria both resigned as part of the firm's most recent round of leadership changes. They were succeeded by Joyce Smith, an international commercial partner located in San Francisco and Peerapan Tungsuwan, a corporate and M&A partner headquartered in Bangkok.
