Tiana Zhang

Biography

Tianjing “Tiana” Zhang is partner in the Shanghai office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, where she advises clients on government investigations and dispute resolution.

Tiana has advised numerous multi-national companies with regard to legal and compliance issues arising from their business in China and around Asia, including issues relating to anti-corruption laws (including FCPA), antitrust laws, securities laws, accounting and book-keeping standards, business ethics requirements and other internal control rules. These issues have included conducting internal investigations, responding to Chinese regulatory authorities’ inquiries and inspections, reporting to U.S. government regulatory authorities, dealing with independent monitors and devising and implementing compliance programs.

Tiana also has extensive experience representing clients in a wide array of complex civil and commercial U.S. litigation and cross-border disputes. She has represented corporate and individual clients in U.S. litigation and assisted multi-national companies to work with local counsel in Chinese legal proceedings. Tiana also has experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediations and arbitrations.

Tiana is a native Mandarin speaker, received legal education in both China and the United States, lived and worked in both countries for many years, and is qualified to practice law in California and China (though the latter is inactive due to her employment with an international firm). She has experience assisting multinational clients in understanding unique legal issues relating to their business operations in China and assisting Chinese clients in understanding the U.S. legal system and laws.

Representative Matters

Internal Investigations

• Advising companies from a broad array of industries in connection with internal investigations regarding anticorruption law violations, anti-trust law issues, securities fraud, breaches of business ethics and various other internal control issues.
• Advising publicly-traded companies’ boards of directors, audit committees, and special committees of the board, with regard to securities disclosure and accounting concerns and other compliance, enforcement or regulatory matters.
• Responding to Chinese Government Investigations
• Advising companies in response to Chinese government authorities’ questions and investigations relating to commercial bribery, unfair competition and anti-trust issues.
• Antitrust: Advising US companies in multiple industries, including automotive and pharmaceutical, on responding to Chinese government antitrust investigations, including with regard to self-disclosure to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), potential penalties, potential implications outside of China, and compliance.
• Anti-corruption: Advising numerous multi-national companies in multiple industries, including pharmaceutical, medical device, and infrastructure/engineering with regard to responding to Chinese government investigations, including by the Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC), the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS/PSB), concerning allegations of commercial or public corruption.

Monitorship and Self-Reporting

• Advising a U.S. tobacco company doing business in China and other regions with regards to an oversight by a compliance monitor on its China business, including implementation of compliance policies and procedures, assessment of compliance risks, and responding to the monitor’s other requests.
• Advising U.S. pharmaceutical companies with regard to self-reporting obligations arising from FCPA settlements with the Department of Justice/ SEC.

Compliance Programs and Training

• Advising a wide variety of entities, including publicly-traded companies, investment vehicles and private equity funds with regard to assessing regulatory risks associated with their China business, devising anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and other compliance programs and working with local business to roll out compliance programs.
• Providing anti-corruption, securities regulation, anti-trust and other compliance training to various companies’ employees in China.

Dispute Resolution

• Represented clients, varying from multi-national companies to individuals, in cross-border litigation, advising them on unique strategic and legal issues in cross-border lawsuits, including service of process, forum non conveniens and jurisdiction dispute issues.
• Advising a leading Chinese solar panel manufacturer in defending a high-profile anti-trust lawsuit in the U.S.
• Representing ConocoPhillips in defending a lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court by Chinese fishermen who sought compensations from an oil spill in Chinese territorial waters.
• Represented a world leading tire and rubber company in defending a mass tort case involving claims for wrongful deaths, personal injuries and property damages allegedly caused by underground water pollution, which resulted in winning a very favorable settlement for the client.
• Represented multiple American and Canadian companies in defending product liability lawsuits in Californian courts that involved wrongful death and personal injury claims.
• Represented a leading internet user review website defending internet libel cases and successfully had claims for damages dismissed and requests for documents quashed in many cases.
• Represented eBay in consumer dispute lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions within the United States and successfully won dismissals or favorable settlements in multiple cases.
• Represented multiple companies, including U.S. and Chinese companies, in defending complicated commercial contract disputes, real estate titles disputes and employment disputes in California federal and state courts