Full-service law firm Archer on Monday announced it opened an office in Houston, which the Voorhees-based firm says will house a new China Practice Group.
Three attorneys with more than 20 years of combined experience practicing law in China and the U.S. will join the Houston Archer practice, which is being established to assist clients with business in China and the U.S. The group will be co-chaired by Archer Partner Steve Packman and its new Houston partner, Jiangang “James” Ou.
Houston attorneys Ying Chen and Brian Gargano will join Archer and practice in Archer’s new office in Houston. All three attorneys were previously practicing with BOGC Legal PLLC in Houston. Each brings extensive experience helping clients navigate the legal systems in China and the U.S., as well as complex commercial litigation and cybersecurity experience.
“Welcoming James, Ying and Brian to Archer presents an exciting opportunity for our law firm and further strengthens our services already being provided to China-based clients,” Packman said. “Adding these well-respected and experienced professionals to Archer’s roster gives our firm a unique advantage in assisting clients with matters in the United States, China and throughout the world.”
Packman has extensive experience working with China- and U.S.-based clients, including Chinese companies, liquidators, creditors and other parties in various litigation and insolvency proceedings. He represented the first Chinese company (in insolvency administration in mainland China) to ever file bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. He has represented Chinese bankruptcy administrators, creditors and liquidators in bankruptcy and litigation proceedings in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, North Carolina, Delaware, Texas and other jurisdictions.
“We’re excited to join a dynamic firm like Archer. Archer’s platform will afford our clients all the benefits of a full-service law firm with a well-established presence in multiple jurisdictions, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where many of our China-based clients conduct business,” Ou said.
“At Archer, we are always looking for our strategic services and capabilities to match our clients’ needs. With increasing globalization of markets, we have learned that clients need attorneys with hands-on experience in China and who have a deep understanding of how to do business in China, the second-largest economy of the world,” said Chris Gibson, president of Archer. “In addition, Texas is perhaps the fastest-growing economic and legal market in the United States, particularly in areas such as energy law, which is one of Archer’s primary practice groups.”
Clients of Archer’s newly formed China Practice Group are leading companies that span multiple industries, including alternative energy, petroleum, pharmaceutical, life sciences, manufacturing, retail, consumer goods, transportation, financial, real estate and agriculture.
In addition to the new Houston office, Archer has more than 170 lawyers practicing across eight offices throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including Hackensack, Princeton and Red Bank; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, Delaware; and New York.
