After 11 years at Holland & Knight, partner Ying “Geneve” DuBois has jumped to DLA Piper­­ after her Chinese clients indicated they were under pressure to use more global law firms.

DuBois, who moved to DLA Piper's Miami office last week, said Holland & Knight's lack of a China office made it harder to represent Chinese investors. She said 90 percent of her clients are Chinese investors in a variety of industries seeking to purchase or sell large commercial real estate projects, or be part of joint ventures with local developers for large commercial projects. Some of the investments have an EB-5 component, she said, referring to the visa program that enables foreign entrepreneurs to apply for permanent residence if they make a sizeable investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States.

“Their higher-up management is pressuring the vice presidents to go with more global firms for the reason that they look at investment markets globally and not just in the United States,” DuBois said. “They are being pressured to go to more global firms and they have a good relationship with me.”