Z. Julie Lee is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Julie represents U.S. and international clients on tax and general corporate matters, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions.
Julie frequently represents clients in the following areas of tax law:
- advising U.S. clients to structure operations, acquisitions, and reorganizations inside and outside the United States
- assisting foreign clients’ investments in, and acquisitions/dispositions of, U.S. businesses and assets
- counseling clients on tax issues resulting from employees working remotely and other cross-border employment issues
- advising clients on tax issues involved in financing matters
Additionally, Julie represents clients on tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service, including obtaining private letter rulings and handling IRS audits and collection actions.
Julie also has extensive experience representing clients with their cross-border transactions, with an emphasis on China and other Asian countries. She counsels clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, and commercial transactions such as supply agreements, licensing arrangements, and distributorship agreements.
Representative Experience
Representative Tax-Related Experience
A list of Julie’s recent representative tax-related experience includes:
- Represented U.S. companies on tax issues involved in cross-border joint ventures and acquisitions
- Represented Chinese and European companies to structure their investment in the U.S. in a tax-efficient manner
- Represented U.S. companies and non-U.S. companies on inter-company transfer pricing issues and issues resulting from sending employees to work in a foreign country
Representative Cross-border Corporate Transactions
A list of Julie’s recent representative cross-border corporate transactions includes:
- Represented a publicly-traded U.S. manufacturing company on its acquisition of equity interests in a formerly state-owned enterprise in the restricted industry in China
- Represented a publicly-traded U.S. consumer product company to form joint ventures in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Singapore
- Represented a publicly-traded U.S. company to enter into a $100 million+ supply agreement with a publicly-traded company in Asia
Awards and Recognition
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Tax Law (2026)
- Recipient of The Milwaukee Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” award
- Named to Lawyers of Color’s inaugural list of the Nation’s Best 2020
Affiliations
- Vice President and member of the Advisory Board, Wisconsin World Trade Association, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
- Member of the Board of Directors and volunteer, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
- Past member of the Board of Directors, Wisconsin Bar Association Tax Section
Languages
Julie is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.
Thought Leadership
Julie frequently speaks on the topics of cross-border transactions. She has been quoted or featured in a number of legal and business publications for her work, including the Wall Street Journal and the M&A Journal.
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