Capital firm Rooney Nimmo enters Chinese market

Rooney Nimmo, the corporate law firm with offices in Edinburgh, has entered into an affiliation with a Chinese practice to expand its global reach.

Rooney Nimmo has entered into an affiliation with Beijing Zhongjian Law Firm. Picture: Contributed

The firm, formed in 2016 through a merger of Edinburgh practice Nimmo WS and New York-based Rooney PC, has teamed up with Beijing Zhongjian Law Firm to grow its offering in the Asian markets.

They now have a collective 39-person legal team across offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, including lawyers qualified in mainland China, and specialises in banking, commercial and corporate law.

Business development manager Chris Magennis told The Scotsman that the move enables its client base, which consists largely of growth companies and investors, to “access key tech and commercial markets as efficiently as possible” as the firm already “has people on the ground” in China.

He added: “It’s an incredibly powerful tool to be able to give Scottish businesses that global reach, and they don’t even have to leave Scotland.”

This latest deal follows an affiliation Rooney Nimmo signed in June with Hong Kong-based firm JC Legal.

John Nimmo, founding partner of Rooney Nimmo in Edinburgh, said: “Beyond our already strong US/UK cross border capabilities, China is a natural extension and gives us a unique offering that will benefit our clientele.”

The firm has an additional office in London.