CHINA: Shanghai Lang Yue Law Firm (‘Lang Yue’) announced today that Vivian Cao, an experienced antitrust and competition law specialist, will join the firm as a partner to further strengthen the firm’s China antitrust capacity and support the growth of the regulatory compliance and Litigation practices.

Vivian advises multinational and Chinese clients on a wide range of international and domestic merger control and behavioural antitrust matters. She has also worked on a number of high-profile global transactions from the early stages of China antitrust enforcement. Her expertise includes advising on novel antitrust issues in China concerning monopoly agreements and abuse of dominance, which are now subject to stricter antitrust regulations, especially in the TMT, FMCG and healthcare sectors. She has worked on a number of high-profile global transactions (with remedies) from the earliest stages of China antitrust enforcement.

Melody Wang, partner at Lang Yue, commented: “Vivian is a well-recognised competition lawyer with solid experience in leading international and Chinese firms. Her arrival underlines our commitment to develop the antitrust practice and synergise with A&O’s global antitrust team. We are thrilled to welcome Vivian to the team. With economic uncertainty and recent developments in China’s competition/antitrust law sphere, this hire is a valuable asset for our Chinese and international clients”.

Jane Jiang, partner at Allen & Overy based in Shanghai and a representative on the Management Committee of the Allen & Overy Lang Yue (FTZ) Joint Operation Office, commented: “Vivian’s expertise and experience will further enhance our Tier 1 antitrust offerings in China through our joint operation with Lang Yue. It is a strategic priority to develop our China antitrust capability to support both international and domestic organisations”.

Following approval by the Shanghai Bureau of Justice in 2019, the Allen & Overy Lang Yue (FTZ) Joint Operation Office in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been established. The Joint Operation brings together Lang Yue’s high-quality PRC law capability with Allen & Overy’s international platform, to provide clients with seamless PRC and international legal services across a wide range of capabilities, including corporate/M&A, dispute resolution and investigation, private equity and venture capital, antitrust and competition, compliance and regulatory, capital markets, data protection, intellectual property and employment. In January 2021, Lang Yue opened an office in Beijing.