International law firm Clifford Chance announced yesterday that it has expanded its China litigation and arbitration team with three new hires.
Ann Chen, a senior intellectual property (IP) lawyer and patent attorney, joined the firm in Shanghai, as did Bing Yu, a senior litigation/arbitration lawyer. Associate Lei Shi has also joined and will be based in Hong Kong focusing on mainland-related work.
"China's new position in the world economy has generated increased demand from Asian and international clients for litigation, arbitration and IP advice on their mainland business ventures," said Martin Rogers, Clifford Chance's head of litigation and dispute resolution in Asia.
Chen has bachelor of science degrees in history and biology from California Institute of Technology and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. She has more than seven years of legal experience in the life sciences industry with an international law firm. Her clients range from large pharmaceutical companies to universities, research institutions and small biotech start-ups.
Yu has a bachelor and masters degree in law from Fudan University and studied for a masters of law at New York University Law School. She has worked for a leading mainland firm and a leading international law firm, specialising in complex and high profile China litigation and arbitration matters and advising on regulatory compliance.
Shi graduated with a bachelor of laws and bachelor of arts degree in economics from Peking University, and received a masters of law degree from Harvard Law School this year. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, he worked at a leading mainland firm on litigation, arbitration and IP matters in a wide range of industries.
"This expansion builds strong foundations for our greater China practice, adding expertise in the key areas of dispute resolution, and experience in the industrial sectors and complex international disputes that our clients require," added Rogers.
The newly expanded China team is based in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In addition to Rogers and IP partner Ling Ho, the China team includes arbitration partner Cameron Hassall, arbitration consultant Kath Sanger, regulatory consultant Lisa Chen and senior associate Joseph Chu.
The team includes English and Mandarin speakers with extensive experience of litigation strategy in China.
Under the mainland system, litigants can only be represented in PRC courts by PRC lawyers employed by local PRC firms. Clifford Chance noted in its announcement that it has well-established relationships with local PRC law firms and legal experts. This provides “an important interface between our international clients and local firms. We often act as international counsel to many of our international clients doing business in China and we work with local Chinese firms on a daily basis”, the firm said.
