Geoffrey Sant

Geoffrey Sant is a Partner at Dorsey & Whitney; a Director of the Chinese Business Lawyers Association; and President of the Board of Directors of the New York Chinese Cultural Center, in addition to serving as Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law. He has represented US, European, Asian, and Latin American banks in a variety of litigations and transactional matters, and he has represented each of the four most profitable banks in the world.

Geoffrey Sant has been cited to or by the United States Supreme Court, the New York Court of Appeals, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the New York First Department, among other appellate courts. In late 2014, the New York Court of Appeals cited his writings in resolving a disputed issue of banking law in response to a certified question from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Geoffrey Sant’s legal writings have been published by Arizona State University Law Journal; Brooklyn Law Review; Notre Dame Law Review; New York Law Journal; and SMU Law Review. He has also published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, American Banker, and People’s Daily (in Chinese), and has published popular works in Slate and Salon.

Geoffrey Sant has translated Japanese literature for Del Rey Books, and translated Chinese-language interviews with Chinatown residents as part of the 9/11 Oral History Project. Geoffrey Sant’s article “Double Jeopardy” for Slate Magazine broke the news that wealthy criminal defendants in China sometimes hire substitutes or body doubles. The article was translated and discussed in major media in nineteen countries, including The Wall Street Journal (“fascinating”); Above the Law (“This is wild stuff”); and China Hearsay Blog (“This is a hell of a story”).

In 2008 and early 2009, Geoffrey Sant’s interviews with CCTV, Global Times, and Phoenix Television accurately forecast the forthcoming 2010 wave of investigations and securities litigations against Chinese companies. Geoffrey Sant has been quoted and interviewed on legal issues and China issues by such media entities as BBC Radio, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, China Newsweek, Caixin Media, Singtao Daily, People’s Daily, and Phoenix Television.

Education

• University of Chicago, B.A.
• Columbia University, M.A.
• NYU School of Law, J.D

Companies

• Lecturer in Law (Adjunct Professor) Columbia University in the City of New York (2019)
• Partner, Co-Chair of the China Practice Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (2018)
• Adjunct Professor of Law Fordham University (2013)
• President of the Board of Directors New York Chinese Cultural Center (2011)
• Director, Treasurer Chinese Business Lawyers Association (2011)
• Media Commentator Independent media commentator (2000)
• Partner Dorsey & Whitney LLP (2012 — 2018)
• Associate Morrison & Foerster LLP (2008 — 2012)
• Teaching Associate / Japanese Translator Columbia University (2004 — 2007)