Dorsey Whitney is often sought for its multi-jurisdictional contentious offerings, particularly in the commercial and transactions space. The firm is active in litigation and arbitration proceedings involving corporate acquisitions, shareholder disputes, contentious insolvencies and a wide variety of commercial matters related to investments and transactions in the PRC. The firm’s litigation group has profound industry knowledge in the areas of banking and financial services, biotechnology, manufacturing and TMT.
Partner Sirui (Ray) Liu heads the firm’s office in Beijing. He concentrates on international and commercial litigations and arbitrations, primarily those involving cross-border and extraterritorial disputes. Yiqin (Karen) Fan is a partner to note in the Shanghai office. Other key figures include Janet Wong, Lilian Shi and Katherine Cheung.
On the IP front, the firm is representing TikTok and ByteDance in a wide range of IP dispute resolution matters and litigation cases across multiple jurisdictions, including the US and the UK. A notable highlight includes their representation in their first-ever case to proceed through a jury trial. This significant case involves a major trademark infringement dispute taking place at the US District Court Southern District of California. Following two years of legal battle and a week-long trial in the Central District of California, the jury ruled in favour of the firm.
Some of the firm’s IP clients are Arvinas Operations, Miura Golf, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Two Sigma Investments.
Client feedback
“In recent years, the institute has adopted a series of innovative mechanisms, such as hiring senior lawyers with experience in the legal department of multinational enterprises, flexible and adaptable fee mechanisms that are closer to the Chinese market, and fully collaborating with its rich local lawyer networks in North America, Europe and other regions to provide customers with comprehensive dispute resolution solutions. Especially in terms of coordinating and managing overseas lawyers, both the institution's own overseas office and local lawyers it collaborates with have demonstrated excellent management skills and rich collaboration experience. In terms of work quality, service response speed, legal service fees, and risk assessment, all aspects have proven the institution's outstanding experience in large-scale and highly anticipated cross-border projects involving foreign affairs. The institute is also a pioneer in the emerging field of legal technology, developing and adopting several technological tools, such as the use of automated office software to identify and unify undefined legal terms, the use of encrypted customer collaboration platforms to promote transparent and timely communication and task management between customers and the institute's legal team, and the use of AI artificial intelligence software – LegalMind file/contract review service. It can assist in accelerating the discovery/disclosure of evidence in judicial and arbitration proceedings, as well as facilitating the review of contract/agreement terms as part of due diligence. The LegalMind document/contract review service provided by the institute not only improves work efficiency but also reduces our legal service costs.” – Banking and financial services
“Professional, accurate, meticulous, humble, friendly, diligent and proactive, able to efficiently maintain good communication with customers, and full of enthusiasm for work.” – Commercial and transactions
“Dedication, expertise, professionalism” – Intellectual property
“He is good at drafting negotiation strategies, analysing how to defend and settlement.” – Intellectual property
“Dorsey has been an exceptional help in handling various complicated and high-stakes litigation cases, including disputes that involve different jurisdictions. Over the past year, they have provided invaluable advice and guidance in dealing with potential business concerns during the challenging times of the Covid pandemic, along with the uncertainties in business and politics. Dorsey's proficiency in international law and expertise in cross-border issues played a significant role in preparing us with well-informed strategic plans, resulting in favourable outcomes. Their team provided customised planning and strategic advice, which led to the best possible results.” – International arbitration
Sirui (Ray) Liu
“I have had the pleasure of working with several attorneys from the Dorsey team, including Ray Liu and Lanier Saperstein, whom I'm particularly close to. I must say, Dorsey attorneys are exceptional litigators who possess a deep understanding of the law and business. Ray is a highly respected and sought-after lawyer in both the US and Chinese legal industries, particularly in cross-border disputes. He is known for his remarkable ability to provide customised plans and strategic advice that help his clients achieve their objectives, which has earned him praise and trust from high-profile international clients. Ray has successfully represented clients in various legal matters, including US litigation, international arbitrations, criminal and government investigations, overseas compliance matters, cross-border transactions, and negotiation matters. He is especially respected for his work representing Chinese companies and their executives in US commercial litigation, where he has helped them achieve the best outcome of the cases, including collecting damages and legal fees from the plaintiff firm. Additionally, Ray has represented major financial institutions in high-profile anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing cases and managed one of the largest cross-border pre-trial projects in China to date. Ray's exceptional legal skills are complemented by his outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, making him an asset to any team or client he works with. He is a dedicated litigator who always strives to provide high-quality legal services to his clients. Based on his experience and expertise in cross-border litigation, I highly recommend Ray Liu to anyone seeking legal representation in this area.”
“Responsive, solution-oriented mindset, easy to communicate with, knowledgeable.”
“Due to the unexpected risks and uncertainties often encountered in cross-border litigation, clients urgently need professional and mature legal advice and risk mitigation measures. The firm’s China dispute resolution team led by Lawyer Sirui Liu has the industry's top legal professional capabilities, rich experience in foreign litigation, a flexible and stable work style, and timely and efficient customer service capabilities, which minimise the risks and difficulties we face. The team has years of extensive practical experience and can assist enterprises in making important strategic predictions, decisions, and ultimately resolving disputes. Starting from the fundamental interests and demands of customers, the institute closely collaborates with teams from China, the United States, and Europe to customise commercial and strategic solutions for Chinese customers.”
“Mr. Sirui Liu is a top senior expert in the field of foreign-related civil and commercial legal business and has provided us with important legal advisory services on a cross-border project. Mr. Liu, with his profound professional knowledge and rich practical experience, has provided us with comprehensive, accurate, and detailed legal advice as well as the most practical and effective plan reference for our transaction decisions. Mr. Liu is humble, friendly, diligent and proactive, able to efficiently maintain good communication with clients. He is full of enthusiasm for his work and always demonstrates his outstanding legal literacy and shining personality charm with a passionate attitude. In addition, Mr. Liu actively participates in various important social activities, providing suggestions for national major strategic policies and legal construction work such as deepening opening up to the outside world and assisting Chinese enterprises in going global during the 14th Five Year Plan period, and has won numerous awards. Mr. Liu is a trustworthy partner who can always benefit greatly from his rich work experience, steady attitude towards handling affairs, and humble personal cultivation.”
“He is good at co-ordination, analysis of customer needs and the team responds promptly.”
