William Zheng

William Zheng is special counsel in the Corporate Practice Group and Bankruptcy and Finance Practice in the firm's Shanghai office.  Mr. Zheng is specialized in U.S. and Chinese law and focuses his practice in general corporate, private equity and venture capital.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Zheng represents venture capital firms and private companies in various transactions, including traditional preferred stock sales, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, strategic alliances, and licensing transactions.  He has particular expertise in the high technology and telecommunication sectors.

As a counterpart to his venture capital practice, Mr. Zheng advises clients on intellectual property matters such as cross-border licensing structure, litigation, and compliance.  Further, Mr. Zheng is experienced with key components of mergers and acquisitions in China, such as formulating proper deal structure, conducting due diligence on target companies, and advising and negotiating proper role of the foreign parties within the newly formed companies.

Mr. Zheng is active in litigation management and has assisted foreign clients in recovering difficult and large receivables in China.  As a seasoned practitioner of the laws and regulations of China, he is able to leverage his strong understanding of both the U.S. and Chinese cultures to assist clients in China.

Education

• J.D., Pace University School of Law
• B.A., Brandeis University

Admissions

• New York

Languages

• Mandarin Chinese

Representative Matters

Represented General Motors in an IP matter against a major Chinese automobile manufacturer.

Advised a major U.S. manufacturing company in acquiring a publicly traded state-owned enterprise, the first of such kind of transaction in China.

Advised a Fortune 500 company in structuring its cross-border intellectual property licensing mechanism.

Advised a Chinese telecommunication company in receiving both the first and second round of financing from a U.S. technology venture capital firm.

Advised an ivy-league educational institution in China for asserting its rights against the infringement of its on-line course materials by a Chinese company.

Advised a major global software company in a licensing transaction with a Chinese software company for enhancing one of the widely used instant messaging products.

Advised a Fortune 500 company in receiving a $1 billion loan from several local banks.

Honors

• Named to Asialaw Leading Lawyers for 2008

Memberships

• Adjunct Professor, Lasalle - DHU International College, lecturing a course focused on intellectual property in China.

Articles

• "Waiting Period" - Too Important Not to Ignore, Lexis China Review, November 1, 2007
• Suggestions On Regulatory Compliance With The New Anti-monopoly Law For Multinational Companies In China, China Law & Practice, October 1, 2007
• Impact of New Anti-Monopoly Law of PRC on International Mergers and Aquisitions, China Legal Review, September 1, 2007
• Exit Strategies, The Recorder, August 15, 2007