Foreign Expert
Expertise Based Abroad
Provided by 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 a native Chinese lawyer with extensive experience working in leading Chinese firms. In 2004–2005, Yuhua participated in the Lord Chancellor’s Training Scheme for Young Chinese Lawyers, a programme organised by the English legal profession, during which she was seconded to leading law firms in London and Hong Kong. She subsequently worked at a New York law firm in 2006–2007. Apart from the PRC, she is also qualified in England and Wales and New York.
Chinese and English
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
Provided by Chambers
Yang Yuhua operates from the firm's London office. She is highly sought after by British clients to handle a broad range of M&A matters in China. She is equally capable of assisting Chinese companies with transactions in the UK. Clients benefit from her profound knowledge in various industries including energy, technology and healthcare.
2 items provided by Thornhill Legal
China’s Bankruptcy Law overhaul sets a new direction for cross-border insolvency
The year 2026 is set to become a critical year in determining how China reshapes the cross border insolvency landscape. The release of a Draft Revision to the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law in September 2025 has set the stage for the most significant overhaul of its corporate insolvency framework.
Thornhill legal expert featured in IBA analysis of China’s Climate Pledge
Thornhill Legal managing partner Yuhua Yang has recently shared her insights with the International Bar Association (IBA) regarding China’s latest climate pledge and its significance for the global energy transition.
China’s Bankruptcy Law overhaul sets a new direction for cross-border insolvency
The year 2026 is set to become a critical year in determining how China reshapes the cross border insolvency landscape. The release of a Draft Revision to the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law in September 2025 has set the stage for the most significant overhaul of its corporate insolvency framework.
Thornhill legal expert featured in IBA analysis of China’s Climate Pledge
Thornhill Legal managing partner Yuhua Yang has recently shared her insights with the International Bar Association (IBA) regarding China’s latest climate pledge and its significance for the global energy transition.