Minter Ellison announced today that it has opened an office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In making the announcement, Chief Executive Partner, John Weber, said the partnership had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the decision, acknowledging the importance of having a presence on the ground in this rapidly emerging economy.

“Elisabeth Ellis, one of our senior partners in Hong Kong, has relocated to the new office as the full time, resident partner. Lis will be supported by the firm’s regional energy and resources group and a team of Mongolian lawyers. Local personnel have already been identified and recruited,” John Weber said. 

“Mongolia is the logical next step for us. It is an increasingly strategic market with a substantial resource-based economy and is attracting the attention of the global resources industry, including Australian companies. Many of these are Minter Ellison clients. 

“As a senior corporate lawyer with significant energy, resources and infrastructure experience in Australia and in Asia, and existing client relationships in Mongolia, Lis has unique capabilities to service Australian and international clients with interests there,” Mr Weber said. 

Already in Mongolia, Ms Ellis said she is encouraged by the extent of the client demand for on-the-ground capabilities. 

“I’ve spent considerable time in Ulaanbaatar prior to the opening of our office and witnessed significant momentum, both in terms of the emerging economy in this area and interest from our clients. I’m most enthusiastic about Minter Ellison’s future in North Asia,” Ms Ellis said. 

Ulaanbaatar is Minter Ellison’s fourth office in Asia. It already has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. 

“Minter Ellison’s international strategy is to build a powerful regional capability, focusing on key areas where we have strong client support and specialist skills and experience to offer – energy and resources, infrastructure, corporate, finance, tax and dispute resolution. Mongolia makes good business sense for us,” Mr Weber said. 

“Our geographic expansion has always been client driven, and clients with existing or emerging interests in Mongolia are telling us they want us in that market. We could have opted to continue a minimalist approach, with fly-in fly-out teams to service their needs, but our experience in Greater China tells us it’s better to be on the ground working with clients. 

“Our international business is amongst the fastest growing areas of our firm and we are confident that Ulaanbaatar will further contribute to this growth.”