Allens Arthur Digs In for Mongolian Mining Boom With Office Launch
Australian law firm Allens Arthur Robinson has launched an office in Mongolia.
The firm will have no lawyers based in its new office in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, which it launched Wednesday. Instead, it will rotate lawyers in and out of the office. Brisbane-based energy and resources partner Erin Feros says she will be one of nine lawyers at the firm who will regularly spend time in the new office. Hong Kong partner David Wenger, who will serve as the firm's chief representative in Mongolia, is another.
Feros says the launch was driven by client demand, especially in the mining sector. "We have been doing work for clients in Mongolia for a decade now and the demand has just increased greatly over the past year," she says. "The largest projects are just starting to be developed now. There are also a lot of Australian Securities Exchange-listed companies who have increasing mining assets in Mongolia."
Melbourne-based mining giant Rio Tinto, a longtime Allens Arthur client, is one of the largest foreign investors in Mongolia. The firm last month advised Rio Tinto on a joint venture in the Mongolia Oyu Tolgoi Project, a gold and copper site in southern Mongolia.
A handful of other foreign firms have a presence in the Mongolian market via alliances with local firms: Hogan Lovells established an alliance with GTs Advocates in August last year and DLA Piper signed an agreement with C&G Partners in March this year.
Allens Arthur does not have an existing alliance with firms in Mongolia but has regularly worked with local counsel including Lynch & Mahoney and GTs Advocates.
The firm will have no lawyers based in its new office in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, which it launched Wednesday. Instead, it will rotate lawyers in and out of the office. Brisbane-based energy and resources partner Erin Feros says she will be one of nine lawyers at the firm who will regularly spend time in the new office. Hong Kong partner David Wenger, who will serve as the firm's chief representative in Mongolia, is another.
Feros says the launch was driven by client demand, especially in the mining sector. "We have been doing work for clients in Mongolia for a decade now and the demand has just increased greatly over the past year," she says. "The largest projects are just starting to be developed now. There are also a lot of Australian Securities Exchange-listed companies who have increasing mining assets in Mongolia."
Melbourne-based mining giant Rio Tinto, a longtime Allens Arthur client, is one of the largest foreign investors in Mongolia. The firm last month advised Rio Tinto on a joint venture in the Mongolia Oyu Tolgoi Project, a gold and copper site in southern Mongolia.
A handful of other foreign firms have a presence in the Mongolian market via alliances with local firms: Hogan Lovells established an alliance with GTs Advocates in August last year and DLA Piper signed an agreement with C&G Partners in March this year.
Allens Arthur does not have an existing alliance with firms in Mongolia but has regularly worked with local counsel including Lynch & Mahoney and GTs Advocates.
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