Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has elected Hanoi-based Global Transactions counsel Eric Johnson to its partnership. The promotion is effective from 1 May 2024.

Eric is widely recognised as one of the leading international lawyers currently practicing in Vietnam. He joined the firm in 2017, having earlier held roles at a number of other international law firms in New York City and Hong Kong. US-qualified, he specialises in international corporate transactions, advising multinational, private equity, sovereign wealth and venture capital clients on their acquisitions, joint ventures, divestments, co-investments and operations in Vietnam and across the Asia-Pacific region. He has served clients across industries, with a particular focus on technology, financial services, education, healthcare and real estate.

As a senior member of the Freshfields Vietnam team, Eric has also played an active role in the local business community, helping to further cement US-Vietnam investment in particular through board memberships on the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi and the Vietnam Business Forum.

“I’m absolutely delighted that Eric is joining the partnership,” said Tony Foster, Senior Advisor and founder of Freshfields’ Vietnam practice. “He is noted by clients for being easy to work with and highly commercial in the advice he provides. His promotion undoubtedly adds strength to our Vietnam offering and it’s wonderful to see the next generation of partners coming up through the ranks as our firm celebrates its 30th anniversary in Vietnam.”

“Freshfields’ Asia partners and I congratulate Eric on his well-earned promotion and look forward to him joining our Asia partner bench,” said Thomas Ng, Freshfields’ Regional Managing Partner, Asia. “As a firm, we’re proud of our long history in Vietnam and remain as committed as ever to the market, which is a vital part of our strategy to capture opportunities and support clients across the high-growth economies of Southeast Asia. Eric’s promotion underscores that commitment and bolsters our competitive edge as we start the fourth decade of our journey in the country.”

With a 2,800-plus lawyer team, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world's leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments on groundbreaking and business-critical mandates.

Being active in Vietnam since 1987, Freshfields set up its Vietnam offices in 1994 right after Vietnam opened to the world. Freshfields is the first law firm to be awarded a medal by the Ministry of Justice for excellent services to the development of Vietnam’s legal system.