Armstrong Teasdale hired Steve Yu as a partner for a Shanghai legal job, according to a press release.

The firm is aiming to widen the scope of its work in Asia, with specific focus on intellectual property, dispute resolution and services for transactions and franchising.

Yu is a Chinese corporate lawyer whose experience and credentials include work with mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing and international joint ventures.

“We are taking these initial steps in response to a steady influx of international transactional business and increasing opportunities for investments both in the United States and Asia,” managing partner Michael Chivell with Armstrong Teasdale said. “The explosive demand for legal services in this area, especially intellectual property, is the driver for allocating additional firm resources to Asia and adding more lawyers.”

Also coming aboard to help with the firm’s Asian interests are two associates and a business consultant.

Equipped with law degrees from Northwestern University School of Law in Illinois and the Law School of North China University of Technology, Yu has handled cross border transactional work for more than 14 years, the press release states.