SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2026--
Yufei (Fei) Li has joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP as a Partner in the Tax, Trusts & Estates group in Seattle and Palo Alto, the international law firm announced today.
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Fei advises U.S. individuals, multi-generational families, business owners, and entrepreneurs on estate planning, wealth transfer, and wealth preservation matters. Her practice focuses on helping clients develop and implement estate plans that align with their financial, tax, and family objectives, particularly when assets, beneficiaries, or planning considerations span multiple states or countries. She also advises clients on multistate estate planning issues, with significant experience addressing matters involving Washington and California, including residency and domicile changes. Drawing on her experience living and working in China, Fei also advises internationally mobile individuals and families as well as U.S.-based clients with foreign assets, beneficiaries, or other cross-border planning considerations.
Fei is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California, the only practitioner with this designation in Seattle and one of only four practitioners in Washington.
Fei joins Dorsey from Fox Rothschild. She received her J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
“Fei brings a practical perspective to multijurisdictional estate planning matters. A trusted advisor, Fei helps clients navigate the legal and administrative complexities involving significant wealth and long-term legacy planning,” said Tessa Mielke, Practice Group Co-Leader of Tax, Trusts and Estates for Dorsey. “We’re thrilled to have Fei on board.”
“Dorsey is known for its highly sophisticated, forward-thinking international practice and excellent client service, which provides an excellent synergy with my practice,” said Fei Li. “I’m excited to join this talented team and to start supporting our clients.”
About Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Clients have relied on Dorsey as a valued business partner since 1912. With locations across the United States and in Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, Dorsey provides results-oriented, grounded counsel for its clients' legal and business needs. Dorsey represents a number of the world's most successful companies from a wide range of industries, including banking & financial institutions; development & infrastructure; energy & natural resources; food, beverage & agribusiness; healthcare & life sciences; and technology.
Yufei (Fei) Li has joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP as a Partner in the Tax, Trusts & Estates group in Seattle and Palo Alto.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles district attorney has backed off felony charges against a police officer who secretly recorded his colleagues making racist remarks after facing criticism the response was too harsh and could deter whistleblowers from coming forward.
Los Angeles Police Officer Daniel Flores was charged in July with 16 felonies after he shared recordings last year that captured officers in LAPD's recruitment division making racist and sexist comments. He reported those recordings to the LAPD's internal affairs in early 2025. The Los Angeles Times first reported the existence of the tapes at the time.
More than a year after the tapes were shared, District Attorney Nathan Hochman charged Flores for violating a decades-old California eavesdropping statute that prohibits secret recordings without informed consent of all parties present. He faced up to 13 years in prison.
But those charges prompted swift backlash, including from Flores' attorney, who said it was wrong to prosecute Flores for exposing bad behavior. Attorney Alan Jackson told the LA Times in July that the charges sent a message that “if you document bigotry inside the LAPD, you will be the one who ends up in a courtroom. It tells them the safe move is to hear slurs and say nothing.”
Hochman on Wednesday said he still believed Flores violated the law, but announced that prosecutors would downgrade all 16 charges to misdemeanors. That will allow Flores to enter a diversion agreement, which means he can avoid jail time as long as he doesn't violate any laws for a year. Jackson did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday morning.
Hochman said his office was “listening to the impact the case was having on potential whistleblowers” when it decided to reduce the initial charges, which he said, “sent the wrong message” to the public.
Hochman vehemently denounced the comments made by the other officers, saying the remarks amounted to “hate speech.” But he said that there wasn’t evidence that they amounted to a hate crime, which prevented his office from criminally prosecuting those who made the comments.
The recordings Flores shared with LAPD internal affairs showed other officers making a wide array of offensive comments. Officers joked about a famous Latino baseball pitcher dying from eating “too many tacos,” invoked racist tropes about Black people, and on one occasion called a young LAPD recruit “rapeable” because they were “someone who could be taken advantage of,” according to a motion filed by the district attorney's office.
Hochman condemned the officers’ remarks on Wednesday, but said that he still adamantly believes Flores should face some consequences for breaking the law. He said he hoped his decision would encourage officers to work with the district attorney’s office to gather evidence through legal channels.
“Here we have an LAPD officer who should know the law better than anyone else,” he said, adding later that his office works “every single day with individuals who are whistleblowers who have brought wrongdoing forward through legitimate means.”
Carney Shegerian, a California-based attorney who frequently represents whistleblowers and pursues litigation on their behalf, called the entire case “disappointing.”
On the one hand, he said, that the district attorney shouldn’t have capitulated to public outcry since it's clear that state law prohibiting secret recordings was broken.
On the other hand, he said, it falls on the LAPD that there are still officers who espouse bigoted rhetoric — and that officers like Flores clearly feel like they have little legal recourse to respond.
“It’s unfortunate this cop obviously didn’t have the confidence in the LAPD that they would look into it or they would believe him,” he said, adding that Flores would be protected against retaliation from the LAPD under state civil whistleblower laws.
Flores was found guilty in a separate, internal LAPD investigation, and given a 22-day suspension without pay, the LA Times reported. It is not clear whether Flores served that time. The LAPD also opened confidential disciplinary hearings against the officers who made the comments, but the department has not said whether anyone has been disciplined.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman delivers remarks at a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Safiyah Riddle)
