According to reports the firm will ask 90 employees to stay on to assist in the wind-down of the firm, which may take a few months. This will be followed by liquidation.

Other law firms are already taking their pick from the various Dewey offices in the UK, US, Paris and Africa.

This week Baker & Mckenzie announced a new office in South Africa, made up entirely of Dewey & LeBoeuf lawyers. 

King & Wood Mallesons, has now announced the recruitment of two senior lawyers from Dewey to its Beijing office.

Former Dewey partner Dirk Walker has be confirmed as a new hire, with Dewey associate Miao Jing. Dina Yin, Of Counsel, also joins the energy and resources practice in Beijing from Linklaters, and also formerly with the Beijing and Houston offices of Dewey & LeBoeuf.

Wang Ling, Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons (PRC), said: “The Energy & Resources (“E&R”) sector continues to be a priority for us. The regional market is fiercely competitive.”

Walker’s experience includes representing a large state-owned Chinese oil & gas company in its joint acquisition with KMG, one of the largest private oil & gas company in Kazakhstan (deal amount of US$ 3.3 billion). He worked on several state-owned Chinese oil companies in connection with outbound acquisitions and development of upstream and downstream projects in Africa, South America, the US, and the CIS.

Commenting on his decision, Walker said: “I’m delighted to be joining the leading firm in China and re-joining partners with whom I’ve worked closely in the past and rate highly. It’s a fantastic time to be part of King & Wood Mallesons, a firm that has a clear vision and strategy in Asia. There are obvious synergies between our areas of expertise and focus. In weighing up my options, I spoke to a number of clients who resoundingly support this decision.”