Winston & Strawn Adds Corporate and M&A Partner, Bertrand Theaud, to Its Shanghai Office

SHANGHAI, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Winston & Strawn LLP announced today that Bertrand Theaud has recently joined its Shanghai office as a partner and will focus on corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions.  Theaud was most recently a partner for DLA Piper in Shanghai.

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Theaud has participated in the structuring and closing of various domestic and cross-border deals for French and other foreign clients in diverse industries, with a more specific expertise in retail and chemical.  He also has assisted foreign investors on all legal aspects of projects in China, including setting up and restructuring joint ventures, merging foreign-invested and Chinese domestic companies, establishment of holding companies, implementing sales networks, and protecting intellectual property.  Theaud has also acted as external counsel for various industrial unions and worked on many issues related to the Chinese legal system.

Among other representations, Theaud has advised the largest foreign retailer in China on the reorganization of its corporate structure and the completion of various acquisition projects.

"We are excited to have Bertrand join Winston," said David Hall-Jones, managing partner of the firm's Asian offices. "He brings a remarkable range of experience in the M&A market that complements Winston's preeminent corporate practices."

Said Theaud: "I'm very pleased to join Winston & Strawn. The firm's expansive corporate platform is a natural fit for my own general corporate and M&A practice and will help keep my clients' sophisticated transactions on track in today's challenging environment."

Theaud received his Master's of Law, cum laude, from the University of Paris X, Nanterre France, and a Post Graduate Law Degree in Conflict of Laws and International Business Trade, cum laude, from the University of Paris I, Sorbonne.

The hiring of Theaud is Winston's latest step in a remarkable period of expansion in mainland China and Asia.  The opening of offices in Beijing and Shanghai were approved on October 21, 2009 by the People's Republic of China's Ministry of Justice and follows the opening of Winston's Hong Kong office at the end of 2008.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international commercial law firm with 14 offices in America, Asia and Europe.  More information about the firm is available at www.winston.com.

SOURCE Winston & Strawn LLP