Freshfields loses senior Hong Kong corporate duo to Latham

Latham has hired two senior Freshfields partners in Hong Kong, adding firepower to its capital markets and M&A practices amid a busy period for dealmaking in the financial centre.

Grace Huang and Edward Freeman will join Latham as partners, with Freshfields counsel Cindy Kwong also making the move.

Huang is one of Hong Kong’s top equity capital markets lawyers and has advised on a long list of listings in the city. She also sits on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee and the Securities and Futures Commission’s Takeovers and Mergers Panel and Appeal Committee.

Freeman is the Asia practice group leader for the firm's global M&A and capital practice and regularly advises private equity sponsor clients. His experience includes advising Blackstone as the lead investor on the take-private of Hong-Kong listed beauty group L’Occitane in 2024.

Hong Kong heats up

The hires come at a busy time for Hong Kong’s capital markets. The city topped global IPO rankings by money raised in 2025, while a record pipeline of proposed listings has carried the momentum into 2026.

Latham already has one of the leading equity capital markets practices in Hong Kong. It recently advised the banks on fast-fashion retailer Shein’s $1.7 billion IPO, which debuted today (1 September).

The additions also build on Latham’s recent hiring in Asia, including antitrust partner Angie Ng in Singapore from Ashurst and technology transactions partner Rhys McWhirter in Hong Kong from Eversheds Sutherland last year.

For Freshfields, the departures follow the loss of M&A partners Noah Carr and Gordon Palmquist to White & Case in Tokyo earlier this summer.

Latham Asia managing partner Posit Laohaphan said Huang and Freeman would strengthen the firm’s offering across capital markets and public M&A, describing their practices as “highly complementary”.