MelissaZhu (Mimi)

Melissa Zhu focuses her practice on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investments, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital transactions, spin-offs, divestitures, restructurings, and other commercial transactions. She frequently advises multinational companies and foreign investors on complex legal issues relating to deal structuring, due diligence investigations, regulatory approvals, financing, real estate, employment, and various compliance issues including anticorruption, data security, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) policies, and securities trading rules. Melissa also has extensive experience in Chinese clients' overseas investments where she has represented either Chinese investors or foreign targeted 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; a European-based fund's acquisition of the 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 German vehicle manufacturer; and a foreign sovereign wealth fund's investments into a U.S. billion dollar-valued unicorn company.

Prior to joining Jones Day in 2011, Melissa practiced at a reputable Chinese law firm in Beijing and was an in-house counsel at one of China's five largest power group companies.