US law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP announced that the firm has formally established its Beijing office at the city’s Central Business District.

Loeb & Loeb is one of the few US law firms setting up a base in Beijing, offering specialized entertainment legal services.

Headed by Partner and Chief Representative Frank Marinaro, the firm currently has nearly 30 professionals in its Beijing and New York offices who are focused on servicing clients with business interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

“This move in Beijing is part of a long-term strategic plan to build on our firm’s core strengths in corporate and securities matters, private equity, cross border transactions, and intellectual property, as well as in media and entertainment, including motion picture finance,” commented Marinaro.

In 2009, the firm completed 33 major transactions totalling approximately $2.1 billion for Chinese companies and U.S. companies doing business in China.

Apart from corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions transactions, Loeb & Loeb has handled several US-China projects including representing Huayi Brothers Media in the distribution rights of The Weinstein Company’s John Cusack starring Shanghai, representing IDG China Media on the selling the North American rights of Wayne Wang’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan to Fox Searchlight, and representing China-based Colordance Pictures on the deal to recruit Kevin Spacey to star in Chinese-US co-produced black comedy Inseparable.

“Besides helping our US clients on developing and producing co-production film projects with China, we also help our Chinese clients to understand how US market works,” said attorney and partner Stephen Saltzman who specialized in entertainment legal practice.  “The opening of our China office augments our cross-border transactional abilities, allowing us to provide seamless expertise to US clients with productions in Asian markets and Asia-based companies with interests in the US,” Saltzman said.

Prior to the establishment of Loeb & Loeb’s Beijing office, one of the first US law firm offering media and entertainment services in China is Covington and Burling LLP, which has handled production, financing and distribution arrangements for films such as The Painted Veil, Forbidden Kingdom, and Crazy Stone.

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