The Intersection of Business and Law
By: Jessie Zou, Wharton ’23
Jessie at her makeshift home office completing projects.
B&D Law Firm – Beijing, China
Hi everyone! I am a rising junior studying legal studies and finance at Wharton. I have always been interested in law and considered a career in law, so I really wanted to have some hands-on experience to see if it would be the right fit for me. Therefore, I am excited to be interning at B&D Law Firm in Beijing, China this summer.
B&D Law Firm is one of the oldest and largest law firms in China. It is based in Beijing but has many other locations in other parts of China. While the firm tackles a variety of legal subjects and cases, I am interning with the Securities and Capital Markets department this summer. This department also has many areas of expertise such as international investments, mergers and acquisitions, admiralty and shipping, and real estate, but my work has been related to U.S. IPOs (Initial Public Offering) and SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) so far.
One of the first tasks that I been given is was to conduct research on the U.S. stock exchanges, such as the Nasdaq, NYSE, and OTC Markets. From this, I learned about the listing requirements and had a better foundation for the work I was about to do next. For my second project, I had the opportunity to assist the legal team on due diligence on 25 Chinese companies that are going through the IPO process or recently listed on the market. I was taught how to navigate the SEC filings and how to extract crucial information from the S-1, F-1, Prospectus, etc. Prior to this internship, I had very little knowledge of how the stock market and IPO process worked, so I am very grateful to learn in a meaningful way.
Due to B&D’s involvement in IPOs in the United States and China, they also provide legal aid to alternatives to the traditional IPO process, like SPACs. SPACs are a very new and popular way to invest and an alternative to the traditional IPO process. Therefore, one of my ongoing projects is to conduct weekly research on new SPAC transactions in the U.S. and foreign markets to help with the legal team’s work. Prior to this, I had no idea what a SPAC was. It has been very fun to learn about these topics!
Even though it has only been a few weeks, I have been able to learn so much already! I am looking forward to the rest of the internship!
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce.