“Xiaoyan is an exceptional attorney of great strategic importance to our cybersecurity and privacy offering in the U.S.,” said Mark Melodia, Reed Smith’s IP, Tech & Data co-chair. “Her unique knowledge of China’s new Cybersecurity Law, plus more than 15 years of combined high-tech industrial and legal experience, will be of significant value to our clients, particularly those on the West Coast doing business in Asia.”

For more than 10 years, Zhang has advised an international clientele on IP, cybersecurity and privacy related issues in complex technology and outsourcing transactions involving e-commerce, licensing and emerging technologies, such as cloud, AI and block chain.

Prior to her Asia post, Zhang practiced law in New York for eight years. During this time, she also litigated IP cases involving software, electronics, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Over the last three years, Zhang has focused her practice on privacy and cybersecurity issues in Asia—in particular, China’s new Cybersecurity Law, which went into effect June 1, this year—as well as cross-border technology transactions with China.

“While the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) continues to be an important focus for compliance preparation, new, comprehensive and often restrictive privacy and cybersecurity laws in Asia are presenting new challenges for multinational corporations with local data operations,” said Zhang. “The global reach of Reed Smith’s Information Technology, Privacy & Data Security practice gives me an excellent platform to both help our clients meet these new challenges, and to better serve the legal needs of the local communities involving emerging technologies.”