Fish & Richardson P.C., a leading U.S. law firm specializing in patent and intellectual property (IP) litigation, has opened a representative office in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen.

From its new Shenzhen office, Fish will provide U.S. and European Union legal work for its Chinese clients, which include Huawei Technologies, Ant Financial and Hisense Electric Co., according to the firm.

"Shenzhen's innovators are maintaining a rapid pace and are seeking the best possible global protection for their IP," said Peter Devlin, president of the firm. "From Shenzhen, we will serve our Chinese clients and engage with the overall IP community."

Competing globally, Chinese companies face cross-border issues as they relate to technology, IP and litigation across multiple jurisdictions including the United States and Europe, said Ryan McCarthy, chief representative of Fish's Shenzhen office.

"We help our clients prepare to defend against infringement actions, as well as learn to leverage these channels for enforcement of their own IP," McCarthy said.