Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP Expands China Corporate Advisory Practice

 Benjamin Qiu Joins as Partner

New York – Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP will expand its China Corporate Advisory Practice with the addition of Benjamin Qiu, who joined the firm as partner on September 5, 2023. Qiu will co-lead the practice with founding partner Dennis Kwok, a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council who was elected as the sole representative of the legal profession in Hong Kong’s legislature from 2012 to 2020.

Before joining EKLJ, Qiu was a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP based in Beijing and Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, Qiu established the Shanghai office of Cooley LLP.

EKLJ’s China Corporate Advisory Practice provides counsel to clients navigating the rapidly shifting geopolitical, legal, and human rights risks of doing business in the China region. China’s enhanced laws and regulations announced earlier this year ban the transfer of information related to national security interests and significantly broaden the definition of espionage. The new national security laws emerging from Beijing and Hong Kong have added to the risks now faced by international companies operating in the region.  The U.S. State Department has expressed serious concerns that foreign companies doing business in China may easily run afoul of these new laws, creating business uncertainties and conflicts with U.S. legal requirements.

“Benjamin has spent much of his career working with emerging and established businesses to create alliances, negotiate business deals, and sustain supply chain relationships throughout China,” Kwok said. “His unique understanding of the terms and conditions of private equity and M&A agreements will be essential as more and more businesses have to re-assess or even unravel their engagements with partners in China due to the change in the investment environment.”

Unlike many firms, EKLJ does not maintain a business presence in China and is not subject to many of the laws governing law firms and business consultants with active operations in the PRC and Hong Kong. The EKLJ China  practice is specifically designed to be free from conflict and unencumbered by Chinese regulations.

Qiu provides a full range of corporate services for U.S.-based clients as well. At Loeb & Loeb LLP, he was a member of the firm’s Capital Markets and Corporate Department. Qui’s practice is focused on U.S. and China-related venture capital financings, fund management, corporate governance, and intellectual property portfolio building, licensing, and protection. He has represented emerging growth enterprises and established organizations in their business dealings with Chinese partners. Qiu previously served as senior counsel and fund director at a prominent investment fund and supervised the formation of multidenominational venture capital funds.

“I am delighted to be joining Dennis and the partners at EKLJ as they continue the work of aiding and advising global businesses,” Qiu said. “The business environment in China has degraded significantly over the past few years, making it necessary for international companies to reassess their operations in the region. I look forward to applying my many years of experience in creating opportunities for foreign businesses in China, as these same enterprises work to implement a de-risking or partial decoupling process.”

Qiu has advised multinational companies from the U.S., Europe, and Japan on IP asset development, and licensing and enforcement in China. He has represented Chinese companies in patent, copyright and commercial litigation in the U.S.  Qiu is a registered arbitrator of the High-Tech and Intellectual Property Arbitration Center of the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, and is a frequent speaker on a range of topics pertaining to business activity across the Pacific rim. Qiu has advised on more than one hundred international financing transactions.

A native Mandarin speaker, Qiu holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and a B.A. from Webster University. He is admitted to the Bar in the State of California.

“For many companies, the challenge of risk assessment and the uncoupling of business ties with China has been an ongoing process,” Kwok said. “The changing geopolitical environment between the U.S. and China put foreign companies of all sizes at unprecedented legal and political risks. Unlike larger law firms that may have operations in mainland China and Hong Kong, the EKLJ team is free of any conflict of interest, and able to vigorously defend and act against Chinese state-owned enterprises and conglomerates.”

EKLJ’s China Corporate Advisory Practice provides legal and political risk assessments for corporations operating in the China Region. This includes advising corporations on disentanglement initiatives as well as representing businesses in commercial disputes. The firm provides legal and business counsel to clients including:

• Conducting due diligence and operational challenges for multinational companies and global investors doing business in mainland China and Hong Kong.

• Advising international media companies on the changing legal and political landscape for reporters working in mainland China and Hong Kong.

• Advising and negotiating with notable investor shareholders in private deals concerning technology companies in mainland China where U.S. and China laws undercut each other making compliance

• Representing international companies in cross-border China related litigation and arbitration proceedings.

About Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP

Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP is a globally-focused boutique firm working to resolve complex disputes and counsel clients at the intersection of business, finance, regulation, and white collar defense. The firm is intentionally structured to engage in unflinching domestic and cross-border litigation, arbitration, regulatory, and dispute resolution, while avoiding the conflicting interests often faced by larger legal practices. Learn more at www.EKLJlaw.com

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CONTACT

Bennett Kleinberg, bkleinberg@jupiterstrategies.com, 917-416-4012