SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that on May 1, 2011, it opened an office in Shanghai, China, officially named Blank Rome LLP Shanghai Representative Office, USA. The Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China granted the Firm a Practicing License to open a foreign representative office in Shanghai in late March 2011.

“We are thrilled to fly the Blank Rome flag in Shanghai,” said Alan J. Hoffman, Co-Chairman and Managing Partner. “Our Shanghai office augments our platform to better serve our clients in outbound and inbound China matters. This is a significant milestone in the further development of Blank Rome’s Asia practice and an important component of our expanding international footprint.”

Blank Rome Partner Henry Kuller, who currently serves as the Firm’s Hong Kong Liaison Partner, will lead the Shanghai office and split his time between the Firm’s Hong Kong and Shanghai offices. “China has a robust economy and a growing consumer and industrial appetite for foreign products and technology, and we continue to see increasing investment and strategic alliances by Chinese Companies in the U.S. and other foreign countries,” said Henry Kuller. “These factors present unique opportunities and challenges for our clients, and our expanding Asia presence and expertise enables us to better address our clients’ legal and government relations needs.”

Blank Rome’s Asia practice consists of more than forty attorneys who serve clients from Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Houston.

Barry Genkin, most recently Chair of Blank Rome’s Business Department, will be working from the U.S. along with Henry Kuller in spearheading the Firm’s Asia effort, including the Firm’s China companies U.S. capital markets practice. “The China-based capital markets practice will also be augmented by Blank Rome partner Jeffrey Rinde who has more than 20 years of capital markets experience and will spend a significant amount of time in Shanghai,” said Genkin.

The Firm advises Asia-based businesses in capital formation transactions and listings on the U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges; mergers and acquisitions; private equity and venture capital investments; foreign direct investment in China; strategic alliances in Asia, the U.S., and other countries; bank lending and finance; international taxation; patent, trademark and other intellectual property matters; international dispute resolution; maritime transactional, regulatory and litigation matters; international trade including import/export matters; FCPA and related issues; energy development and technology; labor and employment including immigration; and government relations. For more information about Blank Rome’s Asia practice, please visit www.BlankRome.com/AsiaPractice.

Blank Rome entered the Asia market by establishing an affiliated entity, Blank Rome Solicitors, in Hong Kong in October 2006. The attorneys in the Hong Kong office have substantial and diverse experience in the local and international practice of law throughout Asia, Europe and other jurisdictions.

The Firm’s Shanghai office initially will be located at 23rd Floor, Citigroup Tower, 33 Hua Yuan Shi Qiao Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai 200120 China, phone (86 21) 61010523. The Firm expects to move to new offices in IFC Tower 2, Pudong, Shanghai in September 2011.

About Blank Rome LLP

Blank Rome LLP is one of America’s largest law firms. With more than 500 attorneys serving clients across the globe, Blank Rome is an international law firm representing businesses and organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-up entities. Blank Rome helps its clients in all aspects of their businesses. The Firm’s practices cover areas including business tax; commercial and corporate litigation; employment, benefits and labor; financial services; bankruptcy and business restructuring; government relations; health law; intellectual property; maritime, international trade and procurement; matrimonial; privately held and emerging companies; product liability; public companies and capital formation; public finance; real estate; trusts and estates; and white collar, internal and government investigations. Blank Rome also represents pro bono clients in a wide variety of cases and matters. More information about the firm is available at www.BlankRome.com.

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