BAL announces opening of Shanghai, China office

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL) announced today that the firm has opened an office in Shanghai, China. The new office will oversee account and case management throughout the country. China is a fast-growing market for immigration, with many of BAL's clients viewing it as key to their business strategy.

"BAL saw the necessity for an on-the-ground team in Shanghai to service our existing clients and a growing portfolio of new business," said Christina Karl, BAL's managing director of the Asia region. "We have listened to our clients who wanted us in the country to offer local assistance and to support our global contracts."

The new office will be led by Immigration Manager Steven Huang, a former employee of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Department with more than 10 years of experience in both inbound and outbound Chinese immigration. Huang will be responsible for overall leadership and management of BAL's client accounts in China and will provide guidance on compliance, mergers, acquisitions, and new entity implementation within the immigration context. Most recently, Huang served as senior operations manager at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy. He is fluent in English, Mandarin and Shanghainese, and has a Bachelor of Science degree from Shanghai University.

"Steven brings a breadth of knowledge of Chinese immigration policies and practices, along with the well–established relationships that are critical to managing a successful immigration program," said Founding Partner David Berry. "We look forward to continued growth there under his management."

The opening of the Shanghai office is just the latest step in BAL's global expansion. The firm now has 13 offices in seven countries, making it one of the fastest growing corporate immigration law firms in the world.

"BAL has experienced significant growth in Asia, and the Shanghai office will further establish the firm as a key player in the region," Managing Partner Jeremy Fudge explained. "With the opening of this office, BAL now has the ability to provide the same on-the-ground, consistently superior service to our clients in China as we do in all of our locations, worldwide."

Contact:
Kasey Pipes
817-542-3870
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SOURCE Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP