Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has recently promoted Jem Li, a lawyer in the firm’s corporate M&A department, to partner in its Beijing office.
Since 2004, Li has practised exclusively in China, working on a wide range of cross-border transactions in Asia. In recent years, Li has become particularly active in handling large and complicated outbound M&A and JV transactions involving mining assets outside of China. Prior to joining Cadwalader, he worked in a few other US law firms, including Cravath, Swaine and Moore. After spending about 20 years in the US, Li returned to China to practice law in 2004.
Li’s promotion is indication of Cadwalader’s commitment to China-related work. The firm encourages its lawyers who grew up and were educated in China then received legal training and practiced in the US to take up more responsibilities in client development and management of large and complicated transactions in China. “Speaking from experience, these lawyers with such background are particularly effective in serving our clients who are PRC companies. Lawyers with such background are also welcomed by our multinational clients who regularly seek help with better cultural understanding of their PRC counter-parties in addition to top quality legal services,” said Li.
Despite the growing competition given the increasing sophistication of domestic firms, Li remains optimistic about the prospects of international firms on the ground – particularly on the outbound front. “PRC companies are likely to continue their effort to identify and purchase assets outside of China. These outbound activities will also generate more legal work for international law firms which have spent time and effort in the past few years building up relationship with companies in China, and which have had strong experience in serving PRC clients in cross-border deals,” he said.
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