Building on firm foundations – that’s the way Eric Berg describes his mission since becoming head of Asia-Pacific three years ago.

“What struck me straight away was the strength we already had in Asia-Pacific and the massive opportunity that exists here.” ERIC BERG, HEAD OF ASIA-PACIFIC

Eric moved to Hong Kong in 2015 following 33 years in our New York office and was immediately impressed by what he saw. He says: “Being asked to lead the Asia-Pacific region was a real privilege for me and an exciting new challenge.

“As soon as I arrived we held a partners’ retreat here in Hong Kong and I did a listening tour of our offices to find out what people felt we were doing well, where we could improve, and their thoughts on the future.

“What struck me straight away was the strength we already had in Asia-Pacific and the massive opportunity that exists here.”

As he settled into his role, Eric identified his three key priorities: business development, maximising Asia-Pacific’s connections to the wider network, and increasing our reputation as a great place to work.

He says: “Our partners here already had good relationships across the network, but I wanted to make sure we maximized the potential of our incredible global network. 

“We’ve actively worked to add Asia-Pacific-based partners to various global committees, to increase associate secondment opportunities across our global network and to better connect our Asia-Pacific-based lawyers with other offices and other regions.

“I also wanted to ensure our growth plans were consistent with the Firm’s global strategy which, while it puts special focus on growth in the United States and London, is also prioritizing building on strengths globally, including in Asia-Pacific. That’s proven with recent investment in the region.”

White & Case has had a presence in Asia-Pacific since 1978 and the last four decades have seen us grow from a single office in Hong Kong to a strong network of Asia-Pacific offices including Beijing, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

In the past three years we’ve continued to build on our firm foundation, adding an office in Seoul in 2015 and opening two offices in Australia last year. 

We’ve also increased our Asia-Pacific capabilities with a combination of home-grown promotions, transfers of partners to Asia-Pacific and impactful lateral hires. 

In particular, we’ve greatly expanded our Projects and Infrastructure practices with the addition of the market-leading team in Australia and we’ve added top-tier partners across Asia-Pacific in areas such as Private Equity/M&A, International Arbitration and Litigation, Capital Markets, and Banking.

In describing our Australia office openings last year, Eric explains: “Launching in Australia was a major milestone and our work didn’t end when the deal completed – we brought in 50 new lawyers and built-out permanent (and beautiful) office spaces in Melbourne and Sydney, and worked hard to fully integrate our new team.

“It was particularly important to recruit people who were not only the best in their field, but who were also a great fit with our culture and who wanted to make an impact at the Firm.  I believe we succeeded in doing both.”

“A lot of work has gone into integrating everyone into the business and into the global network, but the result is that we now have the best Projects and Project Finance team in the Australian market, which is a fantastic addition to our top global EIPAF practices.”

Eric is also pleased with the initial impact of the Seoul office and the lateral partners we’ve added throughout Asia-Pacific.

Eric is confident about the future. He says: “Looking at our performance over recent years, not just in Asia-Pacific but globally, I’m extremely excited about the future. When I look back at what the Firm was like when I joined in 1981, there is no comparison.

“At that time we were one of a few firms that claimed to be international but that, in reality, only had a couple of small offices outside of the US generally manned by US lawyers.

“Now I see us as a truly global law firm, with 43 offices in 30 countries, and a truly diverse mix of people from around the globe. As a result, we are a much better and stronger firm.

“It’s a really exciting place to be and we’ve got an even more exciting future to look forward to.”