Regulatory powerhouse Baker McKenzie FenXun handles both investigations and compliance matters, with particular expertise in cross-border issues involving the US, in addition to domestic regulatory and enforcement mandates. The firm is the go-to for clients requiring assistance with major government led investigations, with not only extensive expertise on PRC regulations but also FCPA, POBO, UKBA, dawn raids, and US SEC investigations. Beyond investigations, the practice is also adept at compliance due diligence for big-ticket transactional matters and international sanctions. Hong Kong-based investigations expert Mini VandePol leads the practice, specialising in trade sanctions, fraud, anti-bribery and corruption investigations. VandePol is supported in Shanghai by Henry Chen, who focuses on cross-border compliance related to anti-bribery, unfair competition, and anti-monopoly. Simon Hui is key to the team, being an authority on transaction-related compliance matters and internal investigations involving conflicts of interest, falsifying contracts, and embezzlement. Counsel Kailin Wang joined the firm from Fangda Partners in 2022, and represents multinationals, listed, and private companies in a range of compliance issues.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is a leading firm for investigations and enforcement matters. The team routinely handles white-collar crime, regulatory investigations, and trade sanctions. The practice is also adept at developing compliance programs and handling cross-border regulatory and compliance issues. Clients include domestic and international healthcare, financial services, and energy groups. The team is led from Hong Kong by ‘stand-out practitioner‘ Kyle Wombolt, who is an expert in cross-border criminal and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on white collar defence, corporate investigations, and criminal and regulatory enforcement proceedings. Pamela Kiesselbach splits her time between Hong Kong and London, specialising in anti-bribery and anti-money laundering, while Jeremy Birch handles government investigations, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcements, and works from Hong Kong and Perth. Hannah Cassidy is noted for her experience in contentious regulatory matters.

‘Experienced, knowledgeable, and responsive‘, the regulatory and compliance practice at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP uses the firms’ international presence to advise on a slew of regulatory and compliance issues for both domestic and international companies. The practice works across a number of industries including global private equity sponsors, asset managers, and multinational corporations. It is particularly adept at managing alleged financial frauds, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and economic sanctions. In Shanghai, co-head Tiana Zhang is a ‘leader in the field‘ of regulatory compliance, and is sought out by clients for her skill in US and China cross-border crisis management, including complex financial fraud investigations. Co-leading the team from Hong Kong are Cori Lable and Jodi Wu. Lable is skilled at multijurisdictional matters involving sanctions compliance and securities law, while Wu focuses on cross-border litigation and white collar criminal defence. Yue Qiu is also noted for her litigation skills.

Paul Hastings LLP has key strength in white-collar defence, anti-corruption, and FCPA, but has been continuing to grow its compliance and enforcement capabilities. High-stakes government investigations and litigation, as well as compliance advice, are regularly handled by the Hong Kong and Shanghai-based team. Cross-border mandates are often handled by the firm, such as publicly listed companies looking to invest in China. Practice head Shaun Wu leads the investigations and white collar defence team, and is experienced at assisting multinationals with corporate investigations and anti-corruption matters. In Shanghai, Phoebe Yan represents both international and domestic life sciences clients in investigations involving whistle-blower claims, conflicts of interests, and anti-bribery.

The corporate investigations team at White & Case LLP advises multinationals on their Chinese operations and any challenges they may face, such as regulatory and criminal enforcement, investigations and associated civil claims. A stand-out area of the practice is its expertise in parallel investigation proceedings in response to cross-border inquiries by regulatory authorities. Bingna Guo leads the team from Beijing, and is an expert in compliance investigation and litigation. Guo is well-versed in the FCPA, Chinese anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, and the UKL bribery act, making her a go-to for firms with multijurisdictional compliance matters. James Hsiao provides key support, and handles international anti-corruption investigations, international arbitration, and commercial litigation from Hong Kong.

Clifford Chance LLP is well-versed in aiding domestic financial institutions and corporates, as well as global banks, funds, and other multinational groups in their overseas regulatory compliance matters. The team handles both contentious and non-contentious issues such as financial regulations, anti-corruption, data compliance, and internal investigations. The team is jointly led by Terry Yang, who resides in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and focuses on regulatory matters for international and domestic clients, and co-head Lei Shi, who splits his time between Beijing and Shanghai, and covers anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions and export control for the team.

Compliance review, regulatory advice, and internal investigations are the main focus of the regulatory practice at DLA Piper. The firm is based across Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, enabling it to assist domestic and international clients with traditional white collar crime investigations, major cross-border investigations, and anti-bribery and anti-corruption investigations. Data breaches, cybercrime, and business email compromise investigation and recovery are also managed by the team. Head of compliance and investigations Sammy Fang leads the team from Hong Kong, and regularly assists multinational corporations and local companies with internal fraud and white collar crime, as well as investigation mandates. In Shanghai, consultant Rose Lee is experienced in bribery fraud, sanctions, data privacy, and cybersecurity issues.

The regulatory compliance and anti-corruption team at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is sought out for its expertise in investigations, especially in cases of alleged employee or third-party malfeasance. Other work handled by the team includes creating compliance programs, reviewing internal policies and procedures, and conducting employee-related due diligence. The team is co-led in Shanghai by Lesli Ligorner and Todd Liao, as well as Charles Mo, who resides in Hong Kong. Ligorner is an expert in employment, and assists with corporate investigations and anti-corruption compliance. Investment, finance, and corporate transactions fall within the scope of Liao’s practice, while Mo is experienced in dispute resolution, investigations of listed companies, and white collar crime.

