Winston & Strawn hires 8 from collapsed Heller

Winston & Strawn, the Chicago-based firm of more than 1,000 lawyers, hired eight partners from Heller Ehrman, which announced in September it would dissolve due to a lack of business.

The new hires include Simon Luk, David Hall-Jones and Michael Phillips, who will work in Winston's Hong Kong office, the firm said in a statement today. Luk was the former chair of Heller's Hong Kong practice.

Winston also hired William Barringer, Daniel Porter, Christopher Dunn and James Durling, all of whom were partners in Heller's international trade practice in Washington and have expertise in trade cases related to China. Heller environmental litigator Joseph Armao joined Winston's San Francisco office as a partner.

``We are very pleased to have such talented lawyers join the firm, and expect them to be a great fit with our core practices and culture,'' Winston & Strawn Chairman Dan Webb said in the statement.

Winston & Strawn's Hong Kong practice will open pending regulatory approval, the firm said.

In 2007, Winston & Strawn was the 34th-largest grossing U.S. law firm, with revenue of $697.5 million, according to the American Lawyer, a trade publication.