Handel Lee is an international attorney and property developer known for transforming historic landmarks into upscale developments. He also currently is a senior partner at the law firm

King & Wood Mallesons King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is the largest international commercial law firm based in the Asia–Pacific, Asia-Pacific. It has 26 offices and over 3,000 legal professionals across Australia, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the U ...

. Lee is best known for his high-end developments, including

Beijing Legation Quarter The Peking Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing (Peking), China where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In the Chinese language, the area is known as ''Dong Jiaomin Xiang'' (), which is the name of the '' huton ...

and Three on the Bund in Shanghai. Ron Gluckman recognized him as China's "Style Setter" for his support of the arts.

Personal life

Raised outside of

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, Lee first visited

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where both of his parents were born, in 1981. His mother is a native of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, from a family with a long royal lineage from the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. His father Richard Lee, a recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Gold Medal Award, grew up in Shanghai, but was born in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

, where Lee's grandfather was the president of the

Nanjing Union Theological Seminary The Nanjing Union Theological Seminary () is the flagship theological seminary of Protestant Christianity in China today. It is managed by the China Christian Council. Prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China, the institution had ...

. His mother, artist Dora Fugh Lee, was the second eldest sister of Major General John Fugh, whose wife June is journalist Connie Chung's sister. His mother's eldest sister, Aline Fugh Berman, was the mother of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

professor

Adriane Fugh-Berman Adriane Fugh-Berman is a professor in the department of pharmacology and physiology, and in the department of family medicine, at Georgetown University Medical Center. She is also the director of PharmedOut, a Georgetown University Medical Center ...

. Between studies at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

, Lee made more visits to China and spent several months learning

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

in at

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in 1982.

Career

Lee relocated to China in 1991 to open the law office of U.S. firm

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...

. After leaving Skadden, Lee practiced at the law firm of

Vinson & Elkins Vinson & Elkins LLP (or V&E) is an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers worldwide headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. The firm has offices in major energy, financial, and political centers worldwide, including Austin, Dalla ...

as head of its China practice. Lee then joined King & Wood and served briefly as the firm's Chairman. Lee was among the first American lawyers to establish China practices for major U.S. firms and has been recognized as a leading practitioner in China in energy and

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

. He currently sits on the International Management Committee of

. Lee's business ventures typically combine his interests in

Chinese contemporary art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by overseas Chinese, Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based on o ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

music,

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

, and fine cuisine. His projects include some of China's most acclaimed developments, according to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

magazine, most notably the Beijing Legation Quarter/Ch'ienmen 23. The Courtyard, and Three on the Bund. The Courtyard was a pioneering fine dining restaurant and art gallery that opened in 1996 and was popular with celebrities such as

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

. The Courtyard Gallery was one of the first to showcase the emerging avant garde artists of China. Shanghai's Three on the Bund, a hundred-year-old, seven-story neo-classical building redesigned by architect

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

, is host to galleries, luxury shops, and upscale restaurants. Many credit Lee and Three on the Bund for reinvigorating the city's historic riverfront as a center of tourism, dining, and nightlife when it opened in 2004.

Recognition

For his contributions to the arts and culture, Lee was awarded the 2006 Montblanc Cultural Foundation's Arts Patronage Award and the title of Knight Commander,

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or foreigners who made an outstanding co ...

in 2006. Lee is a member of the Committee of 100, a leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia and the arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Handel Living people 20th-century American lawyers University of Virginia alumni Georgetown University alumni Members of the Committee of 100 Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Year of birth missing (living people)