Jacob Harding
Partner
中文
EnglishJacob focuses his practice on litigation and alternative dispute resolution, international arbitration, white collar and government investigations, and international trade.
Jacob utilizes his years of experience in China to assist multinational companies with their China-related matters and to assist foreign companies with their U.S. legal matters. Jacob was previously the China representative of an international law firm and spent numerous years working in the compliance group of a PRC law firm. Jacob’s litigation practice includes complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, as well as intellectual property litigation. He has represented foreign companies in international arbitration before CIETAC with associated litigation in China, Hong Kong, and Europe. Jacob has conducted numerous internal investigations in China and the U.S., including investigations of whistleblower complaints, anticorruption investigations, shareholder demands, derivative litigation, and potential securities law violations.
Jacob also represents clients on international trade matters, including representing clients before U.S. CBP related to tariffs and detentions under the UFLPA, advising on international trade implications on agreements and potential counterparties, and conducting international trade due diligence for transactions.
Awards
- Super Lawyers Rising Star 2023-2024
- Recognized as a Mondaq Thought Leading Author for FinTech – China, Mondaq Autumn 2022 Awards
Publications and Speaking Engagements:
- Speaker, “Managing International Business in a Changing Tariff Landscape,” In-House Community Congress, Shanghai 2025.
- Speaker, “Country-of-Origin Assessments,” Shanghai, November 2024.
- Speaker, “Cross-Border Data Issues in U.S. Litigation,” Shanghai, May 2024.
- Chapter Co-author, “The Increase in Global Sanctions Warrants Caution in China Private Equity,” Private Equity in Hong Kong and China (4th Edition), June 2023
- Co-author, “How Multinationals Can Withstand US-China Trade Conflicts,” Law360, March 16, 2022
- “Cross-border Compliance after the International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law,” 2019 Annual China Compliance Week: Anti-Corruption and Compliance Conference, Shanghai
- “The DOJ’s China Initiative,” 2019 China Cross-Border Compliance Roundtable, Shanghai
- “US Export Controls and US Litigation,” Jiangsu CCIP & MOFCOM, March 2018
- “Global Data Compliance,” IAS 2017, Beijing
Representative Cases
Litigation and Disputes
- Represented Fox News in the high-profile defamation case, Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network – N21C-03-257; N21C-11-082.
- Represented Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in High Sharp Electronic Limited v. SMIC et al. – 2:23-cv-08934 (CDCA).
- Represented Pudong Science and Technology Industry (PDSTI) in Hawkins v. ICON Aircraft and PDSTI – 20STCV24193 (Los Angeles).
- Represented publicly listed company in disputes with brokers over brokerage fees in Texas and New York.
- Represented a European multinational company in a multijurisdictional dispute with its China distributor involving arbitration and litigation in China and Hong Kong, and enforcement in China, Hong Kong and Europe.
Investigations
- Represented a U.S.-listed company to conduct an internal investigation in response to shareholder demands and advise on subsequent steps.
- Represented publicly listed company to investigate and advise the Board on the implementation of remedial measures to project controls.
- Represented Special Litigation Committee of the Board of Directors of a publicly listed company to advise on the potential liabilities of several derivative litigations in multiple jurisdictions during bankruptcy proceeding.
- Represented U.S.-listed company to develop its compliance program related to China’s Personal Information Protection Law.
- Represented a multinational pharmaceutical company in an internal investigation in China related to a potential conflict of interest in transactions of senior management.
- Represented a U.S.-listed Chinese company in its international data compliance review and remediation.
- Represented a multinational auto-parts company in its internal investigation of whistleblower complaints related to local employee relationships with vendors.
- Represented a multinational technology company in an anti-bribery investigation by the Chinese government.
- Represented a multinational medical-device company in its internal investigation of misconduct by senior management and related potential tax-compliance issues.
International Trade
- Represented importer of electronic products to protest CBP country-of-origin determination that products were origin China and subject to Section 301 tariffs on numerous entries.
- Represented importer of detained solar panels to make responsive filings pursuant to the UFLPA.
- Represented importer of detained products to respond to CBP request for evidence related to authorization to utilize specific trademarks on products.
- Advised project lenders on the application and risks of current and proposed tariffs, current and pending anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and the UFLPA.
- Conducted import, export, and ABAC due diligence on multiple M&A transactions.
- Drafted import, export, and sanctions focused policies and procedures for multiple clients.
News, Events, & Insights
- SEC Expands Section 16 Insider Reporting Requirements to Foreign Private Issuer Directors and Officers
Insights March 11, 2026