Cooley has added former in-house lawyers Christina Zhang and Benjamin Qiu to its Shanghai lineup as partner and senior associate respectively. Their joining the firm is expected to expand Cooley’s business and technology practice in China.
Zhang left her position as vice-president and Asia-Pacific general counsel of Johnson Controls to join the firm. Since 2008, she had been advising the company’s Power Solutions business in the region with a China focus. Her 19-year legal career also includes 10 years of in-house counsel experience in the life sciences industry, at Merck & Co in New Jersey, and at Wyeth in China successively. Prior to these roles, she practised at the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Qiu, meanwhile, previously worked as senior counsel and fund director at Innovation Works, an investment fund and startup incubator for Chinese IT companies. He was responsible for supervising the formation of over 50 technology companies and their subsequent financing rounds. He has also worked for Lovells (now Hogan Lovells) in China.
“We are committed to establishing and expanding our practice in China with the hiring of talented local attorneys,” said Brad Peck, the partner in charge of Cooley’s Shanghai office, in a statement. “With their extensive experience and deep local insights, Christina and Ben will add great value to our clients here.” ALB
Liu Zhen is North Asia senior journalist at ALB. Follow her on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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