Jacob Clark is an associate in the International Practices Group, with a focus on East Asia, China, and the ASEAN region. He has spent the last half-decade working and living in Shanghai, China, where he advised multinationals, family-owned companies, and individuals across a wide array of legal practice areas, including cross-border and international litigation, dispute resolution, corporate, data security, compliance, government and internal investigations, and labor and employment matters. Jacob leverages his international experience and experience working directly with local counsel to help his clients with their legal issues no matter the size, scale, complexity, or location.
Prior to joining the Firm, Jacob was a Foreign Counsel with the Shanghai-based strategic affiliate office of an AmLaw 50 law firm for five years and completed a one-year fellowship as a Research Associate in Beijing, China with the Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center. He also worked at a Beijing-based intellectual property and dispute resolution law firm as a paralegal and legal translator, and has experience in government, private, and public sector entities on China-related issues. Jacob is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and can conduct his legal work in his second language.
Jacob earned his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law Cum Laude. While in law school, as a 3L, Jacob earned a grant to work as a judicial extern in the chambers of a judge on the Appeals Chamber of an U.N. international criminal tribunal in The Hauge, The Netherlands.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of London
LL.M, 2021• Postgraduate Diploma in Laws specializing in Public International Law with Distinction
Michigan State University College of Law
J.D., 2016• 4x Dean’s List (Fall 2013, Spring 2015, Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters)
• Recipient, Talsky Center for Human Rights of Women and Children Externship Grant
Johns Hopkins University - Nanjing Center
Graduate Certificate, 2012University of Wisconsin
B.A., 2011- Double Major in Legal Studies and Chinese Language
Bar Admission
Spoken Languages
- English
- Mandarin Chinese
Prominent Assignments
- Represented multiple multinational Chinese companies in intellectual property, trademark, trade secret and patent litigations in the US District Courts of the Eastern District of Texas, New Jersey, Delaware, and Northern District of Illinois.
- Advised multiple semiconductor manufacturers, medical device companies, financial institutions, and telecommunications companies on international trade and export control matters.
- Represented two Fortune 500 companies on separate global restructuring transactions and managed legal teams across five continents to successfully complete transactions.
- Represented a Spanish cosmetics company in multiple matters, including an international arbitration, government investigation, compliance, and corporate contract matters.
- Handled multiple U.S. and China in-bound and out-bound investment matters across multiple industries, including agriculture, healthcare, medical devices, automotive, and cosmetics.
- Represented an international agriculture company to conduct an internal investigation on potential data security, privacy and compliance matters.
- Represented multiple companies in the automotive industry on separate sensitive internal investigations involving allegations of severe employee misconduct and FCPA violations.
- Represented an automotive company to respond to a government inquiry involving allegations of customs and FCPA violations.
Professional Involvement
- International Law Section, State Bar of Michigan
Community Involvement
- Volunteer Moot Court Judge, Multiple Competitions (China National Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, ICC Moot Court Competition, and ICRC International Humanitarian Law Moot Court)
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Author, Vitamin C Ruling May Trigger Comity Defense Resurgence, Law360, LexisNexis (Jan. 7, 2022)
- Panelist, The Impact of the PRC Data Security Law, Personal Information Protection Law, and GDPR on Chinese Enterprises, Anti-Corruption Compliance China 2021, SZ&W Group, Shanghai, China (Dec. 2, 2021)
- Co-Speaker, U.S. Defend Trade Secrets Act, 337 Investigations, and Intellectual Property Litigation, Foreign Investment Legal Practice Class, Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai, China (Aug. 30, 2020)
- Co-Author, “People’s Republic of China”, in Lisa Richman, Shawn Helms, Jason Kreiser, and Matthew Cin, COVID-19 as a Trigger for Force Majeure: A Global Survey, American Lawyer Media, pp. 120-125 (June 2020)
- Co-Author, The U.S.-China Trade War: The War of the Lists and How it Could Affect Your Company, Lexology, Law Business Research (October 28, 2019)