Christopher Forrester Yian Huang Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is boosting its transactional team, bringing in a pair of Allen Overy Shearman Sterling corporate finance aces as partners in its Silicon Valley office, one of whom will also become the new co-managing partner of that office.

Christopher Forrester will become the new co-managing partner of Willkie's office in Palo Alto, the firm announced Wednesday. Forrester spent 12 years at A&O Shearman and its predecessor firm, Shearman & Sterling LLP. He is joined by Yian Huang, who spent 11 years at A&O Shearman and its predecessor.

The two handle corporate finances with an emphasis on securities offering, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.

In an email, Forrester told Law360 that he has long admired Willkie and its attorneys.

"We've watched Willkie grow the Palo Alto office for many years, and we have strong connections with several of the partners, having previously worked together at another international firm," Forrester said. "The timing seemed right for us to join the team here."

Forrester is looking forward to helping to expand the Palo Alto office.

"Willkie has a leading global transactional platform which has expanded tremendously in recent years into new markets, including on the West Coast," Forrester said. "We are excited to bring our issuer-focused practices — which include corporate finance, M&A and capital markets work — to Willkie and build on the firm's strategic growth in Palo Alto and on the West Coast."

Forrester also thinks their practice will be a good addition to the office.

"Willkie's Palo Alto office is built around a market-leading IP and technology transactional practice," Forrester said. "Adding our issuer-side corporate practice is a natural fit — our clients will benefit tremendously from the IP and technology practitioners here and the existing Willkie team will benefit from our strategic corporate practice and capabilities."

Willkie's Palo Alto office opened in late 2018 as the firm's first venture on the West Coast. That was followed by a San Francisco office in 2019 and a Los Angeles office in 2021.

"We have built a robust West Coast platform over the past several years that includes a comprehensive range of services for clients across core practice areas, and now includes expanded capital markets" and mergers and acquisitions reach, Willkie chairman Matthew Feldman said in a statement. "We are excited about this latest step in our growth and are thrilled to welcome Chris and Yian to Willkie."

Palo Alto managing partner Tiffany Lee, with whom Forrester will share managing partner duties, said she thinks the two will be good additions.

"Chris and Yian are talented practitioners who bring comprehensive experience across the capital markets and transactional landscape, and their addition will further support our growing West Coast platform," Lee said in the statement.

Forrester said he is looking forward to working with Lee as co-managing partners to "expand Willkie's local profile" and "continue to grow the office's legal capabilities as well as expanding our community involvement and contributions."

Forrester earned his law degree in 1996 at University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. He earned his master of laws in securities and financial regulation in 2000 from Georgetown University Law Center.

He worked for six years with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Diego, becoming partner in his final year there, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2006, he moved to Morrison & Foerster LLP in Palo Alto.

In 2014, he joined Shearman & Sterling, which merged in 2024 with Allen & Overy LLP to form A&O Shearman.

Huang earned his law degree in 2013 from Columbia Law School and then spent 18 months with Paul Hastings LLP in New York. In 2015, he moved to California and joined Shearman & Sterling, becoming a partner in 2022.

Willkie was founded in 1888 in New York City and today has approximately 1,300 attorneys in 16 offices worldwide, eight of them in the U.S.