Awards & Rankings 06.04.26
Pillsbury’s Standout Performance in 2026 Chambers USA Rankings Underscores Continued Excellence Across Industries and Disciplines
Firm Earned Recognition Across 60 Practice Areas, Including 26 National Rankings
With nearly 25 years’ experience as a federal prosecutor, Ronald Cheng focuses on complex China-related litigation and white collar investigations and representations.
Ron draws upon wide-ranging knowledge and experience to assist clients in complex litigation involving China, as well as corporate investigations and white collar matters. Ron’s experience extends to computer crime, intellectual property and trade secret theft matters.
Before joining Pillsbury, Ron was an AUSA in Los Angeles for nearly 22 years, including service as acting criminal chief and criminal appeals chief. Ron also was DOJ’s representative in Beijing, and recently was criminal chief in the District of Nevada. Between terms with DOJ, Ron was a partner in an international law firm.
Representative Experience
- Conducted trade secret investigation for Taiwan biopharmaceuticals company in Taiwan and mainland China.
- Directed investigation of China sales practices for multinational semiconductor supplier and reported findings to executive management and board.
- Handled trial in complex three-month RICO, money laundering, and immigration fraud federal criminal case against former bank managers and successfully handled appeals of conviction (as special trial attorney with Department of Justice, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section).
View More
- Government Service
- Served as acting chief of Criminal Division and Criminal Appeals Section chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District for California.
- Represented the Department of Justice in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, as resident legal advisor.
- Served as chief of Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
- Private Practice
- Interviewed executives for multinational financial corporation in FCPA investigation of Indonesian project.
- Represented deal team employees of international financial institution in Hong Kong and Singapore in preparation for federal investigation.
- Handled investigation of manager at multinational high-technology company involving alleged improper contacts with foreign government.
- Advised Asia-based target of federal “spoofing” investigation; client was not charged.
- Conducted interviews of employees in China of new technology company as part of global FCPA investigation for presentation to the Department of Justice.
- Advised international air carrier regarding investigation of China-based sales personnel regarding alleged irregularities in passenger ticket sales.
- Testified as an expert at a Taiwan criminal trial on U.S. evidence law and criminal procedure.
- Drafted petition for rehearing en banc in health care fraud False Claims Act case, which resulted in favorable modification of opinion for client health plan.
Professional Highlights
Honors and Awards
- Recognized by Chambers USA; Litigation – White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, California (2026)
- Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award (2010)
- Assistant Attorney General Award for Outstanding Trial Advocacy (2008)
View More
- Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney (1997)
- Publications
- “China Cyber Sovereignty and Cross-Border Digital Trade,” Lawfare, Mar. 31, 2017.
- “How China's Control of Data Flow Can Impact Anti-Corruption Efforts for the U.S.,” Forbes (blog), July 14, 2016.
- Speaking Engagements
- “Defending the Castle: Strategies to Protect Your Business from DoD and DOJ Scrutiny,” Pillsbury’s 2024 West Coast Government Contracts Summit (May 16, 2024) (presenter)
- “Criminal Tax Enforcement - The Powers and Perils of Parallel Criminal and Civil Investigations,” ABA Institute on White Collar Crime (March 6, 2024) (panelist)
- "Fraud, Suspension & Debarment, False Claims Act and the “Parade of Horribles”" Pillsbury’s 2023 West Coast Government Contracts Summit, San Diego (April 20, 2023) (panelist)
- Asian Pacific American Bar Association and Federal Bar Association – Los Angeles Chapter, webinar “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Incidents: The Federal Response” (May 11, 2021) (panelist)
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 2020 Convention panel, “Academic Collaboration, Valuable or Vulnerable? The China Initiative’s Impact on Academia” (Nov. 5, 2020) (panel organizer and moderator).
- Berkeley-Tsinghua Conference on Transnational IP Litigation, “Trade Secrets and the Trade War” (2019) (panelist)
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Training Workshop on Asset Recovery (March 2018, Bangkok, Thailand) (panelist)
- “China’s Response to Cybercrime” (presentation at Yale Law School, Feb 22, 2017) (speaker)
Education
-
J.D., Columbia Law School, 1988
B.A., History, Yale College, 1985
Admissions
-
California
Courts
-
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Clerkships
-
Judicial Clerk to the Hon. Ferdinand F. Fernandez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1989 – 1990
Judicial Clerk to the Hon. Alicemarie H. Stotler, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 1988 – 1989
Languages
-
Chinese (Mandarin)