Nicole Janigian Simonian

Nicole Janigian Simonian is the co-chair of the firm’s International Trade practice and International Employment and Global Mobility Lead, with a focus on the firm’s Asia practice. A partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office, she is also a director of the firm’s China consulting subsidiary in Shanghai. Nicole’s practice covers a range of international compliance and regulatory issues, including cross border transactions, international trade, global mobility and employment, and global supply chains. 

Nicole is a member of the firm’s COVID‐19 Working Group, focusing on advising employers on compliance with U.S. and international initiatives affecting private employers and providing guidance on how to navigate the myriad of regulatory complexities companies are confronted with on a global basis.  

A highly experienced business, compliance, and global employment lawyer, Nicole has over 20 years of experience working as a strategic advisor for a wide range of clients, from emerging growth companies to Fortune 500 multinational conglomerates, on their market entry and global business expansion throughout Asia (including China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand), the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe.  

Nicole advises companies on:  

• Market entry, international expansion, global supply chain, and e-commerce strategies. 
• Mobilizing and managing global workforces in conjunction with companies expanding and increasing their international footprint, including structuring and managing global mobility and expatriate workforces, day to day compliance, strategic alliances, restructuring and reorganizations, outsourcing, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and post-acquisition integration.
• Delivering a holistic legal approach to the management and legal compliance aspects of multi-jurisdictional and cross functional projects involving corporate, tax, data privacy, employment, and regulatory issues.
• Managing compliance risks for multinational companies regarding cross-border investigations, investment regulations, and data privacy and cybersecurity as applicable to employee data, including training local employees in China and throughout Asia with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

She has been a strategic advisor to private equity and portfolio companies spanning a number of industries, including aerospace, personal care, semiconductors (assembly and testing), food and beverage, medical devices, retail, apparel and textiles, advertising, outsourcing services, nonprofit organizations, and universities.

In addition to the Crowell leadership roles mentioned above, Nicole is a member of the firm’s Retail Task Force and Investigations Practice. She is also an advocate for diversity, currently serving as a member of Crowell’s Women’s Leadership Initiative.

With years of experience leading International Trade and Asia practices at Crowell and her prior firm, Nicole has a passion for international policy issues and serving the community. She is member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the newly appointed Chair of the Chamber’s Global Initiative Council, and a member of the Chamber’s World Trade Week Committee. She is also a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, an international affairs organization focused on public policy issues impacting the West Coast. Nicole is a former board member of Inner City Law Center, active in the Armenian American community and her children’s school committees. 

Nicole is a frequent speaker on international compliance issues before domestic and global in-house legal counsel with a focus on advising on international employment and global mobility issues.  

Representative Matters

• Advised multiple U.S.-based universities in establishing professor exchanges and joint certificate programs with overseas institutions of higher learning (in Asia and in Latin America), including reviewing relevant agreements, analyzing legal structures for personnel exchanges, and providing assistance on regulatory compliance.
  
• Serves as lead legal advisor for American multinational aircraft manufacturer with respect to its international employment strategies in Latin America and Asia.
• Serves as lead legal advisor for American multinational gas turbine manufacturer; responsible for overseeing compliance with respect to various aspects of international trade, including foreign investment, imports and exports, sanctions, and other regulatory compliance issues.
• Advises on all aspects of international employment in connection with the spin-off and formation of a publicly traded health care company in Asia and Latin America.
• Advises a multinational cosmetics company on all aspects of market entry into China, including corporate structure, joint venture negotiations, employment issues, distribution arrangements, trademark licensing, regulatory requirements, product labeling rules, and customs requirements.
• Served as lead legal advisor for a major multinational consumer products company and medical technology company with respect to their global mobility, expatriate secondment, and international employment strategies for Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
• Advises on various regulatory requirements, including market access into Asia, for several U.S. multinational clients.
• Represented a U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturer in structuring its operations in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, PRC, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, and Italy.
• Represented a GPS manufacturer in acquiring licensing rights to mapping data from various Chinese governmental authorities.
• Counseled a U.S. industrial construction materials manufacturer in the transfer of operations to Mexico.
• Represented a multinational corporation in a multijurisdictional disposition of offshore assets and operations in the U.S. and China.
• Represented a leading multinational toy manufacturer in the development and launch of its flagship store in Shanghai.
• Represented a collections-based educational and research institution in the design and construction of one of the largest Chinese classical gardens to be built outside of China.

Affiliations

Admitted to practice: California

Professional Activities and Memberships

• Member, Board of Directors Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, 2018, 2019, and 2020 World Trade Week Committee
• Member, Pacific Council on International Policy, Future Leaders Program
• Member, Inner City Law Center, Past Board of Directors
• Member, Council of Advisors to the Armenian Community of Hong Kong and China
• Member, Women in International Trade
• Member, Remarkable Women
• Member, Armenian Bar Association
• Member, MAPLE Business Council
  
• Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association – Conference of Delegates to the State Bar of California (2002-2004)
• Sustainer, Junior League of Los Angeles
• Moot Court 1L Oral Arguments Judge, UCLA School of Law (Spring 2018)

Recognition

• Named by the Los Angeles Business Journal to the 40 in their 40’s list of influential business owners and executives in the Los Angeles business community (2020)
  
• Named by Latinvex as one of Latin America's Top 100 Female Lawyers (2020)
• Named by the Los Angeles Business Journal to the LA500 list of the most influential people in Los Angeles (2020)
• Named by Los Angeles magazine as one of Southern California’s Rising Stars (2005-2007, 2009-2013)
• Named by the Armenian Bar Association as one of the “20 Rising Stars Under 40”