Dechert appoints Yang Wang to lead its Beijing office

 
September 28, 2020

Dechert has appointed partner Yang Wang to head the firm’s Beijing office from 1st October, 2020 as it looks to pursue the expansion of its Asia operations.

He joined Dechert in 2012 and he is admitted to practice in New York and he has previously practiced in China. Yang specializes in cross-border M&A involving Chinese companies as well as with IPOs for Chinese companies in Hong Kong and growth capital investments. His clients include private equity funds, multinational companies, investments banks and Chinese corporates. He will split his time between the firm’s Beijing and Hong Kong offices. Yang obtained his degree in international law from the China Foreign Affairs University in 2004 and his LL.M. in corporate law from New York University in 2008. His native language is Mandarin and he is also fluent in Cantonese and English. Subject to obtaining the requisite approvals, he will become the next Chief Representative of Dechert’s Beijing office.

Yang succeeds Jingzhou Tao, a leading disputes lawyer who will become an independent arbitrator. Tao joined Dechert at the inception of the firm’s International Arbitration practice and contributed to its rapid growth. His distinguished career includes advising Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Europe and the U.S., as well as being a member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Chinese Supreme Court. Jingzhou will be joining Arbitration Chambers, which is a set of leading full-time, independent arbitrators with offices in Hong Kong, London and New York.

David Cho, the head of Dechert’s Hong Kong office and co-head of Asia, says, “Yang is an exceptional partner with the ideal blend of expertise, cultural understanding, languages skills, and entrepreneurial approach to lead our Beijing office as we look to continue growing our Asia client offering. Jingzhou created an excellent platform for Dechert in China and we thank him for his contribution and we wish him every success in his new endeavors.” 

“Jingzhou has been an esteemed, key member of our team.  I have no doubt that his trajectory of success will continue in the next chapter of his career as an independent arbitrator,” said Eduardo Silva Romero, co-Chair of Dechert’s International Arbitration practice.

Dechert has an Asia practice of nearly 100 people including 11 partners, operating from offices in the financial hubs of Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore advising global corporations, financial institutions and private investors on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory, investment funds, international arbitration and white collar crime matters. The team speaks several Chinese dialects, including Cantonese, Mandarin and Shanghainese, and Asian languages, including Korean and Malay (Bahasa Malaysian), Japanese, Bahasa Indonesian and Tagalog. 

Over the last 18 months Dechert has strengthened its Asia platform and capability with the partner appointments of Maria Sit in Hong Kong and Maria Tan Pedersen in Singapore. Sit, a former in-house counsel at the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, joined Dechert in February 2019. With experience across complex litigation, arbitration as well as government enforcement and investigations, Sit is the Asia head and global co-leader of Dechert’s White Collar, Compliance and Investigations practice. Pedersen joined Dechert’s global Corporate & Securities practice in January 2020, with a diverse international expertise advising government, public and private clients, including blue chip companies, ultra-high net worth individuals, and family offices on M&A, capital markets, infrastructure projects and international arbitration. 

In Asia, Dechert has generated some market-leading client mandates including representing long-term client SK hynix, Inc. in the acquisition of Toshiba Corporation’s NAND flash memory and solid-state drive business, which is recognised as the fourth largest private equity-backed M&A deal since the financial crisis of 2008. Dechert’s Asia team also advised Fortune Group Holdings Limited on the purchase of FORTUNE media brand from Meredith Corporation Limited, and advised Shanghai Shenda, a leading publicly listed state-owned enterprise (SOE), on its acquisition of a 70% interest in IAC’s soft trim and acoustics business and the formation of a global joint venture.

Dechert’s international arbitration group, led by Arif Ali and Eduardo Silva Romero, is independently recognised as one of the world’s leading arbitration practices, with a strong reputation for cutting-edge work in large commercial and investment disputes. The group advises sovereign states (including sovereign wealth funds), state-owned enterprises, private investors, multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals, in treaty and contract arbitrations around the world. Dechert represents clients across industry sectors including energy, oil and gas, electricity, mining, construction, telecommunications, financial services, life sciences, defense, and hospitality. The group comprises over 50 lawyers including 12 partners operating from key arbitration centres including Washington, D.C., New York, London, Paris and Singapore. In the last three years, the International Arbitration group has promoted Erica Franzetti (Washington, D.C.) and Erica Stein (Paris and Brussels) to partner, and recruited partner Michelle Bradfield (London). Earlier this month Dechert appointed leading international arbitration expert, Claudia Annacker, as a partner in Paris*. 

*Dr. Annacker joins as a Partner of Dechert LLP in the U.S. and as a consultant pending approval to be a Partner of Dechert (Paris) LLP by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

About Dechert

Dechert is a leading global law firm with 26 offices around the world. We advise on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.

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