Yuhua Yang

Yuhua is a seasoned corporate lawyer who are triple-qualified in China, England & Wales, and the State of New York. With over 25 years of cross-border practice, Yuhua advises both Chinese and international clients across a broad spectrum of complex international matters, including corporate and commercial transactions, capital markets and corporate finance, M&A, inbound and outbound investments, international trade, EPC and other cross-border projects, private equity and venture capital, IP strategy and compliance, restructuring and repurposing, insolvency, and cross-border dispute resolution.

She has acted for clients across a wide range of industries, including financial services, investment and funds, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, biotechnology, energy and renewables, electric vehicles, environmental protection, infrastructure and construction, TMT and e-commerce, consumer goods, entertainment, education, manufacturing, real estate, tourism, and hospitality etc.

Yuhua is particularly valued for her strategic and solution-oriented advice in structuring complex transactions and resolving multifaceted disputes. Clients commend her ability to manage large-scale documentation efficiently, conduct rigorous negotiations in English with precision and stamina, and combine legal acumen with strong commercial insight. Her rare ability to bridge Chinese and international business cultures enables clients to navigate complex cross-border dynamics with clarity and confidence.

Prior to establishing Thornhill Legal in 2024, she was the resident partner of a leading PRC law firm's London office for 8 years.

Yuhua has been ranked in Chambers and Partners Global Guide (2024, 2025, 2026) for Corporate/M&A (China expertise based abroad – UK). She was shortlisted for Law Firm Leader of the Year – Boutique Law Firm and Commercial Lawyer of the Year at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards 2026. She has been recognised by China Business Law Journal as a member of the A-List – The Growth Drivers of China’s Legal Profession (2024), and was previously listed in the journal’s Top 100 A-List (2020, 2022). In 2023, she was ranked by LEGALBAND as one of the Client Choice: Top 15 Chinese Lawyers for International Practice. She was also previously recommended by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

Yuhua is qualified to serve as an independent non-executive director of a listed company.

She is included in the PRC Ministry of Justice’s international legal talent pool and has been appointed by a regional municipality in eastern China as a legal expert for the Belt & Road Initiative.

She serves as an expert mediator at an international commercial mediation centre and as an arbitrator with the Xiamen Arbitration Commission.

She is also an active member of the European Chinese Lawyers Association (ACLE) and the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC).

Yuhua is an expert columnist and contributor for the leading business and financial news platform - Caixin.com. Her recently published articles include:

Qian Zhimin Bitcoin Case ― Victims and State Diverge on Applicable Law (https://www.thornhill-legal.com/bitcoin-case-eng6/)

UK Prosecutors Propose Compensation Scheme in Landmark Bitcoin Case Involving Chinese Victims (https://www.thornhill-legal.com/multi-billion-bitcoin-case-3-en/)

World’s Largest Crypto Laundering Case: Main Suspect Pleads Guilty — Cross-Border Justice for Chinese Victims? (https://www.thornhill-legal.com/world-s-largest-crypto-laundering-case/)

China’s Bankruptcy Law overhaul sets a new direction for cross-border insolvency (https://www.thornhill-legal.com/china-s-bankruptcy-law/)

Peking University

LL.B. and B.A. in Economics

The University of Pennsylvania Law School

LL.M.

The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania

Certificate in Business and Public Policy

Corporate/M&A (China expertise based abroad – UK)

Chambers and Partners Global Guide

2026

Corporate/M&A (China expertise based abroad– UK)

Chambers and Partners Global Guide

2025

Corporate/M&A (China expertise based abroad – UK)

Chambers and Partners Global Guide

2024