US law firm Cooley has hired a new partner in its Hong Kong office to expand its China capital markets practice.

Michael Yu joins the newly established office from Sidley Austin, where he was a counsel following stints at Clifford Chance, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. 

Yu focuses on Hong Kong IPOs and other capital markets transactions including pre-IPO investments, public takeovers and securities regulation compliance.

The Cooley office in Hong Kong now has three lawyers to go alongside its offices in Beijing and Shanghai. The firm operates in association with Cai Lee & Partners after it entered the Hong Kong market in March this year.