Tulane Law alumnus David Zhang establishes new corporate law professorship
Tulane Law School will establish a new corporate law professorship, thanks to the generosity of renowned international lawyer, alumnus and Board of Tulane member David Zhang (L’91) and his wife, Yibing Mao.
The gift establishes the second endowed professorship at Tulane Law in the field of corporate law.
“We are so grateful for David’s leadership in the profession and his unfailing commitment to Tulane and our students,” said law Dean Marcilynn Burke. “This generous gift cements Tulane Law School’s strength in corporate law and sets a path forward for strengthening our program.”
“We are so grateful for David’s leadership in the profession and his unfailing commitment to Tulane and our students."
Law Dean Marcilynn Burke
Zhang, a prominent international lawyer, recently retired as a senior partner of the U.S. firm Kirkland & Ellis and is one of the most prominent M&A attorneys in the world. His experience over decades with capital markets and mergers and acquisitions led him to lead the Asia operations for the firm in Hong Kong until his retirement.
In his 30-plus-year career, he represented multinational corporations, entrepreneurs, and funds on transactions throughout China and Southeast Asia.
In March of 2023, he joined the Board of Tulane, the university’s main governing body.
“I owe much of what I have achieved in life to the excellent education I received at Tulane more than three decades ago and am committed to doing my part in further elevating Tulane’s stature both nationally and globally,” Zhang said of his appointment to the Board.
Mao is a career attorney with Marriot International who currently serves as president of the hotel corporation’s Greater China division.
Zhang has been an active Tulanian, serving as a member of the Tulane School of Law Dean’s Advisory Board before his Board appointment, and leading his 30th Reunion Committee in 2021. That year, Zhang established the David T. Zhang Law Scholarship Endowed Fund to provide scholarship support to students at the Tulane University School of Law.
Zhang earned his juris doctor from the Tulane University School of Law in 1991 and his bachelor’s degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1981. He also graduated from the United Nations Training Program for Interpreters and Translators in 1983.
The new professorship marks the second such endowed position in corporate law secured by the law school this year alone, with gifts from generous donors. In May, the firm of Fishman Haygood announced it would establish an endowed professorship in corporate law to honor partner and namesake Louis Fishman (B’ 63, L’65) for his dedication to his law firm and the community he serves. The Louis Fishman Professorship in Corporate Law also honored Fishman’s induction into the Tulane Law Hall of Fame and his years of practice, including his founding of the Tulane Corporate Law Institute, the largest corporate law gathering in the nation, which helped put Tulane Law on the map in the field.
