Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has launched an Asia-based international arbitration and litigation practice in Hong Kong. Senior lawyers from the firm’s London office have been packing up and carting their families off to Honkers, where Paul Mitchard QC will head up the group. Mitchard will also maintain Skadden’s European international arbitration and litigation practice. Mitchard should be able to handle the pressure – in 2008 he became one of only a handful of UK solicitors to win QC status (typically granted to barristers). The economic downturn has drawn greater attention to Asian disputes practice, with international law firms looking to tackle matters including insolvency and financial regulation across Asia. 

Washington the lawyer city

Washington DC has the dubious distinction of having the densest population of lawyers in any US jurisdiction, the latest figures of per capital lawyers reveals. On a per capita measure, Washington has 276.7 lawyers for every 10,000 residents. Number two on the list, New York, has just 20.4 lawyers per 10,000, meaning Washington outranks the lawyers density in New York by 1,356 per cent. North Dakotas has the least lawyers per capita, by comparison, with a scarce 4.4 lawyer for every 10,000 residents. AveryIndex, a site that compiles law firm rankings and other legal industry data, released the statistics.