Foley announced today that Shao-Ying Mautner has joined the firm as a partner and chief representative of the firm’s Shanghai office. She is a member of Foley’s Transactional & Securities and China Practices.
Mautner has more than 20 years of experience practicing in the Asia-Pacific region, both in private practice with leading international law firms where she focused on banking and project finance, and as a regional general counsel at Fortune 100 companies. For many years, Mautner served as general counsel Greater China at Nike, where she managed the company’s legal function in providing full legal support to one of the most important growth markets for Nike. Under Mautner’s leadership, Nike fought and won a number of significant lawsuits in China, including a 2005 copyright case that was named by the Chinese Supreme Court as the “IP Case of the Year.” Mautner was also a regional general counsel for one of the world’s largest drinks companies, where she played an active role in the company’s strategic acquisition and integration of a local Chinese-listed company.
“Shao-Ying has a well-earned reputation as a top general counsel in the region, and her wealth of hands-on experience in the China business market is a perfect addition to our talented team,” said Richard Florsheim, chair of Foley’s China Practice. “Her practical experience from decades spent counseling some of the world’s largest businesses and ability to provide comprehensive business and legal counsel will be a valuable asset to our Western clients doing business in China and to our Chinese clients doing business in the Americas.”
Mautner specializes in advising multinational companies on mergers, acquisitions and other major transactional and complex litigation matters in China. She also regularly provides legal support to clients’ day-to-day operations in China, including business structuring, distribution strategy, manufacturing and supply chain activities, labor and employment matters, government relations, lobby and regulatory issues, customs disputes, FCPA and anti-bribery law compliance and intellectual property protection. Mautner represents multinational companies in a wide variety of industries, including technology, manufacturing, sports, international branded apparel and footwear, fast-moving consumer goods, biotechnology and life sciences.
“As the mergers and acquisitions market continues to rebound, Shao-Ying’s skill set and solid business acumen will be critical as our Western clients evaluate acquisition targets in China, as our Chinese clients evaluate acquisition targets in the Americas, and as both look to mitigate the legal and compliance risks that can arise in the transaction process and in continuing operations,” said Jack Lasater, chair of Foley’s Business Law Practice. “We are thrilled to leverage her depth of experience in the Asia-Pacific business market on our global team of business attorneys.”
Mautner joined Foley from a Hong Kong-based legal consulting firm that she founded in 2010. In that role, she advised clients in all aspects of their business operations in China, managed major transactional and litigation matters and often acted as interim general counsel for clients. She is a senior consultant to the China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector and a former co-chair of the Legal Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
