Womble Bond Dickinson (U.S.) added Pang Zhang-Whitaker to its New York office as a partner in the corporate and securities practice group. She will also serve as chair of the firm’s capital markets and securities practice – Asia Pacific, leading multidisciplinary teams that guide clients with Asia-Pacific connections through corporate, securities, dispute resolution and estate planning matters in the United States.
Zhang-Whitaker has built a practice that ranges from early-stage venture financings to multi-billion-dollar acquisitions. She advises international and domestic clients on complex cross-border transactions spanning the full arc of the corporate life cycle, with work that extends across initial public offerings, de-SPAC combinations, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures, alongside a broad capital markets and securities practice.
Her clients include Fortune 500 companies and globally recognized public brands, middle-market enterprises, emerging technology ventures and high-net-worth individuals and families, many with cross-border considerations. She advises clients connected to jurisdictions including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan as they navigate the U.S. legal system, and she is frequently invited by government agencies and bar associations to present on developments in cross-border law.
“The line between U.S. and Asia-Pacific capital markets is where some of the most consequential — and most scrutinized — transactions of the next decade will happen,” Merrick Benn, U.S. chair and CEO of the firm, said. “We are building the firm to lead there, not follow, and Pang is central to that. Her judgment in exactly these matters is why her arrival means as much to our clients as it does to us.”
Tracy Bacigalupo, the firm’s New York office managing partner, added, “Pang has built an extremely loyal client base and a practice that keeps expanding on the strength of those relationships. Trust and momentum are difficult to earn and create and harder to maintain. Pang is exactly the type of exceptional lawyer and colleague who is driving growth in our office. Pang’s clients rely on her as they would their own general counsel, and their exciting business objectives will generate work in New York, as well as in other jurisdictions.”
Zhang-Whitaker is joined at the firm by Darius Alam, who has joined the New York office as senior counsel. Alam advises public and private companies, venture capital funds and institutional investors on debt and equity offerings, U.S. exchange listings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions, with a particular focus on transactions involving Turkey and the Asia-Pacific region. He is active across the technology, life sciences, financial services and energy and natural resources sectors, and a significant part of his practice centers on cryptocurrency and digital assets, where he represents exchanges, investors, and issuers. Alam earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School, his M.A. in Turkish studies from the University of London, and his B.A. from Bowdoin College.
