U.S. law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges appointed Shu Du, who previously headed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s Beijing office, as a Hong Kong corporate partner, signifying the firm’s new Asia capital markets practice.
Du, who was the sole partner in Skadden’s Beijing office for over 18 years, joined the firm in Hong Kong in 2008 after beginning her legal career at Coudert Brothers. Her practice focuses on equity and debt capital markets, M&A, and private equity transactions, advising major Chinese companies, investment banks, and financial sponsors.
Du’s recent work includes advising Shein on its $1.7 billion Hong Kong IPO in September, Midea Group on its 4.6 billion Hong Kong listing in 2024, and JD Industrials on a 390 million IPO. She also represented JD.com on a 10-billion-yuan ($1.4 billion) bond offering in April and Baidu on multiple debt issuances, including a 2 billion exchangeable bond issuance in March 2025.
On the M&A side, she handled JD.com’s 2025 take-private acquisition of Dada Nexus and MINISO Group’s purchase of a 29.4 percent stake in Yonghui Superstores.
Weil’s Hong Kong office, its sole Asia-Pacific presence, previously focused on private equity, M&A, leveraged finance, and restructuring. Du’s appointment introduces a dedicated capital markets capability to complement its existing transactional platform.
“Establishing an on-the-ground capital markets capability in Asia further connects our global platform with clients and opportunities across Asia-Pacific,” said Gary Holtzer, a Weil management committee member overseeing Asia strategy. Barry Wolf, Weil’s executive partner, added, “We are thrilled to welcome Shu to Weil and to have her lead our new Asia Capital Markets practice.”
The hire follows Weil’s recruitment of private equity partner Peng Yu, who rejoined its Hong Kong office in February. Du’s arrival brings the firm’s Hong Kong partner and counsel count to nine. Her departure leaves Skadden’s Beijing office without a resident partner, which opened in 1991 and currently lists three counsel and eight associates. Skadden closed its Shanghai office in 2024, prompting former Shanghai head Yuting Wu to relocate to Beijing before leaving in July 2025 for Xiaohongshu’s general counsel role.
