Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Languages

• Mandarin
• Shanghainese
• English

Lawyer Overview

Winston Zhao has more than 18 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies in their international corporate and commercial projects in Greater China, including cross-border M&A operations, China inbound and outbound investments, corporate restructuring, corporate finance, intellectual property, product liability matters, and other commercial transactions. He is Partner-in-Charge of the Shanghai Office.

Winston has extensive experience representing major American and European companies in China on such matters as the establishment of joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises, strategic alliances, real estate, venture capital and private equity, securities, and intellectual property protection. He represented a major European client in a transaction involving the restructuring of more than a dozen foreign-invested enterprises in China and their subsequent conversion into a share holding company, which was one of the largest restructurings to date of a foreign investor in China. He also acted as lead international counsel for Dong Feng in its US$2 billion joint venture with Nissan, which is the largest direct investment project to date in the Chinese auto industry.

Winston frequently speaks on China-related topics and has published a book and many articles on Chinese legal and regulatory issues. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association. He also was appointed to serve as an arbitrator of the Shanghai Arbitration Commission of China. He is fluent in written and spoken English and is a native speaker of Mandarin and Shanghainese.

Areas of Practice

• Mergers & Acquisitions
• M&A
• Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
• Private Equity
• Buyouts
• Fund Formation
• Venture Capital - Investor
• Venture Capital - Issuer
• Labor & Employment
• Asia Labor & Employment
• Consumer Products & Retail

Representative Cases

• Acquisition of Air Intake Module and Air Filtration Business
• Acquisition of China Battery International
• Acquisition of various Chinese food companies
• Bekaert's China investments
• Chinese Joint Ventures
• Guangdong LNG Import Terminal and Trunkline Project
• Issuance of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
• Joint Venture with Nissan Motor
• Joint Venture with Nissan Motor and Subsequent Restructuring
• Labor and Employment Issues
• Management Buyout
• Restructuring of Unilever FIEs and formation of a major company limited by shares

West Practice Categories

Banking & Finance Law, Business & Commercial Law, Business & Trade, Business Organizations, Business Successions, Closely Held Businesses, Collective Bargaining, Corporate Governance, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Dissolution, Formation & Business Planning, Franchising, International Law, Joint Ventures, Labor Arbitration, Labor Disputes, Labor Law, Labor Legislation, Labor Relations Boards & Proceedings, Lending & Secured Transactions, Limited Liability Companies, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Non-profit & Tax-exempt Organizations, Partnerships, Reorganizations, Shareholders' Rights, Trade Associations, Unfair Labor Practices, Unions, Venture Capital, Wage & Hour Laws, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• New York

Education

• Fudan University - China
• Duke University

Published Works

• Employment Strategy for Foreign Investors in China After the Publication of the Implementation Rules of the Labor Contract Law, 2008
• The Chinese Employment Contract Law of 2007, 2007
• Almost There with Distribution Services in China, China Law & Practice, 2005
• Investment in the People's Republic of China, 2004
• The Silicon Valley of the East?, China Law & Practice, March 2004, 2004
• Issues in Shanghai's Regional HQs Legislation, China Law & Practice, 2004
• HR Trends in China: A Legal Perspective, Human Resources, 2003
• Market Access Report: Telecommunications, China Law & Practice, 2001
• The IFLR Guide to Energy and Power, 2001
• Reform of Chinese State-owned Enterprises and Opportunities for Foreign Investors, International Company and Commercial Law Review, 1998
• Do Shanghai's New Provisions Offer A Breakthrough for Foreign Investors, China Law & Practice, 1998

Address

30th Floor, Shanghai Kerry Centre
1515 Nanjing Road West
Shanghai 200040 20004, China

Phones

86.21.2201.8168 (Business Phone)

Faxes

86.21.5298.6569 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com