Read our latest coverage on the scramble to get American law firms and lawyers into China.
“I was itchy � what should I do?” he said. “I could tell my future would be better with a China-related business. I saw that my classmates like John were doing well.”
So he joined Pepsi in China as a legal counsel. During his four-year stint, he worked on 45 joint ventures and built a hefty list of contacts. He then worked at Philips, a semiconductor company, until 2001, when Huang offered him a partnership at AllBright.
Huang and Qian now share associates and work together on major deals. They estimate they earn an amount comparable to partners at top Wall Street firms.
Huang and Qian complement each other well. Qian is the thoughtful diplomat, choosing his words carefully. Huang, prone to fidgeting and constant cell phone checks, is the charismatic leader.
Huang explains, for example, how AllBright’s model allows it to compete for big-ticket international work on one end and more routine domestic matters on the other.
In that way, Huang says, AllBright is like the ocean: “We have big fish, small fish” and, he says, pointing at himself and Qian, “sharks.”
