GoldenGate 
Tim Meng, managing partner

Quick statistics
• Total number of partners: 4
• Total number of lawyers (excluding partners): 8
• Year established: 2007
• Number of offices: 1
• Location of offices: Beijing

A clear branding strategy, focused practice and sensible management approach make GoldenGate one to watch

Rejecting the full-service approach, Beijing firm GoldenGate zeros in on serving foreign investors with cross-border and local legal needs in three areas: general corporate, IP and dispute resolution. “As foreign investors become more familiar with the Chinese market, they are looking for specific expertise, long-term market experience, and a local perspective. So we’ve decided to strategically brand our firm in these three areas and excel to the top of these fields,” said Tim Meng, who founded the firm in 2007 and is GoldenGate’s managing partner.

The past year has been a particularly good year for the firm: it was instructed to handle various trademark and patent infringement matters for brands such as ADC, Arjowiggins, Columbia Sports, Krones, Metso and Ritz-Carlton. GoldenGate won major arbitration awards for multinational companies in China; and it advised a number of foreign companies on setting up joint ventures or on liquidation of their Chinese subsidiaries.

The firm has also boosted its expertise and credential in commercial negotiations, litigation and arbitration, and corporate compliance issues by appointing Tian Yongfu, the former head counsel for Samsung China, as a partner. In 2009, the firm was admitted as a member of TAGlaw, a global alliance of high-quality independent law firms.

In the year ahead, expect the firm to execute its branding strategy in the international dimension and expand its commercial/corporate practice group at the partnership level

Hwuason  
Liu Tianyong, managing partner

Quick statistics
• Total number of partners: 4 partners
• Total number of lawyers (excluding partners): 19
• Year established: 2005
• Number of offices firm-wide: 2
• Headquarters: Beijing and Tianjin

This tax boutique is rising quickly to the forefront of its field

Hwuason was established in 2005 with an ambitious goal – to be the leader and pioneer in tax law. It has set its goal high for a reason – to meet the increasing need for sophisticated tax legal services in the market. “As a result of the tax authorities’ more vigilant approach to tax avoidance, and in recognition of the dearth of sophisticated tax law services, we’ve decide to invest heavily in this area and become a specialist firm in tax law,” said Liu Tianyong, Hwuason’s managing partner.

In 2009, the firm made a big stride towards its goal, establishing strategic alliances with a number of specialist tax firms worldwide, and becoming a member of Tax Planet, a global tax network of legal and accounting professionals. Hwuason has more than doubled the headcount of its legal staff and also opened a branch office in Tianjin. Among the new senior practitioners is Matthew McKee, an Australian tax lawyer, who joined the firm as senior foreign legal counsel from Lehman, Lee & Xu. Cao Mingxing joined as a senior partner from Boss & Young.

“We’ve engaged in a number of business development initiatives and expect them to bring significant rewards for the firm’s business in 2010. Given the growth achieved over the past four years, the increasing need for sophisticated tax legal services and our 2009 expansion, we will realistically see a revenue growth rate of 100% in 2010,” said Liu.

The firm’s plans for this year include expansion of the Tianjin office, establishment of an office in Dalian in March and a further office in northern China in late 2010; the acquisition of a tax audit firm to add to broaden its offerings, and further lateral hires at both partner and associate levels

Jin Neng  
Yue Wenhui, managing partner

Quick statistics
• Total number of partners: 3
• Total number of lawyers (excluding partners): 6
• Year established: 2009
• Number of offices: 1
• Location of offices: Shanghai

This newcomer is striving to be a sizable, full-service firm with a focus on energy and climate change

As the country drives itself towards a low carbon economy and increases its efforts to combat climate change, newly founded Shanghai Jin Neng is definitely a firm to watch. Yue Wenhui, a veteran lawyer in the energy sector, founded the firm in September 2009 with a forward-looking approach. “The country’s unwavering commitment to tackle global warming and cut its emissions has triggered hundreds of billions of dollars being invested into the renewable and clean-energy sector. The need for lawyers specialising in this area will undoubtedly be compelling in the near future,” said Yue.

