Qiaojing Ella Zheng (郑巧晶 律师) is Senior Counsel in the SF office who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has extensive experience representing China-based clients in legal matters arising under U.S.laws.
Qiaojing Ella Zheng Honored with 2018 YWCA Silicon Valley Tribute to Women Award
Our commitment to securing justice and providing the best representation possible is reflected in a commitment to diversity within our own firm. At Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, we know better than to think the best attorneys look alike, sound alike, think alike, or live alike. What matters is talent, and we hire the best talent available.
As a result, our team more accurately mirrors America. Women, minority, and/or openly gay lawyers make up the majority of our staff. A passion for social justice unites our team - we all work to use the power of law to help create and enforce a more just society.
Qiaojing Ella Zheng (郑巧晶 律师) is Senior Counsel in the San Francisco office of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, a national law firm with offices in Washington DC, New York, California, Tennessee, and Maryland. Ms. Zheng received her law degrees from Zhejiang University in China (LL.B.) and Thomas Jefferson School of Law (LL.M.).
Ms. Zheng is licensed to practice law in California and New York. Her practice encompasses a wide range of legal matters. She represents employees and whistleblowers on a variety of employment claims, including wage and hour violations, discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability, retaliation, wrongful termination. She also represents executive and managerial personnel in both public litigation and privately negotiated settlements.
Ms. Zheng has extensive experience in financial services practice. She regularly advises entrepreneurs, companies, and financial institutions in Silicon Valley and China on regulatory and compliance matters. In particular, Ms. Zheng specializes in representing China-based clients in legal matters arising under U.S. laws, including licensing and compliance for securities broker-dealers and investment advisers under the U.S. SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and state-level regulatory authorities. Having obtained legal education and work experience in both China and the U.S., she brings a unique perspective to facilitate her clients’ cross-border business activities, and devotes herself to bridging the cultural gap between domestic and foreign parties.
In addition, Ms. Zheng represents whistleblowers in False Claims Act/qui tam suits under investigation by the United States and other governmental agencies.
Ms. Zheng is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker. She is active in the tech communities and Asian American communities. She currently serves on the board of YWCA Silicon Valley and the Executive Committee of the Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area. She’s also a co-leader of the South Bay Female Attorneys Lean In Circle.
Ms. Zheng has been honored by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Northern California since 2016. She is also an Honoree of the Tribute to Women Awards by YWCA Silicon Valley. Ms. Zheng is a frequent speaker to professional and business groups on various employment litigation and compliance matters.
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Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Ms. Zheng was an associate attorney at a boutique general practice firm in San Diego, California, where her practice encompassed a wide range of areas including international business, corporate, civil litigation, immigration, and family law.
Ms. Zheng is an advocate for diversity, leadership, and the public interest. During her tenure as Vice President and Secretary of the San Diego Chinese Attorneys Association, she organized a series of events focused on U.S./China social, business, and legal issues. While obtaining her LL.B. in China, Ms. Zheng organized the first moot court in the region advocating women’s rights and was awarded Outstanding Student Leader upon graduation.
Education
- LL.M. (Master of Laws), Thomas Jefferson School of Law 2010
- LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws), Zhejiang University 2009
Bar Admissions
- New York 2012
- California 2013
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California 2013
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California
Aurora Behavioral Healthcare – Santa Rosa, LLC and Signature Healthcare Services, LLC Whistleblower Retaliation Lawsuit
The suit characterizes Aurora and Signature as routinely prioritizing profits over the care and rights of patients and hospital staff at their Santa Rosa location, which provides inpatient, partial hospitalization and outpatient mental health services to adults and adolescents.
InnoGrit Corp. Breach of Contract Suit
The Complaint on behalf of InnoGrit’s co-founder Yuhui (David) Chen alleges breach of contract, promissory fraud, retaliation, wrongful termination, and shareholder direct and derivative claims.
- Facebook employee, fired after attending protest, has no regrets
- Tsai Center Holds Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Litigation Workshops in China
- Sanford Heisler Repping Family of Facebook Employee Who Died by Suicide
- The family of the Facebook employee who committed suicide has hired a law firm to investigate
- National Law Firm Sanford Heisler Sharp Investigates Tragic Incident At Facebook
- Sanford Heisler Sharp Attorney Qiaojing Ella Zheng Honored with 2018 YWCA Silicon Valley Tribute to Women Award
- Sanford Heisler Sharp Files Whistleblower Retaliation Suit Against Aurora Behavioral Healthcare – Santa Rosa & Signature Healthcare Services
- Sanford Heisler Sharp Attorney Qiaojing Ella Zheng Discusses Sexual Harassment on KTSF Channel 26
- 2018 YWCA Silicon Valley Tribute to Women Award
- 2016-2018 Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Star
- 2017 President’s Award by Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area
- October 10, 2017, Keynote Speaker
Columbus Women In Tech Conference 2017
Three Tips to Protect Yourself in the Workplace
Absent a contract of employment, “at-will employment” is the predominant employment relationship in the United States. Under the system, an employer can fire an employee for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. However, an employee may not be fired for an illegal reason, such as racial, gender, or other types of discrimination […]
Being PIPed?! Dos and Don’ts
Click here to read the Chinese version of this post “At-will employment” is the predominant employment relationships in the United States. Under at-will employment, an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one (i.e. discrimination, retaliation, etc.), or for no reason. However, in order to minimize the possibility […]
Second Child! Happy Now?
On October 29, 2015, through an announcement by its news agency Xinhua, China officially ended its decades-old one-child policy, allowing all married couples to have two children. Though the decision was widely praised by the international media as a significant step of humanity that China has undertaken, not the entire general public in China is […]
