Yazhi Zheng

Yazhi Zheng is the founder of Yazhi Law Professional Corporation. She provides strategic counsel to Canadian and international clients on international trade compliance, Canadian visa and immigration matters, and corporate governance. With extensive experience, Yazhi delivers customized legal solutions to individuals and companies, helping them navigate the intricacies of complex global legal frameworks.

Yazhi is licensed to practise law in both Ontario, Canada and China. She also holds the Canadian Certified Customs Specialist (CCS) designation.

Earlier in her career, Yazhi worked at top-ranked international law firms, including one of Canada’s most respected international trade teams. She also collaborated with leading immigration law firms in Canada and Europe to assist businesses and individuals with global mobility strategies. Additionally, Yazhi contributed to foreign direct investment and corporate governance projects for European companies during her time at a leading German law firm in China.

Yazhi’s extensive expertise in international trade, corporate law, and immigration positions her as a trusted advisor for navigating the complexities of international markets. Her collaborative relationships with legal professionals, industry leaders, and relevant organizations across North America, Asia, Europe, and other key global regions enable her to deliver strategic, practical, and effective legal strategies tailored to comprehensive global solutions.

Areas of Focus

• International Trade
• Canadian Visas & Immigration
• Corporate

Representative Work

• High-Profile International Trade Cases: Worked extensively on high-profile anti-dumping and trade compliance cases with one of Canada’s leading international trade law teams. Gained valuable experience in managing complex regulatory issues and developing tailored strategies for multinational clients.
• Economic Sanctions: Supported Canadian and international companies in navigating complex economic sanctions regimes, including asset freezes, transaction prohibitions, and related disclosure obligations in Canada. Delivered practical solutions to ensure compliance with evolving regulations.
• Modern Slavery Compliance: Assisted clients in understanding and meeting regulatory requirements of Modern Slavery Compliance in Canada. This included assessing eligibility for forced labour reporting obligations and drafting comprehensive compliance reports to mitigate risks.
• Import and Export Control: Provided legal advice to a major global telecommunications company on the impact of Canadian export controls on cryptography and related research. Combined in-depth technical understanding with regulatory expertise to deliver actionable guidance.
• Business Immigration: Collaborated with leading immigration law firms in Canada and Europe to advise clients on business immigration, investment programs, and pathways to citizenship and permanent residency globally. Successfully managed high-net-worth client portfolios, including tailored strategies for Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program and citizenship programs in Europe.
• Regulatory Disputes in China: Played a key role in resolving food label disputes in China. Responsibilities included drafting defence materials, addressing administrative penalties, and analyzing import/export regulations to ensure compliance with national standards.
• Corporate Establishment in China: Provided strategic support to European businesses entering the Chinese market, advising on corporate establishment, operational compliance, and regulatory frameworks to optimize efficiency and ensure long-term success.
• Academic Collaboration on Ontario Court of Appeal Project: Yazhi has a distinguished background in legal tech, including a significant three-year collaboration with Professor Wolfgang Alschner from the University of Ottawa. Together, they applied advanced computational methods to analyze over 12,000 judicial decisions, uncovering patterns in judicial practices and offering insights into the impact of external factors on court decisions. Their findings were published in the prestigious Western Journal of Legal Studies in the article: “Court, Judges and the Pandemic: Computational Legal Insights from the Ontario Court of Appeal Corpus 2008-2021.”