Global law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has established an Orange County office in a move to expand its presence on the West Coast and heighten its “commitment … to the cross-border market.”
The Washington, D.C.-based firm—known as a “policy powerhouse”—has 20 offices in the U.S. and abroad, including two each in Los Angeles and China. It has more than 850 attorneys spread over various practice areas ranging from government contracts and litigation to intellectual property and investment management.
Paul Lin, a partner in the firm’s corporate practice, will oversee the OC office, which is scheduled to open in January at the Jamboree Center in Irvine. It’s expected to start with six full-time lawyers.
Lin, 42, joined Akin Gump in 2012 in the firm’s downtown Los Angeles office. He was previously at the L.A. office of Jones Day.
Lin focuses on international corporate matters, serving a range of multinational companies and Chinese state-owned businesses across various industries. He also advises on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.
“An increasing amount of our work crosses international borders, and that—coupled with Akin Gump’s substantial presence in Asia, and Orange County’s continued transformation into a crucial global business hub—makes the opening of our office there a very sound move,” Lin said by email.
OC is not “new territory” for Akin Gump, according to Lin.
“We’re starting from a foundation built on very strong relationships with a number of clients that are either based in Orange County or have substantial presences there,” he said. “We are already very well positioned in Orange County.”
Lin, an Irvine resident, serves on the Dean’s Business Advisory Council at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law.
He also is part of the Committee of 100, a New York-based international nonprofit group composed of prominent Chinese-American business and community leaders.
