Watson Farley and Williams (WFW) adds debt capital markets partner from White and Case Hong Kong as Magic Circle and international firms continue building out Asia finance and infrastructure practices
Watson Farley and Williams (WFW) has hired a new partner, Xuan Jin, from White and Case's Hong Kong office, as WFW continues to invest in its Asia finance, energy, and infrastructure platform. Jin is described as a debt capital markets (DCM) specialist who spent more than a decade at White and Case. The hire is part of WFW's stated strategy of building out its Asia presence in finance, energy, and infrastructure, sectors where the firm has a strong transactional track record in cross-border project finance and shipping. DCM (debt capital markets, covering bond issuances and other debt securities) is a practice area with direct relevance to the financing of energy and infrastructure projects across the Asia-Pacific region, making the hire strategically coherent with WFW's sector positioning. The move reflects a broader competitive trend among international law firms: as Asian deal flow in energy transition and infrastructure grows, firms are targeting senior lateral hires with established client relationships and specialist product knowledge to compete with the large US firms and Magic Circle practices that have deeper Asia footprints. For WFW, adding a DCM capability in Hong Kong strengthens its ability to advise on the capital-raising side of large infrastructure and energy transactions, complementing its existing project finance and shipping practices in the region.
Why this matters
Senior lateral partner moves in Asia finance practices are a reliable indicator of where deal flow is expected to concentrate. WFW's hire of a DCM specialist from White and Case into Hong Kong signals confidence in the Asian debt capital markets pipeline for energy and infrastructure transactions, a sector driven by energy transition investment, regional infrastructure development, and the continued appetite of institutional investors for Asian project bonds. For London-qualified lawyers, the growing competition among international firms for Asia DCM talent reflects the reality that cross-border infrastructure finance is increasingly the highest-value practice area outside of pure M&A. The move also illustrates that lateral hiring remains the primary growth mechanism for international firms trying to close the gap on Magic Circle and elite US firm competitors in Asia.
On the Ground
A trainee supporting an international team on a Hong Kong-nexus debt capital markets transaction would be coordinating cross-border legal opinion requests from local counsel in relevant jurisdictions, preparing choice-of-law summaries for transaction documents governed by English law, and assisting with the apostille and legalisation of execution copies of bond documents.
Interview prep
Question you might get
“Why might an international firm with a strong project finance practice in Asia choose to hire a debt capital markets specialist rather than a further project finance partner, and what does that tell us about the evolution of infrastructure financing in the region?”
Sign up free to see the full answer
A model answer you can lift into an interview — how to frame this story for a partner.
Sign up freeMy notes
saved