Mai Shapiro is a partner based in the Hong Kong office and a member of the firm’s Tax Department. Ms. Shapiro has significant experience advising private fund sponsors on fund formation tax and structuring matters, ongoing operational matters and on the tax aspects of a fund’s downstream investment activities. She advises a range of sponsors in forming different types of funds, from pan-Asian equity buyout funds to credit and real estate funds, as well as sector- or country-specific funds, separate account programs and foreign-sponsored, RMB-denominated private equity funds. She also has significant experience advising sponsors and investors on traditional and complex secondaries transactions, including GP-led fund restructurings and other fund liquidity solutions.

Ms. Shapiro’s recent experience includes representing clients such as: Advantage Partners, AIA, Baring Private Equity India, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Carlyle, CDH Investments, EQT Asia, HarbourVest Partners, HongShan (formerly Sequoia China), Lightspeed India Partners, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Navis Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.

Ms. Shapiro is recognised as a Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Greater China (2024). She has been described as a “very experienced tax lawyer and part of the Debevoise A-team,” who is “consistently excellent with her impeccable advice.”

Ms. Shapiro joined the firm in 2006 and was resident in the London office before joining the Hong Kong office in 2008. Ms. Shapiro received a J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2003 and a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1997. Ms. Shapiro is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

Ms. Shapiro is admitted to practice as an attorney in New York and as a solicitor in Hong Kong.