(CHICAGO) Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP today announced the opening of its new office in Shanghai, China. The office is Katten’s first in China and represents both American and European companies with business interests in China, as well as Chinese companies that are doing business in the United States.
“Katten’s new office in Shanghai represents a big step in the growth of our firm internationally and will allow us to significantly expand our existing China Practice,” said Vincent A.F. Sergi, national managing partner at Katten. “With China’s continued economic growth and importance in the global economy, having on-the-ground resources in Shanghai will help us enhance the services we are able to provide our clients in this market.”
Katten has been active in the Chinese market for many years. The firm’s attorneys in Shanghai are bilingual and have the background and expertise to handle multicultural and multijurisdictional legal issues in the United States, Europe and China. Katten attorneys not only serve as legal counsel, they advise clients on business decisions such as identifying and evaluating potential partners and transactions in China.
The broad range of legal services Katten offers includes foreign direct investment in China; outbound investment by Chinese investors; cross-border mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors in China; private equity, venture capital and capital markets; customs and international trade; intellectual property, technology transfer, and cross-border licensing and franchising; and, litigation and arbitration.
Katten marked the opening of its Shanghai office with a reception at its Chicago headquarters with the firm’s leadership, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chinese Consul General Yang Guoqiang as well as business and civic leaders.
“It is vitally important for businesses in the United States to recognize the growing prominence of China in our global economy and the wide-ranging opportunities there,” said former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley who is now Of Counsel at Katten. “Shanghai is a dynamic city that is the economic hub of mainland China. Katten is already very active in the Chinese market and the new office enables the firm to establish even broader connections in China and throughout Asia.”
Daley, who served as Chicago’s mayor for 22 years, has been a strong advocate for fostering connections between China and the United States and has traveled extensively throughout China promoting the importance of cultural and economic partnerships. He has hosted many government, business and civic leaders during his time in office including Chinese President Hu Jintao in January of 2011.
Daley currently serves as co-chair of President Barack Obama’s 100,000 Strong Initiative, which aims to increase dramatically the number and diversity of American students studying in China as a means to enhance people-to-people ties between China and the United States.
Katten’s new office will be led by Feng Xue, chair of Katten’s Asia-China Practice and managing partner of the Shanghai office. Xue has worked with major international law firms in the U.S and China and specializes in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, securities regulations, general corporate transactions and in representing Chinese companies in their acquisition and expansion efforts overseas. He sits on the board of directors of several Chinese companies and serves as general counsel to dozens of private equity funds and technology companies doing business in China. The office is located at 1717 Nanjing Road West in Shanghai’s JingAn District.
