Shanghai-headquartered Joint-Win Partners has extended its footprint outside Asia for the first time, launching American offices in New York and Washington.
Sam Hong, head of Joint-Win’s New York office, told China Business Law Journal that the twin-city expansion marked a “key milestone” in the firm’s globalisation strategy. The choice of the two locations was driven by a combination of commercial considerations and regulatory compliance strategy.
“As a global financial centre, New York places us at the forefront of cross-border transactions and capital markets activity,” he said. “Meanwhile, Washington, DC – as a key source of trade rules and national security policy – serves as a strategic base for engaging at the policymaking level and proactively safeguarding the overseas interests of Chinese enterprises.”
In a press release, the firm said its two US offices would focus on US regulatory compliance, financial regulation, offshore dispute resolution, international sanctions and anti-corruption investigations, as well as international energy and M&A matters.
Joint-Win now operates 20 offices worldwide, six of which are located outside the Chinese mainland, including in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Jakarta, Tokyo and the US.
In the press release, Hong said the New York office would leverage the firm’s China-focused team’s strengths to expand its international practice in the US – a global hub for finance and commerce – and provide forward-looking support to Chinese companies expanding overseas.
Hong previously served as counsel in the Shanghai office of TsingLaw Partners before joining Joint-Win in January. Earlier in his career, he was a registered foreign lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis in Hong Kong. His practice focuses on trade controls compliance, including export controls, economic sanctions and other China-related US trade restrictions.
Lu Tianyi, head of Joint-Win’s Washington office, also previously served as counsel at TsingLaw’s Shanghai branch. Admitted to practise in New York and Washington, she previously worked at US disputes firm Labaton Keller Sucharow before joining TsingLaw and has experience appearing before the Delaware Court of Chancery.
She has extensive experience in corporate law, private equity disputes, cross-border dispute resolution and commercial litigation, advising clients in the technology, internet, financial services and banking sectors.
Explaining her decision to join Joint-Win, Lu said: “Amid intense competition, Chinese firms will inevitably develop their own ‘Big Law’. We intend to be among the leaders.”
