Beijing firm East Associates has announced the appointment of Zhang Jiachun (pictured) as a partner. Zhang joins East Associates after two years at state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corporation, where he was a deputy general manager in charge of legal matters. “Returning to private practice frees me from doing administration work and allows me to concentrate on legal practice,” Zhang said.

Zhang has nearly 20 years of legal practice experience and focuses on banking, foreign direct investment, M&A, litigation and arbitration. Before his in-house position, he worked at Beijing-based firm Kang Da as a partner for more than 10 years.