James Hu

James Hu has been teaching an upper-class course on Mergers & Acquisitions at Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech since 2020 and serves as an instructor at Cornell Law School’s annual transactional lawyering competition. His research interest focuses on how financial and business considerations drive the M&A legal landscape.  His teaching interest focuses on articulating M&A structures and techniques on a “first principles” basis.

James writes frequently in legal publications on M&A topics, including Law360, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation and Cleary M&A and Corporate Governance Watch. James is the co-author of the Lexis Practical Guide article “Remedies for Unclosed M&A Deals”, which is maintained on an annual basis.  James’s commentaries on M&A legal and business issues have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal,Bloomberg Law and The Deal. 

James also speaks on M&A topics at a number of institutions and conferences, including at Strafford, the Practical Law Institute, Law Line and National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

In his private practice, James is a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and regularly advises investors, boards of directors, senior executives, and founders on strategic, legal, and business matters in all types of M&A transactions, including leveraged buyouts, public company mergers, corporate carve-outs, minority investments, and distressed situations. He advises on transactions across the industry spectrum. 

In 2023, James was recognized as one of four M&A lawyers nationwide in Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” and a “Life Science Rising Star” by Law360.  He is also recognized by The Legal 500 (U.S. M&A: Large Deals ($1BN+)), IFLR100 and Super Lawyers.  James is a Fellow with the American Bar Foundation.