Biography

Stuart Valentine is an international lawyer with over 25 years of experience in Australia, Hong Kong, and China.

Mr. Valentine is an International Counsel with the Hong Kong office of Debevoise & Plimpton, a New York-based law firm. Previously, he was a partner at King & Wood Mallesons from 2006-2014 and Clifford Chance from 1994-2006. He commenced his career as a diplomat with the Australian Embassy in Beijing in the 1980’s, and is proficient in written and spoken Mandarin.

Main practice areas:

• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Foreign Investment
• Corporate and Commercial Law
• International Contracts and Licensing
• Corporate Governance and Restructuring
• Regulatory Affairs and Compliance
• Dispute Resolution

Mr. Valentine’s clients are from a broad range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, consumer products, infrastructure, oil and gas, mining, banking, insurance, fund management, distribution, telecoms and service industries. He advises on market entry, acquisitions, re-organizations, disposals and regulatory matters across the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on Australia, Hong Kong, and China.

Mr. Valentine has been regularly recognised as a leading lawyer in international and regional legal directories since the 1990’s. Chambers & Partners ranked Mr. Valentine in its Band 1 lawyers in Hong Kong (2016), and IFLR1000 named Mr. Valentine one of the Leading Lawyers for Mergers and Acquisitions in Hong Kong (2016).

Chambers & Partners quoted sources describing Mr. Valentine as “well connected and versatile,” “mature and educated; flexible and effective,” adding: “his client-facing skills are matched by his technical excellence.” PLC Which Lawyer has noted that he “commands market-wide recognition for his momentous involvement in cross-border M&A transactions involving China.” Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2016) describes him as “‘very customer-oriented’.

Mr. Valentine is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors.