Adam Li

Practice Areas

Mr. Li is a seasoned international corporate lawyer with entrepreneurship spirit. He is particularly focused on transactions between China and the US, advising Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, investors and entrepreneurs doing business in China, and their China counterparts entering the US market. Mr. Li’s extensive work and life experience in both China and the US enables him to understand culture nuances, bridge the gap, and helps him close complicated cross-border deals.

Several times in his more than 30 years of practice, Mr. Li built a solid practice and then transforms, from a star banking lawyer in Shanghai to a vanguard IPO lawyer in China, from a leading cross-border M&A practitioner to a trusted legal advisor for the US market. His ventures took him from Shanghai to New York City, from Palo Alto to Seattle, and he becomes an asset to his clients and friends to connect different people in professional, business and other local and international communities.

Mr. Li’s regularly represents US based or other MNCs investing in China and has been the lead lawyer in several “deals of the year” transactions in M&A, investments, and joint ventures, encompassing industries from automobile, clean energy, healthcare, hospitality, life insurance, online retail, and many others. He also counsels on corporate governance and compliance for their China operations. In addition, Mr. Li advised in more than 200 IPOs and bond offerings, listed in Shanghai, New York, Hong Kong and on other world’s leading stock exchanges, many were first of its kind, or largest IPO, either in the history of that stock exchange, or of the year globally.

For many years since he started to work from the US West Coast, Mr. Li regularly advises on investing and operate in the US. Focused on corporate practice, he often partners with his colleagues and other specialists from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley, from New York to Washington DC to help clients navigate through complicated compliance issues such as CFIUS, export control, data protection, and etc.

Mr. Li is active in both local and international legal communities as well as in charitable organizations. Early in his career, Mr. Li was the key founding partner of a “Red Circle” law firm based in Shanghai.

Career

Adjunct Lecture, Shanghai University of Finance and Economy, the Law School；

Arbitrator, Shanghai Arbitration Commission。

Professional Memberships

Director, Seattle Chinese Bar Association；

former Vice-Chair of China Committee, American Bar Association, Section of International Law；

Member and former director of Shanghai Bar Association；

Member and former executive, Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area.

Publications

Author, The Draft Foreign Investment Law and Its Impact on VIEs, XBMA, 2015；

Author, The Most Recent Challenges to the VIE Structure for Foreign Investment in China. XBMA, 2011；

Co-translator, Principles of Corporate Governance Analysis and Recommendations, the Law Press, 2006.

Personal

Married with two children, enjoys walking and jogging, loves classical music

Clients

Multiple listed MNCs based in the US or China

Work Highlights

Advised iRobot to enter China market;

Walmart acquires Yihaodian (a China based online retailer) (Deal of the Year 2012);

Hutchison Whampoa (now CK Hutchison Holdings) Trust listing in Singapore (Deal of the Year 2011, the largest IPO of that year and on SGX until that date);

The first GDR issued by a Chinese company (1997);

The first B Shares listing on Shanghai Stock Exchange (1991) .

Industry Sector Expertise

US China cross-border transactions

Expert in these Jurisdictions

China, Washington and New York

Languages Spoken

Bilingual English and Chinese

Experience

Partner, JunHe LLP, 2001 to precent, Seattle, Palo Alto, Shanghai and New York City；

Founding Partner, Fangda Partners, 1993-2000, Shanghai；

(Stagiaire, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton), 1999-2000, New York City；

Shanghai Law Offices of Foreign Economy & Trade, 1991-1993, Shanghai.

Education

Awards