His goal is to develop Jin Neng into a sizable, full-service firm specialising in energy and climate change. Since the Copenhagen conference, the government has imposed stricter energy-saving rules and heightened energy efficiency standards. Traditional energy companies now have to take more actions and efforts to comply with the new energy conservation and emission reduction rules. Yue is predicting a very busy year ahead for his firm. “Strengthening policies means both the government and companies need more and better legal advice and consultation on energy and environmental laws and regulations,” he said.

All of these developments will create new business opportunities for Jin Neng, who has positioned itself to serve and benefit from this trend. It will no doubt be looking to bring its offering in this area to critical mass. The firm aims to grow the total number of lawyers from the current six to 20 by the end of 2010. In addition, during the Shanghai World Expo, the firm will assist the event organiser in all projects and matters relating to energy-saving and emission reduction.

LexField 
 Jan Liu, managing partner

Quick statistics
• Total number of partners: 8 (and 1 senior IP counsel)
• Total number of lawyers and IP professionals (excluding partners): 36
• Year established: 2004
• Number of offices: 1
• Location of offices: Beijing

Following its merger with a strong IP litigation team and a seasoned patent team, LexField is now set to gain prominence

Changing its name from Jan Liu & Associates to LexField was just one of the landmark events of this Beijing based IP boutique firm in 2009. The merger with a strong IP litigation team, led by senior partner Jiang Hongyi and a seasoned patent team including partner Yi Yongmei was another. In addition, the firm lured the renowned retired IP judge from Beijing High Court Cheng Yongshun to join as a senior counsel. The expanded partnership has not only boosted the firm’s expertise and resources, but also enabled LexField to provide a full spectrum of IP legal services with a particular competitive edge in handling IP litigation.

Looking ahead, the firm’s managing partner Jan Liu has no set plans for further expansion; instead, she said the firm will focus on going about quality and delivering the best possible services. “We don’t want to expand too quickly, as it will bring about a set of extra challenges and risks to the management and operations,” said Liu. Although expansion is not on the immediate horizon, the firm is expected to attract more clientele with its new IP litigation capabilities, while gain more market share in its traditional turf, including handling trademark, copyright, anti-unfair competition and other non-contentious legal matters.

“A series of recent IP lawsuits involving foreign IP owners as defendant and high damage awards has triggered many foreign companies to review and strengthen their China IP strategies. We will be increasingly engaged by IP owners, particularly those from overseas, to better manage and control their risks in China,” said senior partner Jiang Hongyi. “The restored confidence in domestic IP courts and the increasing IP competitiveness of domestic companies, on the other hand, will boost up IP litigation caseloads in 2010.”

Tiantong & Partners   
Jiang Yong, managing partner

Quick statistics
• Total number of partners:5
• Total number of lawyers (excluding partners): 15
• Year established: 2002
• Number of offices: 1
• Location of offices: Beijing

This pre-eminent litigation boutique is responding to strong demand

Many firms may have experienced a drop in caseloads since the GFC, but Tiantong & Partners has had a stellar year. The top-ranked litigation boutique firm has an established track record of success, resolving second-instance trials and retrials of complex and high-stake civil and commercial disputes at the Supreme People’s Court and the Higher People’s Courts.

With a substantial number of its cases having been reported in official law reports and publications, the firm has played a leading role in the development of litigation practice in China. Given the counter-cyclical nature of dispute resolution, Tiantong has seen 30% year-on-year increases in caseloads in 2009. In the past year, the firm has completed 13 cases heard before the Supreme People’s Court, involving a total claim of RMB700m. The firm has helped clients meet their business objectives and achieve the litigation goals in all 13 cases.

Tiantong is confident that the 30% caseloads growth rate will be sustained in 2010 while the nation’s economy continues to recover. “Even in the post-GFC era, the economic changes in the recovering process will cause disputes and conflicts. And the reform on the retrial system in civil cases will continue to generate more lawsuits. Traditional litigation practices will have new opportunity to prosper,” said Jiang Yong, managing partner of Tiantong. Jiang noted that disputes in relation to bank loans, infrastructure investment, property development and M&A transactions are expected to rise noticeably. ALB

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