Legal Services for Chinese Clients
Chinese clients confronting regulatory, IP licensing, and investment issues in jurisdictions outside China also can count on Foley for comprehensive legal services focused on outward direct investment (ODI). Whether you need assistance with matters as diverse as antitrust, anti-dumping, and other WTO trade-related matters, M&A, or IP licensing, product registration, or marking, Foley has the international resources and contacts to help as you expand globally.
Advising Chinese Companies in the United States
In the United States, Foley has 17 offices coast to coast, and provides counsel and representation on the full gamut of corporate, IP, litigation, and regulatory issues.
Regulatory and Government Affairs: Our strong Government & Public Policy team is well versed in all matters related to federal, state, and local government, and can provide knowledgeable assistance as you navigate the United States’ complex and ever-changing regulatory environment.
Cross-Border Corporate Transactions: Foley’s Transactional & Securities attorneys manage U.S. regulatory risks while completing your cross-border M&A deals and securities offerings. We have extensive experience counseling public and private companies, investment banks, private equity and venture capital funds, special board committees, and lenders in a broad range of capital-raising and acquisitive transactions.
We can assist you with the bilingual drafting and negotiating of commercial transactions, M&A, joint venture agreements, and other investment structures, lease agreements, distributorship agreements, supply agreements, and general terms and condition contracts. We also counsel Chinese clients in navigating and solving investment restrictions in the United States, including CFIUS, financial controls, and sanctions country issues.
Members of our Transactional & Securities Practice have held positions at key U.S. federal regulatory agencies or as in-house counsel for public and private companies, bringing first-hand industry experience to the team and your business. In addition, a lead attorney in the China Practice has worked closely with the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China to assist Chinese companies in getting access to U.S. capital markets and with technology transfers.
IP Protection and Enforcement: Our China Practice IP attorneys and professionals possess the practical experience and the technical background to help you refine your IP asset development and protection strategies when licensing your IP in the United States or around the globe.
We take a holistic approach to your IP legal solutions, and focus on helping you meet your immediate and long-term IP needs. We offer services such as strategic IP management; patent and trademark prosecution; advertising clearance; licensing and collaborations; IP due diligence; reexamination and post-grant review; opinions, enforcement, and litigation for patents; trademark, copyright, and advertising; and technology purchase and outsourcing agreements.
Automotive: Our Automotive Industry Team is especially well positioned to assist Chinese companies as they consider establishing or expanding automotive operations in the United States, including matters relating to government incentives and other government support for such investments.
Our experienced attorneys offer more than just generic corporate advice — they have the knowledge and skills to provide solutions tailored to the automotive industry. Our team includes bilingual and bicultural Chinese attorneys from a variety of legal disciplines who devote their professional practice to serving the needs of businesses like yours in the automotive industry. We represent clients located in, or with interests in, all of the major automotive centers throughout the United States and Europe, as well as Tokyo and Shanghai.
Energy: Foley’s Energy Industry Team helps Chinese companies in the United States address regulatory and legal concerns to keep your traditional and renewable source projects on track — from due diligence, negotiation, and regulatory approval through closing. Out attorneys offer strong experience in the renewable source energy industry, including representing developers, investors, lenders, and landowners in the construction, development, acquisition, and financing of renewable energy generation facilities, including China-related wind and solar projects, hydro, geothermal and biomass facilities.
Our comprehensive industry services include transactions, compliance, project finance, and facility siting. We are one of the most experienced firms in managing U.S. federal, state, and local energy-related regulatory issues that can help Chinese companies address industry challenges and protect your interests.
Life Sciences: Foley’s Life Sciences Industry Team comprises corporate, health care, regulatory, and IP attorneys to help Chinese companies address immediate, specific legal issues while also focusing on your long-term goals for doing business in the United States. Our team has extensive experience in critical areas for life sciences companies, allowing us to serve clients quickly and efficiently at every stage of the product life cycle, as well as provide a long-term strategy that helps you along the path to commercialization.
Health Care: Foley’s Health Care Industry Team was named “Law Firm of the Year — Health Care Law” for three of the past four years on the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list for our ability to provide a broad range of participants in the health care industry with value-added, pragmatic legal advice in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Only one firm in the country receives this recognition each year.
Whatever your role in this complex industry, our Health Care attorneys can provide you with creative legal solutions and practical industry experience. Many of our attorneys are former health care practitioners or have served in key government agencies, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other federal and state agencies. Our legal work has established key precedents in health planning, corporate structuring, and reimbursement. With this first-hand understanding of health care’s business and legal challenges, Foley attorneys are sought for assistance with the full range of legal issues, including physician self-referral and anti-kickback laws, health care finance, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and joint ventures, among others.
Manufacturing: Foley attorneys have been trusted advisors to leading U.S. manufacturers since the country’s first industrial revolution — it is an industry we are proud to know well. In addition to our extensive experience representing manufacturing companies with M&A transactions in the United States, we also work with clients to address advanced manufacturing issues such as continuous process improvement; human capital acquisition, development, and retention; enterprise-wide supply and distribution chain management and collaboration; sustainability; global engagement; reshoring; facilities siting, reconfiguration, and management; foreign direct investment; strategic acquisitions and divestitures; government and public affairs; next-generation technologies; and Big Data, as well as traditional areas such as corporate, labor, tax, and IP. We take a holistic approach to the industry, working closely with colleagues from all practices, industry teams, and offices across the firm to deliver comprehensive solutions that help clients achieve their business goals.
Counsel for Chinese Companies in Europe
Foley has developed a strong network of international partners that can help as you expand globally in Europe. Our long history dealing with European companies gives us the ability to provide our China clients with insight into the legal, corporate, and business cultures prevalent in Europe, as well as an understanding of how European companies and executives perceive inbound businesses.
Our Europe Practice is staffed with attorneys based in Washington, D.C., and Brussels. Fluent in French, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese, and English, the regulatory attorneys in our Europe Practice provide efficient and cost-effective services to address regulatory questions at the European Union (EU) level as well as in the EU member states.
Legal Services for Chinese Companies in Latin America
Our Latin America Practice has handled matters in every Latin American and major Caribbean country and has served as the trusted advisor to clients ranging from large multinationals and sovereigns to entrepreneurs and prominent family groups.
In Latin America, we can offer our China clients local knowledge and legal services that touch on aspects of your business, ranging from transformational transactions and “bet the company” litigation to navigating regulatory hurdles and general corporate and strategic counseling. We also provide investment-related assistance in areas such as raw materials and energy.