Heller Ehrman has 650 attorneys and professionals in 14 cities worldwide, including Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Our expansion in Asia is the product of a strong and active client base. As one of the first U.S. law firms to establish a Hong Kong office in the 1970s, we have been advising clients for more than 30 years on the opportunities and challenges presented by doing business in China, and a significant part of our practice in Asia is devoted to this region.
Our clients include U.S. and European multinationals, as well as Asian financial institutions, corporations, governments, government-controlled entities and trade associations. We have approximately 30 attorneys based in Asia who are trained and experienced in the laws of Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and other jurisdictions. Our office in Singapore was established in 1994 to serve our clients' needs throughout Southeast Asia in international commercial transactions, U.S. strategic investment, general corporate representation and dispute resolution. Our Hong Kong office became a local Hong Kong law firm in 2003 – enabling our Hong Kong-qualified attorneys to represent clients in the Hong Kong courts. In 2004, we opened an office in Beijing, signaling our strategic expansion into the People's Republic of China. We have since opened an office in Shanghai in 2007.
Core Practice Areas / Industries
We have extensive experience with both debt and equity capital markets in Hong Kong, the PRC and the United States. We have acted for underwriters in IPOs on Nasdaq for China-based businesses and have advised Nasdaq companies based in Hong Kong and the PRC on compliance with U.S. securities laws, including redomicile and privatization projects. We represent both issuers and underwriters of various forms of debt instruments, including bonds, commercial paper and certificates of deposit, both regionally and globally. In addition to our IPO experience, we advise Hong Kong and PRC clients on reverse take-overs and general offers for shares of listed companies in Hong Kong and on compliance with the Hong Kong Codes on Takeovers and Mergers.
Attorneys on Heller Ehrman’s China team are trained and experienced in the laws of the United States, the People’s Republic of China, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Based in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States, the team cuts across several practice areas. Our China-focused attorneys have extensive understanding of PRC laws, regulations and regulatory bodies, and have deep relationships with regional investment banks, government agencies and state-run enterprises. In addition to representing PRC-based clients in cross-border transactions and international disputes, our China team assists multinational companies in cross-border transactions involving PRC entities, direct investment in the PRC, intellectual property protection and on-the-ground dispute resolution.
We assist multinational clients making investments in China and Southeast Asia. We have established and restructured equity and cooperative joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises, branch offices and representative offices in many parts of the PRC, including the special economic zones, technical development zones and bonded areas. We also advise on the foreign acquisition of interests in Chinese enterprises, including China-listed B shares, management buy-outs and the restructuring of Chinese corporate groups following the change of interests. Our attorneys have extensive experience in devising offshore structures to enable our clients to participate in various restricted industries in China such as telecommunications, the Internet and financial services.
We represent some of the most active dealmakers both in the region and globally in structuring, financing and implementing complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments. Our attorneys are involved in some of the highest-profile transactions in the financial services, life sciences, information technology, defense and hospitality industries.
We are active in negotiated and hostile tender offers, leveraged buyouts and privatizations, and we advise on split-offs, spin-offs and other recapitalizations.
Both in terms of size and experience, Heller Ehrman has one of the leading dispute resolution practices in the region. Our attorneys are experienced in litigation, arbitration, mediation, adjudication and expert determinations in a variety of practice areas, including commercial litigation, securities, trade and complex business disputes, insolvency, regulatory investigations, commercial crime and disciplinary proceedings. The practice cuts across many industry sectors, from construction to telecommunications, and spans the region – from India to China and from Indonesia to Korea. Our attorneys have been selected and listed as arbitrators and mediators on leading panels, such as the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, the American Arbitration Association, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
With the expanding reach of U.S. laws and the extra-territorial jurisdiction of U.S. regulatory agencies and courts, our attorneys routinely advise Asia-based clients in the firm’s traditional areas of strength – U.S. antitrust and securities disputes, investigations and litigation. With extensive experience both in the United States and on the ground in Asia, we are well positioned to represent Asia-based clients in U.S. government regulatory and criminal investigations as well as in complex commercial litigation. We have one of the strongest U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act practices in Asia and have advised clients on FCPA compliance matters and U.S. Justice Department investigations related to activities in China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines – some of the region’s riskiest countries in terms of FCPA exposure. Our capabilities in this area also include major engagements relating to the USA PATRIOT Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control issues.
We have substantial experience in structuring and organizing venture capital, private equity and real estate funds, as well as other pooled investment vehicles, and in listing investment funds on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and other international stock exchanges. The forms of funds we have established include offshore partnerships and limited liability companies (in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Mauritius). We have handled many complex structures including parallel and side car structures to deal with regulatory and finding limitations in Asia and have jointly managed arrangements to leverage the synergies between the various regions of Asia. Recent funds established by the Asia practice are those targeted for investments throughout Asia, particularly Greater China, Japan and Korea. We also assist general partners and sponsors in raising funds from all over the world and work closely with our tax team in the U.S. to help our clients achieve their objectives.
Our Intellectual Property group represents U.S. and Asian technology clients in IP-related transactions and IP filings – as well as in enforcing IP rights and resolving IP disputes – in the United States and in China and throughout Asia. Our attorneys have organized successful administrative raid actions against IP-infringing organizations in China; directed IP litigation before Chinese courts on behalf of multinational companies; represented key Chinese companies in critical IP litigation in the United States; and acted for both Chinese and U.S. companies on IP- and technology-based business transactions.
Our attorneys have specific World Trade Organization and trade law experience in WTO dispute settlement, trade negotiations, trade policy, regional groupings, trade-related intellectual property issues and anti-dumping and other trade remedies. We help our clients understand and make use of the benefits conferred by WTO laws, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) laws, bilateral investment protection treaties and other bilateral treaties such as CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between China and Hong Kong). We have acted in some of the largest trade disputes in the region. Our experience includes representing governments, exporters, importers, industry associations and domestic producers in numerous anti-dumping investigations and other trade-related matters across a wide array of products and jurisdictions.
Martin Downey
martin.downey@hellerehrman.com
+852 2292 2150
Michael Phillips
michael.phillips@hellerehrman.com
+852 2292 2207