Perkins Coie Opens Second China Office in Shanghai

SEATTLE (August 30, 2006) – Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that it recently received approval from the Ministry of Justice in China to open an office in Shanghai.

With the opening of the new office, Perkins Coie will have a presence in two Chinese cities. The firm currently has an office in Beijing.

The new Shanghai office will be located within the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, a leading center for innovation and technology, and will be staffed by two resident attorneys, Fabiola Suwanto and Zhaohui Zoe Wang.

The firm's China offices will serve both U.S. and China clients in a number of industries including life sciences, venture capital, materials sciences, nanotechnology, software, and telecommunications. It will focus primarily on matters relating to intellectual property, business, and personal planning.

The firm's China IP practice will be supported by attorneys in the U.S. offices including Michael Wise and James Zhu in Los Angeles, both of whom have extensive experience assisting clients on China-related matters.

"With China's entry into the World Trade Organization, we are committed to leveraging our legal experience in the global business community," said Robert E. Giles, managing partner of Perkins Coie. "The Shanghai office is a critical component toward enhancing our ability to assist our clients with their business needs and expansion goals in the United States and other countries."

"This is an exciting opportunity for the firm and its clients," says Fabiola Suwanto. "Many of the firm's clients expressed a need for us to be present in Shanghai, and opening a second office in China will help us better serve both existing and new clients."

History: A Commitment to China

For more than 30 years, Perkins Coie has helped numerous international clients with their business activities in China, as well as Chinese companies with their transactions in the United States. The firm was a pioneer in U.S.-Chinese relations, participating in one of the earliest commercial transactions between the two companies—the sale of 10 Boeing commercial aircraft.

Team in Shanghai

Fabiola M. Suwanto, who will be the Chief Representative of the Shanghai office, focuses her practice on international estate planning and estate and trust administration. She works with U.S. citizens and residents as well as foreign nationals who reside in Asia on their personal planning matters. Fabiola advises on the strategic use of gifts, trusts and other wealth transfer devices to implement the estate planning goals of her clients and to minimize their U.S. tax exposure. She also represents executors, trustees and beneficiaries of significant estates. Fabiola received her J.D. and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and her B.A. from Phillips University.

Zhaohui Zoe Wang focuses her practice on patent infringement and validity opinions, freedom-to-operate analyses, patent litigation, patentability analyses, patent prosecution, technology transfers and licensing. Her work involves technologies in the fields of life sciences, chemistry, material sciences, nanotechnologies, data processing, and devices. She also has experience advising clients in public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. She received her J.D. from Columbia University, Ph.D. (Cell Biology and Biophysics) from Duke University and her B.S. (Virology and Molecular Biology) from Wuhan University.