Newly launched Chinese firm to align with leading Am Law 100 firm
McGuireWoods, a leading global law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 21 offices in the U.S. and Europe, has entered into a strategic alliance with FuJae Partners, a newly formed Shanghai-based law firm registered in the People’s Republic of China, to serve companies based within and outside China by providing ready access to leading lawyers in China and around the globe. With the strategic alliance pact, the two firms have agreed to work with each other closely in strategic markets (including China).
FuJae was launched by Richard Yao, David Dingfa Liu and Guangming Liu. As of December 1, 2015, it will provide legal and business counsel to state-owned and private Chinese companies and foreign companies doing business in China. Before launching FuJae, Richard and David were partners with JunHe, one of China’s most prestigious firms. Guangming spent over 12 years as an intellectual property specialist at JunHe before joining HuiZhong, where he was a partner.
The FuJae office is in downtown Shanghai at Wheelock Square, 1717 Nanjing Road West. All three partners are China natives who attended law schools in the United States. They have extensive experience in China and elsewhere internationally.
According to Richard Cullen, Chairman of McGuireWoods, the alliance with FuJae is in keeping with the firm’s reputation for providing unparalleled service and superior results for its clients.
“We are thrilled by our new strategic alliance with FuJae and its three esteemed and accomplished founders,” Cullen said. “As our clients in the United States, the EU and elsewhere continue to expand globally, including pursuing a wide array of business interests in China, we are committed to doing everything we possibly can to help assure their success. This alliance will serve that end by making available tremendous legal and business benefits and a level of service that matches our own.”
“Our goal is to build a market-leading PRC law firm known for its high ethical standards, quality legal work, unique capabilities and operational efficiency,” FuJae Chair Richard Yao said. “Our alliance with McGuireWoods, one of the most respected law firms in the world, immediately provides us with a strong global platform from which FuJae will be able to provide its clients (Chinese companies seeking investment opportunities in particular) with seamless legal counsel and superior service. Through this alliance, our clients gain access to the significant resources of a leading global firm, including a deep pool of talented U.S. and EU legal professionals with a wide range of capabilities and a wealth of experience. We are confident this arrangement will benefit the clients of both firms.”
The partners of FuJae, which launched the new operation with a dozen legal professionals, are highly accomplished international lawyers. Richard Yao, a corporate/M&A attorney and partner with JunHe for 11 years, focuses on U.S. and European companies doing business in China and on outbound investment by Chinese state-owned and private enterprises. He received his LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) and spent nine years with Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before joining JunHe. David Liu, a corporate/tax partner with JunHe who received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School, focuses on U.S. and European companies doing business in China. Prior to joining JunHe, where he was a partner for more than eight years, he was with Coudert Brothers, Sidley Austin and Bryan Cave. He is one of the top-ranked Corporate/M&A and Tax lawyers in China, according to Chambers Asia and Chambers Global. Guangming Liu, an IP/IP litigation partner with HuiZhong, focuses on trademark strategy, IP litigation and compliance. He received his LL.M. from Chicago Kent Law School and spent over 12 years with JunHe prior to HuiZhong.
