Sunny is a Principal and Head of Digital and Commercial at Chinese law firm, Lusheng, Rouse’s strategic partner. She has more than 20 years’ experience in IP commercial matters, acting for a wide range of clients, from small businesses and start-ups to large, well-known multinational organizations.
Sunny is an experienced senior lawyer, starting her career with international law firms and then joining Lusheng, which is a qualified local Chinese law firm, but also very much an international business. She speaks excellent English, has experience abroad – and one of the most striking things about her is her independent international outlook. Yet in many ways her life is firmly rooted in Chinese tradition. And, although it might initially seem contradictory, those traditional elements have contributed directly to her independence and allowed her to develop her professional life in the way she has.
Although Sunny doesn’t come from a legal family, there were early influences that may have helped set her on the path to a legal career. Her father, an orthopaedic surgeon by profession, has long had an active interest in the law, even acting for his family in litigation when he was young. And her husband, who was one year ahead of her in high school, went on to study law at Peking University and encouraged her to do the same. He is now a senior in-house lawyer with a multinational company. But while law might have been in some ways an obvious path for her, she would not have followed it if she hadn’t felt it was right for her. She was analytical by nature, liked solving problems, and, above all, she liked people, so law was a natural fit.
Sunny grew up in An Yang (安阳), one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, a city steeped in history as the birthplace of Oracle Bone Script and site of the UNESCO World Heritage Yinxu Ruins, with an older brother who is now an Engineer. Probably not surprisingly, given the family background, it was assumed that they would both go to university, but what they would study was left entirely up to them. Sunny had done well at school academically and enjoyed reading, but she also played a lot of sport – badminton, basketball and swimming. When the time came to go to university, she decided to do a double degree: English Literature and Law. At the time, she was a great fan of Agatha Christie novels. She still is, but these days there is not so much time for reading and in her spare time she is more likely to watch movies or television series, particularly mystery and crime, things like Prison Break, CSI (Crime Scene Investigation), Mind Hunter and Invisible Guest. This is an interest she shares with her husband so they watch together.
After obtaining her bachelor's degrees, she decided to study for a master's degree in law at Renminbi University of China in Beijing and then joined an international law firm in Beijing, focusing on IP. It seemed to her a rich and interesting niche area, combining the law with the latest developments in other fields, both technological and cultural. She decided that was where her future lay, and that she would study it in depth.
In her view, however, having carefully investigated the matter, that would mean pursuing further study abroad to gain a deeper understanding of the Western legal system. She was strongly motived to take this step by both her desire for further professional development and her interest in broadening her horizons. It is a mark of her independent thinking that, after doing the necessary research and consulting with others as appropriate, she makes her own decision. Typically, that is also how she operates in the practice of the law: she does all the necessary investigation, then reaches a conclusion she is prepared to stand by. By this time, she was already an experienced associate at a leading US law firm and could easily have chosen to continue there. In fact, it would have been easier to do so because at the time, her son Tom was only two years old. Going abroad for further study at this stage was not traditional, but it was made possible by a traditional Chinese way of life: her family was living with Tom’s grandparents - and they were more than happy to look after him. So, Sunny enrolled for a second Master’s degree at Northwestern University in Illinois; USA, known for its top-tier international programs, and spent the next 15 months there. It was a valuable and enjoyable time that included some travel in America and welcome visits from her family from time to time. Equipped with her master’s degree from Northwestern, she obtained a position with a well-known IP firm, where she worked before joining Lusheng in 2014.
The group she leads at Lusheng provides clients with a wide range of commercial services from helping clients set up WFOE, joint ventures and other entities in China to providing advice on industry regulatory matters and drafting all necessary contractual and legal documentation. Sunny particularly enjoys the scope of the work, which is wider than IP, but closely related to, and driven by it. She particularly enjoys being able to smooth the path for clients from other jurisdictions who are entering the Chinese market. She also encourages team members to develop their career paths by mastering the necessary knowledge and skills, and pursuing fields and specialties that interest them.
Outside work, Sunny likes to travel with her husband and their son Tom whenever possible - abroad when there is time, so far usually in America or Asia; within China if time is limited. Tom is now 16 and, very much like his mother, has a mind of his own. This is something that Sunny has encouraged. She has certainly never been the traditional Chinese tiger mother insisting on high academic achievement and intense discipline; she believes children should be respected and encouraged, not forced in any particular direction. As a result, Tom will hopefully be able to blend Chinese tradition and global opportunity, just as his parents have done.