Vinson & Elkins LLP

Overview:

Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is a global law firm practicing in virtually all areas of civil law and some areas of white collar criminal law.The opening of Vinson & Elkins’ Beijing office in early 1997 expanded the firm’s Asia-Pacific law practice into the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

V&E’s Beijing office, staffed with U.S., English, and PRC lawyers, maintains a practice primarily focused on developing, acquiring, and financinginfrastructure projects, including energy and telecommunications projects in China. All of our Beijing lawyers have experience in representing international investors in China, with five of our lawyers having practiced in China for more than five years. Our lawyers and staff offer clients spoken and written Mandarin language capability, including the ability to negotiate, draft, and translate Chinese language legal documents.

Our Beijing office lawyers are experienced in representing clients making direct investments in a variety of energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, high-tech, media, and other foreign direct-investment projects in the PRC. Our energy experience includes the acquisition and development of oil and gas projects, pipelines (including cross-border pipeline projects), coal and gas-fired power generation projects, wind-power farms, and hydroelectric projects; and refining and petrochemical projects. Our telecommunications experience includes representing strategic and venture capital investors in wireless, satellite, and broadband projects and in ISP, ICP, and ASP ventures in the PRC. In addition, our lawyers have experience representing both borrowers and lenders, including foreign banks, Chinese banks, and multilaterals, in financing such projects.

Much of our work involves representing international investors in negotiating and documenting joint ventures with Chinese investors. We have assisted clients in forming joint ventures with some of China’s largest and best-known companies, as well as with prominent enterprises in most of China’s regions. In the same context, we have worked with central and local governmental authorities in substantive negotiations on jointventure projects.

We are also heavily involved in structuring investments to comply with China’s complex regulatory framework and in negotiating the equally complex foreign-investment approval process. Our lawyers are regularly in contact with central and regional governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and their local branches. We often work with our clients to obtain approval for their projects at the highest levels within the PRC government, including the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). We have also worked with provincial and local entities in the PRC with approval authority, including Special Economic Zones.

Our Beijing office lawyers work together with our other offices in assisting clients throughout the Asia-Pacific regions. In particular, our Beijing office lawyers have experience in assisting clients with transactions in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Areas of law: