Deacons receives accolades in the international legal media 9 March 2007 Following our recent win of the 2007 Asia Pacific Firm of the Year award, the UK publication, Legal Business, has produced a special issue covering the Legal Business Awards night which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, on Park Lane in London, on 8th February. The publication's coverage of our Asia Pacific award win recognises Deacons as the first international firm to be granted three representative office licences in the PRC and describes us as a firm which 'stayed clear of link-ups with international firms and this determined policy has produced a very real alternative to the usual suspects in the region. Its position as a regional leader has resulted in a number of impressive mandates. On the M&A side in Hong Kong, the firm is a potent force, representing an enviable mix of major local clients such as Standard Chartered and Hutchison, as well as global names, including ExxonMobil, Winterthur and ING Group. Referrals from foreign firms are coming thick and fast, as demonstrated by Deacon's role as Hong Kong counsel to Bank of America on its investment in China Construction Bank. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton was the international counsel on this award-winning transaction.'