After a month of surveys and research, ALB has scoped out Asia's 30 fastest growing law firms for 2009. And as many as 10 of the 30 firms are from the PRC.
|
Firm
|
Revenue growth (most recent financial year)*
|
Number of partners*
|
Head office
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dacheng
|
108%
|
383
|
Beijing
|
|
Zhongyin
|
100%
|
58
|
Beijing
|
|
Longan
|
60%
|
45
|
Beijing
|
|
Han Kun
|
50%
|
9
|
Beijing
|
|
T&C
|
45%
|
21
|
Hangzhou
|
|
Hylands
|
37%
|
31
|
Beijing
|
|
Jade & Fountain
|
35%
|
15
|
Shanghai
|
|
Broad & Bright
|
30%
|
8
|
Beijing
|
|
Global
|
25%
|
45
|
Beijing
|
|
Grandall
|
22%
|
102
|
n/a
|
A slowdown in staple areas such as M&A, banking & finance, capital markets and projects work has caused many firms to lay off staff. But ALB's 30 fastest growing firms have stood tall above the rest in Asia. They have used mergers to bulk up, aggressive recruitment strategies to explode into new practice areas or regions, or their own verve, agility and talent to record a year of strong growth.
The ten PRC firms, although inevitably affected by market conditions, have achieved good results by capitalising on the country's strong resilience against the financial crisis and its further integration with the global economy. They have credited three main factors for their growth in annual turnover.
The large Beijing firms – such as Dacheng, Zhongyin and Longan – have been rapidly expanding their national presence by acquiring regional firms, and their strong growth in revenue was largely due to these acquisitions. Dacheng, for example, opened 14 branch offices in 2009, over half of which were established by acquiring local firms.
For the smaller firms on the list – including Han Kun, Jade & Fountain and Broad & Bright – the growth has been fuelled by a number of new partners joining from international firms and larger domestic rivals. As the market went through a quieter time, many of these lawyers had an opportunity to rethink their career goals and so were more willing to take a chance and make a move. This mentality created a good opportunity for emerging firms to recruit top talent for further development.
A couple of established firms who are known for servicing higher-end clientele – such as Global and Grandall – also had a good year. They attribute their revenue growth to a solid stream of new mandates from mid-cap clients, who have been less exposed in the global market and remain active in deal making.
For a full list of the 2009 ALB Fast 30 firms and to learn more details about their growth, please see ALB Issue#9.12. The ten fastest-growing PRC firms will be featured in ALB China Issue#6.12.
Subscriptions to both magazines are available at http://china.legalbusinessonline.com/subscribe/magazine.aspx
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