Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

291 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine previously received a BA from Beijing Foreign Studies University in China in 1963. Ms. Zhao served as Senior Counsel at Baker & McKenzie LLP in Chicago from 2012 until her retirement in 2019, where she was also principal. She was also a partner at the firm from 1994 to 2012 and a senior associate from 1988 to 1994, totaling 31 years with Baker McKenzie. Prior to those roles, Ms. Zhao worked in China as First Secretary in both the Department of Treaty and Law and the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China from 1984 to 1988. Additionally, Ms. Zhao worked as an intern at Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in San Francisco, as well as Covington & Burling and Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C. Based on her time spent in China and the United States, Ms. Zhao has acquired a plethora of knowledge on both countries’ political and legal systems, which has aided her in providing the best service to clients in any legal situation. She specializes in the field of Chinese trade and investment law, including corporate, compliance, labor, tax and intellectual property. Of her many achievements, Ms. Zhao’s career highlights include organizing and leading one of the first Chinese practice groups in the United States and serving as an interpreter for former President Richard Nixon during his post-Watergate visits to China in the 1970s. In her spare time, Ms. Zhao sits on the board of directors of both the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and its Foundation in Chicago. Her hobbies include music, art and studying diplomacy and international relations. Additionally, Ms. Zhao is a member of the American Bar Foundation, the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and was a member of the Beijing Foreign Economic Law Association. A lways setting the bar high, Jia Zhao, Esq., is proud to be the first Chinese National to be admitted to the Bar in both China and the United States. She is also the first Chinese National from the People’s Republic of China to receive a JD in the United States. Ms. Zhao graduated with her JD from Harvard University in 1983 and JIA ZHAO, ESQ. PRINCIPAL (RETIRED) Baker & McKenzie LLP Chicago, IL LAW AND LAW ENFORCEMENT