LEI LI is the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Beijing and Shanghai Offices. He advises clients on a broad range of regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters in China, with a particular focus in the life sciences sector.
Mr. Li has extensive experience in all types of anti-corruption compliance matters in China. Representing both multinational companies in China and local Chinese companies, he has handled a large number of government anti-corruption inquiries and investigations. These inquiries and investigations range from those launched by U.S. authorities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and those launched by Chinese administrative agencies and criminal prosecutors under Chinese local laws. He also routinely advises companies in internal anti-corruption audits and investigations, due diligence reviews in M&A transactions, and internal control programs in business operations for anti-corruption compliance purposes.
Mr. Li has also been actively working on other regulatory compliance matters in China, primarily in the areas of antitrust law, data privacy law and cybersecurity law. In particular, he is highly regarded for his expertise in antitrust compliance, investigation and competition matters, for which he has received high recognitions by, among others, Chambers Asia Pacific, IFLR 1000, and China Business Law Journal, in their respective antitrust categories.
In the life sciences field, for over a decade, Mr. Li has advised pharmaceutical and medical device companies in China on all types of industry and product regulatory matters, as well as compliance matters under anti-corruption laws, antitrust laws, data privacy laws and cybersecurity laws. He also actively advises these companies on commercial transactions, such as licensing transactions, and corporate transactions, such as M&A transactions, typically those that have complex regulatory compliance aspects.
Mr. Li is prominently featured by leading bar publications for his work in the life sciences sector. He is recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a leading lawyer in China in the “Pharmaceutical Regulatory Law” category every year since 2016, and by Chambers Asia Pacific as a leading lawyer in the China Life Sciences category every year since 2015. In the 2019 edition of the book, he is described as being “sought by clients for his insight in regulatory issues, partly acquired from his past experience as a government official. He is highly rated by clients, one of whom describes him as a “very energetic and experienced lawyer” who is “responsive to clients' needs.” Mr. Li also named by Asian Legal Business China Awards as China Client Choice Lawyer in 2019 and 2018.
Mr. Li practiced at the Firm’s New York office for three years before he started to practice in China. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Li worked at the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of China for eight years as a senior government attorney, responsible for resolving inter-governmental trade and investment disputes and coordinating complex commercial litigation in foreign jurisdictions involving Chinese companies
Mr. Li graduated from Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade Law School with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1998 with high distinction. He received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Harvard Law School in 2007, where he was a F.Y. Chang Scholar.