Crowell & Moring Expands International Trade and Global Employment Practices with Four Senior Lawyers; CMI Breaks New Ground in Shanghai

Leading Team Assists Clients with Global Expansion in Asia

Los Angeles – March 11, 2019: Crowell & Moring LLP is broadening its ability to help multinational clients navigate global expansion and regulatory compliance in China and the Asia Pacific by adding four international trade and global employment lawyers: partners Nicole J. Simonian and Evan Yee-Fan Chuck, senior counsel Robert Clifton Burns, and counsel Jackson Pai to its Los Angeles and Washington offices. As part of this move, Crowell & Moring International (CMI), the firm’s global policy and regulatory affairs consulting affiliate, is launching an office in Shanghai with seven trade, transactions, and tax professionals to support global businesses facing cross-border transactional, investigative, policy, and regulatory needs.

International Trade Group Additions

The team joins from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and bolsters Crowell & Moring’s ability to help companies structure, establish, and manage business operations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. They have worked together for more than two decades, providing advice to foreign businesses that face complex regulatory issues such as complying with antitrust laws and securing approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Simonian, who served as co-chair of Bryan Cave’s International Trade Group and head of its Asia practice, will co-chair Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group, together with John B. Brew. Simonian will also serve as the firm’s International Employment and Global Mobility lead. Chuck, who most recently led Bryan Cave’s China Practice, will become head of the firm’s Asia Practice. Simonian, Chuck, and Pai join the firm’s Los Angeles office while Burns will reside in the Washington office. Their move comes on the heels of former Bryan Cave partner David Stepp’s joining the firm in August.

“We are thrilled to welcome this diverse group of top flight lawyers at a time when international trade issues, particularly in China, are of paramount importance to our clients. Our new team has in-depth knowledge about how best to help clients move goods, services, and people across borders in today’s challenging global trade climate,” said Philip T. Inglima, chair of Crowell & Moring LLP. “Their collective skill set will expand our capabilities and provide clients with the highest level of service to address their global corporate and supply chain needs.”

Nicole J. Simonian and Evan Yee-Fan Chuck join forces with Crowell & Moring’s Robert Holleyman, David R. Stepp, and John B. Brew to expand the firm’s international trade practice. (Photographed from left to right: Holleyman, Stepp, Simonian, Chuck, and Brew)

Crowell & Moring International Opens in Shanghai

Crowell & Moring International, an affiliate of Crowell & Moring LLP, is launching an office in Shanghai to support global businesses facing cross-border business needs, as well as international trade, policy, and regulatory issues. In the coming weeks, Crowell & Moring International plans to welcome a 7-person team of highly skilled professionals based in Shanghai. They have worked with Simonian, Chuck, and Stepp since 2005. This new Shanghai presence expands Crowell & Moring International’s ability to serve clients in the Chinese market and builds on CMI’s more than 30 years of experience advising global businesses operating in the Asia-Pacific.

“Our Shanghai office, in conjunction with our Los Angeles and Washington D.C. based international trade teams, will provide a valuable platform to help clients access and navigate the growing market,” said Ambassador Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of Crowell & Moring International and former deputy U.S. Trade Representative responsible for Asia. He plans to work closely with Simonian and Chuck as they provide trade, corporate, policy, regulatory, and international employment and global mobility advice to multinational clients. “This group brings a wealth of talent to our law firm’s International Trade Group and positions us for growth in Asia,” Holleyman said.

Integrated Policy Team

Simonian advises companies on their market entry and global business strategies throughout Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. She advises Fortune 500 companies on their international trade and employment strategies as they develop and maintain international workforces and structure global mobility and expatriate processes to address the growing need to move goods and people across borders. Her experience in corporate, trade, and international employment law provides a holistic approach for her clients who operate in a complex, global regulatory environment.

“We are excited to enhance Crowell & Moring’s reputation as a premier international law firm,” Simonian said. “Our team’s experience, combined with Crowell & Moring’s Chambers-ranked International Trade Practice and its influential consulting firm, provide a powerful platform to deliver innovative legal, political, and business solutions for clients worldwide.”

Chuck has more than 25 years of international trade and cross-border transactional experience. He advises Fortune 500 companies in structuring market entry, global supply chain, and e-commerce strategies across the Asia-Pacific region. He has in-depth experience in China with cross-border acquisitions/dispositions, government regulatory compliance, and investigations. He also represents large, multinational Chinese companies with complex U.S. transactional, tax, and regulatory issues. He advises U.S.-based companies with complex supply chains in ongoing Section 301 trade disputes between the U.S. and China. He served as both chair of Bryan Cave’s International Trade Group and as managing partner of its Shanghai office for seven years.

“I look forward to joining forces with Crowell & Moring to add deep, China cross-border trade and transactional experience to the firm’s top tier law and consulting practices in the United States and Europe for the benefit of the firm’s multinational clients,” Chuck said.

“Given the current trade wars and uncertainties of the global trade environment, clients need business solutions and sophisticated guidance to help them minimize tariffs, resolve supply chain disruptions, and secure market access,” Brew said. “Nicole, Evan, and the team have the experience and insight to provide counsel on emerging trade issues worldwide.”

“In the digital age, the competition for talent is intense and workforces are becoming increasingly mobile,” said Kris D. Meade, chair of Crowell & Moring’s Labor & Employment Group, Our new additions have the right mix of experience in global mobility and trade so they can help our clients stay ahead of the competition.”

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.