Watson & Band is pleased to welcome Mr. Lin Xingsheng as a Partner at our Shanghai headquarters. Mr. Lin graduated from Southwest University of Political Science and Law and China University of Political Science and Law with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. Since 2010, he has served at an Intermediate People's Court in Beijing as well as in the Legal & Compliance, Special Assets, and Head Office Asset Custody departments of a leading joint-stock commercial bank, gaining deep insight into judicial adjudication rules and financial regulatory and operational frameworks.

In private practice, Mr. Lin focuses on criminal defense, criminal complaints, and criminal risk mitigation—specializing in financial crimes, commercial crimes, white-collar offenses, and IP-related crimes—while also leveraging his civil, commercial, and banking background to handle high-stakes corporate and financial litigation. He currently serves as an inaugural Researcher at the Center for Financial Regulation and Crime Prevention of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, and as a Member of the 12th Banking Law Committee of the Shanghai Bar Association.

Dual Judicial and Financial Background Delivering Strong Defense Outcomes

Drawing on his combined judicial and banking experience, Mr. Lin excels at pinpointing case characterization, evidentiary vulnerabilities, and strategic defense angles, achieving case withdrawals, non-prosecutions, probation, sentence reductions, and mitigated penalties across numerous matters:

• Acquittal Defense & Non-Prosecution: Successfully secured police case withdrawals in matters involving refusal to execute court judgments, concealment of criminal proceeds, and cross-border telecom fraud; obtained discretionary non-prosecution at the review and prosecution stage in major liability accident (the sole individual granted non-prosecution in the case) and false invoicing cases.

• Sentence Mitigation: Achieved probation, appellate sentence reductions, or lenient penalties in cases involving trade secret infringement, unlawful issuance of bank loans, illegal absorption of public deposits, non-state commercial bribery, occupational embezzlement, contract fraud, trademark counterfeiting, and illegal business operations.

• Anti-Fraud & Criminal Complaints: Extensive experience assisting corporations and individuals with internal anti-fraud investigations, criminal complaints, and asset recovery. His work on a private equity fund criminal risk mitigation matter and an employee embezzlement prosecution were both recognized as firm-wide Cases of the Year.

Strengthening Our Financial Criminal Defense and Compliance Capabilities

Mr. Lin's arrival further strengthens Watson & Band's capabilities in financial and commercial criminal defense, corporate anti-fraud, criminal complaints, and financial compliance, creating strong synergies with our corporate, banking, and IP practices. We warmly welcome Mr. Lin Xingsheng to Watson & Band!

Lin Xingsheng, Partner

xingsheng.lin@watsonband.com

Practice Areas: Criminal Defense,  Criminal Complaints,  Financial and Commercial Criminal Defense, Corporate Anti-Fraud