Biography
David Wei is an associate in the International Tax & Global Wealth Management practice at Baker McKenzie. Prior to joining the Firm, David worked for several years in hotel development and global migration solutions, where he was a project manager responsible for hotel design and the citizenship by investment program. He subsequently worked in-house for a multi-family office, where he focused on US and UK trust and tax advice for ultra-high net worth (UHNW) families, succession planning and family governance matters.
David has a particular interest in the custody and safekeeping of assets at private banks, sanctions risks and citizenship / residency by investment programs.
Practice Focus
David is experienced in cross-border wealth planning and tax/trusts matters for UHNW families. He focuses on the interplay between US and UK taxation such as estate tax, income tax and on the US side and inheritance tax, corporation tax and the motive defense on the UK side. He also advises families on the fundamentals of wealth planning, such as family constitutions, family councils and the ‘purpose of wealth.’
Representative Legal Matters
Trust and tax
- Advised families on trust and tax structuring, family governance and succession planning.
Sanctions
- Advised families on possible US sanctions against China.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Advised families on a management buy-out of an operating hotel.
Conveyancing
- Advised families on a dozen residential real estate transactions in UK, US, France, Portugal, Grenada.
Immigration
- Advised a client on a fraudulent passport allegation, two dozen cases in US green card (EB-5 program), UK visas, citizenship, Portuguese golden visa, Grenadian and Maltese citizenship by investment.
Disputes
- Successfully negotiated with governments on criminal and civil litigation matters.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
- International Bar Association (IBA)
- British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce
Admissions
- England & Wales~United Kingdom (2025)
Education
- University of Cambridge (BA) (2020)
Languages
- English
- Mandarin