Based in Shanghai, the regulatory and compliance practice at Norton Rose Fulbright covers regulatory, compliance, and investigation matters for a varied and largely international client base. Work covered includes regulatory issues arising from corporate transactions, regulatory matters for specialised industries such as financial services, and risk assessments. Sun Hong ‘has rich experience in corporate compliance and governance‘, as well as banking regulatory and investigation mandates. Hong co-leads the team alongside Ai Tong, who was promoted to partner in January 2023. Tong is a specialist on China’s financial regulations, and assists on both transactional and regulatory matters involving foreign investments.

The white collar crime, investigations, and compliance practice at Pinsent Masons has significant experience in advising large Chinese state-owned enterprises and construction enterprises in cross-border compliance and investigations as well as belt and road initiatives. The team is also sought out for internal investigations, multilateral bank sanctions, integrity compliance policies, and import and export control issues. Feifei Zheng leads the team from Beijing, and is a specialist in integrity compliance risk management and multilateral development bank debarment, often assisting Chinese SOEs and government-owned enterprises. Edward James joined the firm in January 2022 from ENSafrica, and leads in Johannesburg, while Neil McInnes is the team lead in London, respectively. Associate Yetta Cai assists with regulatory and internal investigations.

Focusing on government and internal investigations, Ropes & Gray LLP is the go-to for life sciences, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies requiring regulatory and compliance assistance. The team also assists with cross-border and preventative mandates. In Hong Kong, practice head and enforcement specialist Andrew Dale is well-versed in representing global corporations in high-stakes corporate investigations, litigation, and arbitration. Working closely alongside Dale in Hong Kong is Geoffrey Atkins, who is active in civil and criminal anti-corruption and securities enforcement matters. Counsel Tina Yu provides on-the-ground presence, assisting in all litigation and enforcement matters from Shanghai.

Ashurst primarily acts for financial institutions, banks, and asset management companies in their onshore and cross-border transactions, and has expertise in on-the-ground derivatives and structured products. Patrick Phua splits his time between Hong Kong and Beijing, heading up the global loans and global markets practice, including financial regulatory developments and investigations. Derivatives expert Priscilla Chen takes on a range of regulatory matters from Hong Kong, while counsel Yolanda Liu focuses on structured finance and other regulatory matters from Shanghai.

CMS covers a broad range of corporate crime, compliance and risk management matters for an international and domestic clientele, which includes groups from the automotive, manufacturing, real estate, transportation, and retail industries. Compliance audits, risk assessments, internal investigations, whistle-blower management, and corporate governance are all key to the practice. Philipp Senff heads up the team in Shanghai and is an expert on German and Chinese compliance and risk management issues. In Beijing, Nick Beckett specialises in life sciences and TMT-related compliance issues. Associate Lei Shi assists on all compliance projects and investigations.

The investigations, white collar, and fraud practice at Hogan Lovells International LLP is led from Shanghai by Calvin Ding, who utilises his background in the US to tackle regulatory, compliance, internal and government investigations. Clientele largely come from the life sciences, healthcare, and technology sectors, and include both international and domestic companies. Ding also has experience representing companies and their board committees in corruption and conflicts of interest cases, as well as trade compliance and cybersecurity.

Latham & Watkins LLP advises its international client base on multijurisdictional investigations involving the FCPA, Chinese bribery laws, and financial crimes. Typical matters include drafting anti-corruption policies, compliance plans and procedures, and assisting with transactional due diligence. Hui Xu chairs the practice and is based in Beijing. Xu’s practice encompasses civil and criminal litigation, arbitration, investigations and regulatory enforcement actions. In Beijing, Sean Wu advises on all matters related to fraud, professional standards, sanctions, and trade compliance.

The Hong Kong-based practice at Morrison Foerster is well-equipped for aiding international and local clients on corporate investigations and regulatory compliance issues. Often advising heavily regulated industries such as telecoms, online services, and banking and finance, the team is able to advise on regulatory and approval matters, technology licences, data privacy, and anti-corruption compliance. Timothy Blakely and B. Chen Zhu co-led the team. Blakely is experienced in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. He also assists Chinese clients facing US legal and regulatory scrutiny, while Zhu handles government and internal investigations, cross-border enforcement, and US economic sanctions. Associate Derik Rao provides on the ground support from Shanghai.

Sidley Austin LLP is sought out by pharmaceutical companies, as well as biotechnology, automotive, and technology enterprises for its expertise on anti-corruption compliance, cybersecurity and data privacy, and international trade compliance. Practice head Lei Li provides clients with on the ground assistance from Beijing and Shanghai, and is adept at matters involving Chinese, EU, and US laws. Li's background experience in the Chinese government helps him assist life sciences clients in regulatory, compliance, and government enforcement mandates.

The cross-border investigations and litigation practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is notably adept at matters involving the US, in particular, representing Chinese companies in response to US regulators’ inquiries and investigations. Hong Kong-based Steve Kwok spearheads the practice, leading on internal investigations and US regulatory enforcement matters. In Washington DC, Bradley Klein is experienced in compliance matters involving the FCPA and other US law related regulatory issues. Hong Kong associate Beatriz Paterno is also noted for her work on corporate internal investigations.