Today, Fenwick & West, announced that Karen Yan has joined the firm as a corporate partner in Shanghai. Ms. Yan represents international companies in corporate financings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, initial public offerings, private equity transactions and U.S. securities law compliance. She recently represented Baozun Inc. in its successful U.S. IPO and Keystone Lodging Holdings in its acquisition from Expedia of an interest in eLong. In addition, Counsel Alexandra Yin and Special Associate Liz Qin have joined Fenwick’s corporate group in Shanghai, which provides capital markets, M&A, private financing and other legal services to companies and investors primarily in the technology, media and life sciences industries.
“Karen has an impressive practice and client base in China and is a strong addition to our thriving Shanghai office,” said Fenwick chair, Richard Dickson. “We continue to experience robust demand for our services in transborder transactions involving China, especially in core areas such as M&A, private equity and cross-border investments in the technology and life sciences sectors. Karen will help us meet that demand and grow our China practice substantially.”
“Fenwick is the top brand in technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences, a leader in U.S. IPOs and peerless in M&A, venture financing and commercial transactions,” said Yan. “Fenwick represented Facebook in its IPO and several of the most highly valued venture backed companies in their recent financings, including Uber and Airbnb.” She continued, “I’m delighted to be part of Fenwick and to leverage the firm’s cutting-edge company side representation platform to bring quality and innovative services to clients in China.”
Yan has been practicing corporate law for more than 15 years. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to law school, Yan worked in the tax department of Ernst & Young in New York and qualified as a U.S. Certified Public Accountant. She attended Fu Dan University for two years prior to pursuing her studies in the U.S. She is fluent in English, Mandarin and Shanghainese.
“Karen’s work is highly valued by her clients who regard her as a trusted advisor and key business partner,” said Eva Wang, managing partner in Shanghai. “Karen’s depth of understanding of the Chinese market coupled with her stellar U.S. work experience and deep background in accounting are a rare combination that will provide unique value to our clients. Alexandra Yin and Liz Qin are also wonderful additions to our team and we are thrilled to have them.”
Alexandra Yin joins Fenwick as Counsel focusing on capital markets. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, her Bachelor of Law from Foreign Affairs College and her undergraduate degree at Beijing University of Science & Technology. Alexandra is admitted to practice in New York.
Liz Qin joins Fenwick as a Special Associate in the corporate practice. She received her LL.M. degree from New York University and her LL.M. and LL.B. degrees from Nanjing University Law School. Qin is admitted to practice in New York and is qualified in the People’s Republic of China.
“We have been very fortunate in the warm reception and significant business opportunities we’ve experienced since opening our Shanghai office less than two years ago,” said Gordon Davidson, China practice lead. “Our China practice has included many venture capital financing transactions and strategic investments, three going-private deals valued at over $5.5 billion in total, two U.S. IPOs, multiple transborder acquisitions and extensive intellectual property counseling projects.” Two of the transactions, Spreadtrum’s $1.8 billion acquisition by Tsinghua Unigroup, and Giant Interactive’s $3 billion going private transaction, were recognized as “Deals of the Year” in China in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Yan, Yin and Qin are only part of the story of growth for Fenwick in China. They join on the heels of Niping Wu, who joined the firm as a partner in January and was recently honored by Chambers Global in its China, Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital section. In less than two years, the firm’s office in Shanghai has grown from four attorneys to nine, and is expected to continue to grow this year.
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