Of the many newly established partnerships, some have achieved outstanding results and demonstrated their potential to shake up the market. ALB China identifies the 10 rising stars worth watching in the years ahead
HAN YI LAW OFFICE
Managing partner: Richard Xu
Established in 2007
Headquarters in Shanghai
Founded by ex-partners of
Commerce & Finance and
Jingtian & Gongcheng
- Former partners with Jingtian & Gongcheng, Richard Xu and Hu Jun, and a former partner at Commerce & Finance, Hu Ji, founded Han Yi in early 2007. Several months later, the firm opened an office in Beijing. Now, with four partners and nearly 20 lawyers, the firm provides a range of corporate legal services, mostly involving transactional work. Although co-founder Hu Ji left the firm to join Haiwen's Shanghai office last year, the firm continues to show notable strength in advising on private equity and M&A deals.
HYLANDS LAW FIRM
Managing partner: Liu Hong (chairman, management committee)
Established in 2007
Headquarters in Beijing
Founding based on a merger between Hao Tian and Li Wen & Partners
- Formed on the basis of a merger between two firms established in the 1990s, Hylands has 29 partners and 117 qualified lawyers in offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. The full-service firm serves a diverse local and international corporate client base, and enjoys a solid reputation in the practice areas where they have been traditionally strong, such as real estate, construction, IP and dispute resolution. Leveraging the new platform and its membership in Terralex, the international business group led by partner Jiang Jiang has experienced strong growth.
JIN MAO PARTNERS
Managing partner: Li Changdao
Established in 2008
Headquarters in Shanghai
Founded by ex-partners of Jinmao
- Nine partners of established Shanghai firm Jin Mao, including Mao Huigang and Li Zhiqiang, splintered off to set up a new practice named Jin Mao Partners in early 2008. The new firm primarily focuses on areas of corporate finance, capital markets, M&A and foreign investment and has an impressive following of local and international clients.
JT&N
Managing partner: Tian Yu
Established in 2008
Headquarters in Beijing
Founded through a merger between Jincheng & Tongda and NEED International
- To forge a well-balanced law firm with expertise in cross-border transactions and international business, Jincheng & Tongda has merged with NEED International, creating a new brand, JT&N. The addition of the international practice group, headed by senior partner Lan Lan, significantly boosts the firm's international offerings and adds new US and international clients to its business. The new firm is committed to taking its place as one of the leading home-grown international law firms.
MARTIN HU & PARTNERS
Managing partner: Martin Hu
Established in 2008
Headquarters in Shanghai
Founded by ex-managing partner and founder of Boss & Young
- Martin Hu left Boss & Young, which he founded in 1999 with other partners, to start a new firm. Determined to build a local firm with international management structures that can produce a consistently high standard of quality of legal services, he created the boutique firm that bears his name. Most of his clients followed him to the new firm. In addition to Hu's extensive experience in providing corporate and M&A legal services to multinational clients, several new partners and lawyers have brought their expertise in areas of litigation, education, tax, IP and employment and labour to the firm.
MWE CHINA LAW OFFICE
Managing partner: John Huang
Established in 2007
Headquarters in Shanghai
Founded by ex-partners of AllBright
- Two former rainmaking partners of AllBright, John Huang and Kevin Qian, have masterminded an exclusive strategic alliance with US firm McDermott Will & Emery as the basis for their newly founded local firm MWE China. Having the best of both worlds, the firm has grown significantly in size and revenue in its first two years, and has contributed considerably to the expansion and success of its US partner's China practice. With a core focus on corporate matters, the firm impresses clients with its depth of local knowledge and internationally sound pragmatic advice.
RUN MING LAW OFFICE
Managing partners: Wang Yadong and Liu Yi
Established in 2007
Headquarters in Beijing
Founded through a merger between Run Bo and a team from Jun Yi
- Run Ming was established in 2007 as the result of a merger between Run Bo, headed by founding partner Wang Yadong, and a team of Jun Yi lawyers led by partner Liu Yi. Given the solid track record of both groups, the new firm instantly made an impact in Beijing and Shanghai. The past year has seen the firm strengthening its legal teams by hiring senior lawyers from leading domestic firms and international firms, and establishing new practices and expanding main practice groups. Its client base, mainly Fortune 500 companies and their portfolios and subsidiaries in China, is also growing steadily.
SLOMA & CO
Managing partners: Yu Genrong and Li Ming
Established in 2007
Headquartered in Shanghai
Founded through a merger between Sloma & Co and Siway & Seaway
- Sloma & Co, traditionally a boutique maritime firm, has made the transition into full-service capability by merging with Shanghai firm Siway & Seaway. The merger boosted the number of its offices to five - Shanghai, Dalian, Shenzhen, Kunshan and Berlin. The revamped Sloma continues to focus on maritime-related practices, and is also developing practices in areas such as IP, corporate finance, foreign investment and international trade. The firm now has a total of more than 70 lawyers, including 14 partners.
ZHONGYIN
Chief partner: Tang Jinlong
Established in 2008
Headquartered in Beijing
Founded through a merger between Zhongyin
and Zhengtai
- On the same day as the new Law on Lawyers took effect in 2008, Beijing-based firms Zhongyin and Zhengtai announced their merger, which formed a new partnership under the name Zhongyin. Before the merger, both firms already had a strong reputation in capital markets and finance practices. The merger reinforces Zhongyin's leading position on its traditional turf. It also allows the firm to expand its offerings in other practices, such as corporate, real estate, foreign investment, IP and dispute resolutions, benefiting its clients on the local and international scene.
ZUO QUAN LAW FIRM
Managing partner: Yan Xizhong
Established in 2007
Headquarters in Shanghai
Founded by ex-partners from Co-effort
- The year 2007 saw the establishment of the country's first tax boutique firm - Shanghai Zuo Quan. The firm was founded by a group of experienced tax lawyers, led by partner Yan Xizhong, from Shanghai Co-effort. The firm now has four partners and a number of associates, providing 'one-stop' tax legal services in foreign investment, M&A, restructuring and liquidation, and corporate finance. Most of them are dual-qualified as lawyer and CPA.
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