Melissa Zhu focuses her practice on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, and other commercial transactions. She frequently advises multinational companies and foreign investors on complex legal issues relating to deal structure, regulatory approvals, financing, joint venture, employment, and compliance issues. Melissa also has extensive experience in Chinese clients' overseas investments where she has represented either Chinese investors or foreign target companies.
Melissa has worked with clients in a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, life sciences, technology, media and telecom, automotive, energy, infrastructure, and financial services. Her recent experience highlights include: an American multinational health care services company's business divestiture for $1 billion; a German-based fund's acquisition of a worldwide business operations of a manufacturing company; a Japanese architectural firm's formation of a joint venture with a Chinese state-owned company; a Chinese automotive company's strategic business cooperation with a foreign listed vehicle manufacturer; and a foreign sovereign wealth fund's investments into a billion-valued unicorn company.
Prior to joining Jones Day in 2011, Melissa practiced at a leading PRC law firm in Beijing and was an in-house counsel at one of China's five largest power group companies. Melissa passed the PRC Bar Examination in 2005 and the New York State Bar Examination in 2008. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
Experience
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (LL.M. in Financial Services Law 2008); Central University of Finance and Economics, China (LL.M. in Finance and Tax Law 2007; LL.B. 2005)
- New York