Joseph Deng

Joseph W. Deng

Partner
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Biography

Joseph Deng is a partner in the Employment & Compensation Practice Group based in Baker McKenzie's San Francisco office with a focus in global employment. With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Deng advises major US and other multinational companies on employment matters around the world with a focus on Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. He has advised on workforce expansions, international transactions, employee transfers, workforce restructuring, codes of conduct, compliance matters and employee investigations with the only international law firm to be ranked Band 1 in both Global Employment and Global Immigration.

Practice Focus

Mr. Deng advises clients on global employment issues related to international transactions, workforce management, compliance and investigations. His practice includes transactional support including employee due diligence, employment aspects of transactional documents, advice regarding transferring employees, advising on works counsel and union issues, and related matters. 

Mr. Deng also counsels on employment contracts and advice, as well as international executive mobility, employee terminations, mass layoffs, intellectual property rights, as well as on labor relations/union matters.

Representative Legal Matters

Compliance & Investigations 

  • Advised a California tech company on potential use of company information systems in the US and outside the US in EMEA and APAC region, privacy and disciplinary actions

  • Represented a large Chinese company based in Beijing against sexual harassment claims and alleged misconduct by a senior manager in the US and China 

  • Represented a large US company in the investigation and defense against sexual harassment claims brought against a senior expatriate manager in China

  • Represented a US company in an FCPA investigation and related wrongful termination lawsuit in China 

Transactions

  • Advised a Fortune 500 company on several transactions including a public spin-off, divestiture and sale of different lines of businesses in an announced deal value of over USD $25 billion

  • Advised a major computer software manufacturer on the spin-off and sale of their information management business involving over 25 countries and a deal value of over USD $6 billion

  • Advised a global technology company on the sale of their document imaging business and the public spin-off of their automotive voice recognition business 

  • Advised a global marketing company on the sale of their marketing solutions division to a large publicly traded advertising agency

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • American Chamber of Commerce, Beijing and Shanghai

Admissions

  • California~United States (1995)

Education

  • University of Southern California (J.D.) (1995)
  • University of Chicago (B.A.) (1989)

Languages

  • English
  • Mandarin

Previous Offices

  • Los Angeles
  • Shanghai

Publications

  • Contributor, The Employer Report

  • Co-author, "Taking a Crack a Calif.'s Workplace Anti-Bullying Law," Law360, February 2015

  • Co-author, California Business Law Deskbook – Thomson West, 2007

  • Co-author, "China's Draft Employment Promotion Law," Human Resources, July/August 2007