Representing numerous major multinational companies in a variety of employment matters – including senior terminations, redundancies, investigations and business immigration – Baker McKenzie FenXun continues to provide one of the market’s stellar offerings. The firm’s joint operation with FenXun Partners also gives the firm the ability to provide representation before the arbitration commission and people’s courts. The experienced Jonathan Isaacs, who splits his work between the Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, heads up the team. He is supported by post-transactional employment specialist Joseph Yue and associate Olivia Wu. Restructuring and strike actions expert Zheng Lu, now registered with FenXun, works very closely with the Baker McKenzie team.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP handles a high number of mandates for clients in relation to mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and contractual drafting, as well as advising on hiring, termination, and workforce reductions. The firm is also recommended for its assistance for multinational companies in navigating Chinese data protection laws and regulations, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the PRC’s own anti-corruption laws. The team is led by the highly experienced Lesli Ligorner, an expert in collective bargaining matters and employment mobility and immigration. Also central to the practice are terminations and non-compete clauses specialist Todd Liao and associate Yuting Zhu. Hong Kong based Charles Mo supports the team. Qian Nie departed the firm in 2022.

DLA Piper provides employment law services to clients in a wide array of sectors including banking, retail, tech, transport and life sciences. The firm is recommended for its handling of cross border immigration matters and multi-jurisdictional non-contentious projects, alongside expertise in investigations work and litigation support. The practice is led by Johnny Choi, who is recommended for advice on collective bargaining issues, executive removals, corruption investigations and employee IP theft. He is supported by consultants Xiu Zhou and Ning Zhou. Ying Li moved to PRC firm Kaiman Legal.

CMS is recommended for assistance with a range of matters including employment contracts, pension schemes, international secondments, redundancies, trade union relations and employment litigation. The firm is known particularly for its specialism in representing German and Austrian businesses trading in China. Jeanette Yu, an expert in senior executive matters, leads the team in Shanghai.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP handles matters such as executive terminations, employee transfers and regulatory compliance for a multinational client base, with a particular specialism in financial services. The team is overseen by the Singapore based Gareth Thomas, with work in mainland China being directly led by Gillian Miao, who is based with the firm’s joint operation, Kewei Law Firm. Miao is experienced in investigations, post M&A restructurings and workplace policy advice for international clients operating in mainland China.