James M. Zimmerman is a member of the Corporate practice group with the international law firm of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP and leads the Beijing office. He is Chairman Emeritus of the American Chamber of Commerce China, and was elected and served as the organization's Chairman for two terms (2007, 2008) and Vice Chairman for two terms (2005, 2006). Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, he was a partner at Squire Sanders & Dempsey in Beijing, where he was the chief representative.
Mr. Zimmerman has been involved with China related matters for 20 years and represents US companies in a broad range of industries with respect to their joint venture investments, manufacturing investments, liquidation and dissolution of investments, mergers and acquisitions activities, regulatory compliance, customs and trade matters, labor and employment, intellectual property rights enforcement, and dispute resolution matters. In general, Zimmerman's day-to-day work involves helping business overcome the complexities of doing business in China, which oftentimes involves obtaining government approvals and/or seeking government support to enhance or modify current legal/regulatory provisions and practice.
Mr. Zimmerman is the author of several books, chapters, and articles concerning trade and China related issues, including the well-recognized China Law Deskbook (1999, 2005), a publication of the American Bar Association. The 3rd edition of the China Law Deskbook was released June 1, 2010. He is also the author of the book Extraterritorial Application of US Labor Standards (1992) and is the author of articles in a variety of international scholarly journals including, but not limited to, the International Labor Review, China Business Review, Journal of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment, Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, Cornell International Law Journal, the International Lawyer, Asia Dispute Review, and Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review.
Mr. Zimmerman is recognized as one of Asia's leading business lawyers in the categories of Chinese Law, Dispute Resolution, and General Corporate Law in the AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers Survey 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 (published by Euromoney Publications). Mr. Zimmerman is listed in the 2006, 2007, and 2008 editions of The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers for Arbitration. In addition, he is listed as a Leading Individual in the category of Corporate/M&A for foreign law firms in China in the 2004 through 2010 editions of the AsiaPacific Legal 500: The Guide to Asia's Commercial Law Firms. The AsiaPacific Legal 500 characterizes Mr. Zimmerman as an “exemplary counselor” and SSD's China team has a “longstanding track record of taking leading investors into China.” Mr. Zimmerman has also been cited in the 2009 PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook as a practitioner that “represents multinational clients across a broad range of industries and earning a reputation as litigator of choice for many foreign multinationals with operations in Beijing.”
Mr. Zimmerman is admitted to the bar of the State of California (1-8-1988) and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Chinese Ministry of Justice (since 1998). He is also admitted to the US Court of International Trade (CIT) in New York, Federal District Court, and has trial experience before the CIT concerning China-related matters. Mr. Zimmerman has significant bench and jury trial experience before various federal courts (Southern and Central Districts), and has argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Zimmerman is on the panel of arbitrators for the China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission and has acted as an arbitrator in cases before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Zimmerman is also on the Board of Directors for the International Institute of Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and the Chairman of the Business Advisory Council to the United Nation Development Program's Greater Tumen Initiative (supporting development, trade and investment in North East Asia).
