Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that leading energy law experts Carolyn Dong, Neil Macdonald and Russell Wilkinson are joining the firm in Hong Kong.
Carolyn has over 35 years’ experience advising on cross-border transactions involving China, most notably with major Chinese state-owned enterprises (“SOEs”) and private companies on outbound M&A transactions, acquisition financing, joint ventures with international partners and project development, including large-scale and complex oil and gas, petrochemical and mining projects worldwide.
Neil advises on the development, acquisition and disposal of energy, mining and other natural resources assets and projects, with extensive experience assisting clients across the LNG and oil and gas supply chains.
Russell works across the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas/LNG sectors, acting on the development and sale/purchase of energy infrastructure, resources and businesses, and their financing. That includes one of the stronger LNG practices, with exceptional experience of floating and land-based LNG terminals and LNG sales and shipping.
WFW Global Energy Sector Head Henry Stewart commented: “I am thrilled to welcome Russell, Carolyn, Neil and their team to WFW. With his impressive expertise in LNG, Russell will be key to enhancing our energy practice in Asia and worldwide. Carolyn’s unrivalled experience advising SOEs unlocks fantastic new opportunities for the firm advising on big-ticket projects spanning our core sectors of energy, infrastructure and transport, similar to the Simandou mega-project. These hires represent the largest expansion of our Asia Pacific Energy practice since the arrival of Clarinda Tija-Dharmadi and Partner Merrick White in April 2024”.
Russell said: “We’re excited to be joining a WFW team delivering excellence in the energy sector around the globe. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to continue building our world-class energy practice”.
Carolyn added: “With our team of dedicated energy and natural resources specialists joining in Hong Kong, WFW strengthens the breadth and depth of its energy and natural resources practice across the Asia Pacific region, enhancing its ability to advise on ground-breaking, first-of-their-kind projects”.
Neil concurred: “WFW’s sector focus complements our strengths in LNG, upstream project development and M&A, providing a compelling platform to deliver exceptional client service and maximise opportunities for our clients and the firm”.
Prior to joining WFW, Russell and Carolyn were Head of Energy (Asia) and Head of Energy Sector China at DLA Piper respectively. Neil was previously based in DLA Piper’s Abu Dhabi and Perth offices and returns to Hong Kong where he previously spent 12 years advising clients on matters across the Asia Pacific.
