Woon-Wah Siu
Partner

Ms. Siu is Managing Partner of Pillsbury's Shanghai office and a partner in the Corporate & Securities practice group. She has more than 19 years of experience in international business transactions, representing clients across a broad range of industries and sizes. She assists U.S. and other multi-national corporations in formulating and executing their foreign investment strategies in China, including mergers and acquisitions, greenfield investments, joint ventures and other strategic arrangements, in addition to counseling PRC companies on their outbound direct investments.

A part of Ms. Siu’s practice is assisting China-based companies in overseas listings and all varieties of securities offerings, ranging from IPOs to underwritten offerings, registered direct offerings and PIPEs, and counseling these issuers on corporate governance matters and securities law, SRO and FCPA compliance. She also represents underwriters, placement agents and investors in China-oriented capital markets transactions. In addition, she counsels emerging growth companies on corporate governance matters, executive compensation and capital-raise activities.

She also has experience in assisting clients in designing corporate compliance and training programs, including compliance with SOX and FCPA, and has represented PRC companies and MNCs, including audit or special committees of these companies, in investigating potential securities law, FCPA and Chinese anti-bribery law violations and in other corporate internal investigations.

Past Chair, Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firm

Member and Past President, Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Chicago

Former Board Member and former member of Asian American Leadership Council, Chicago Foundation for Women

Member and Former National General Counsel of Organization of Chinese Americans

Member, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center

Harris Bank’s Edward J. Williams Award for Public Service, May 2008

Speaking Engagements
"Negotiations: Getting to 'Yes' in Business Communications," workshop at I-NAFE Women Leading Business Summit, Shanghai November 2011

"U.S. IPO Process," presentation at Going Public Overseas Forum hosted by the Municipal Government of Jiangjiagang, June 2011

"U.S. Legal Requirement for Public Companies," presentation at MAS Capital Group Going Public in North America Forum, Dalian, January 2011

Panelist at "Building at First Class Public Company – U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies in Times of Market Distrust," Roth Mini Conference, Beijing, September 2010

Panelist at "CFO Essentials – Updates and Practical Implications for CFOs of U.S.-listed Chinese Companies," 2010 Hawaii Roth Conference, Maui, September 2010

Speaker at Newbridge Securities Corporation Shenyang Private Equity Investment and U.S. Public Listing Seminar, Shenyang, July 2010

"Overview of Public Company Behavior," joint presentation with Thomas M. Shoesmith at Overseas Listing and Financing for Private Chinese Company Conference, Nanjing, August 2009

"Difference Paths To Go Public in the U.S.," joint presentation with David Tang to members of China National Democratic Construction Association, Beijing, August 2009

"Going Public Through an IPX," joint presentation with Bank of New York Mellon and CCG Investor Relations, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, April 2009

Reverse Merger Training Seminar for SMEs, Changsha, December 2008

“U.S. Corporate Governance,” joint presentation with Professor M. Miller to senior executives of SOEs from Heilongjiang Province, at University of Illinois at Chicago, January 2008

Annual guest lecture on U.S. legal system to students in China MBA Program at University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005 through 2008

“How to do business in the U.S.,” presentation to Chinese companies in the U.S. Midwest at Consulate General of PRC in Chicago, November 2007

“How to organize your business in the U.S.,” presentation at annual conference of Association of Chinese Scientists and Engineers in Schaumburg, Illinois, September 2006

Chair of corporate breakout session, “Dances with the Dragon: How to avoid missteps while doing business in China,” NAPABA National Convention in Chicago, October 2005

“How to do business in the U.S.,” presentation to China National Democratic Construction Association, Beijing, May 2005

“U.S. Securities Laws and IPO,” guest lecture at Beijing University Law School, Beijing, May 2005

“Concerns of Targets in M&A Transactions,” presentation at M&A panel at MCCA CLE Expo and Conference in Chicago, March 2005

Keynote speech at Motorola’s Asian Business Council Annual Dinner in Schaumburg, Illinois, December 2003

“Intellectual Property and Drug Development,” graduate seminar guest lecture, Pharmacology Department, McGill University, Montreal, November 2002

Also a frequent speaker on diversity and inclusion issues

External Publications
To Be or Not to Be, China Law and Practice, Volume 25, Number 1, February 2011

Bylined Article—Financing High-Growth Chinese Companies After "Circular 10", China Rising Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2009

Five Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Securities Law, CBA Record, November 2003

Registration, Reporting, and Proxy Rules Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Securities Law Handbook, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Co-Authored with Kevin J. McCarthy, J. Craig Walker, 2003