2023年初的统计数据显示，重庆GDP已超越广州，成为 “中国GDP第四城”。法律行业也从中受益，2022年重庆市律师行业总产值预计将在50亿元以上。然而，“山城”的律所若想在国家层面更具竞争力，则需要自我升级，并更好地支持关怀青年律师。
2022年全国各省市自治区GDP相继公布，排头名次变化引人注目：重庆市以29129.03亿元GDP数额超越广州，成为接续于上海、北京、深圳之后的“中国GDP第四城”。重庆当地法律服务专家们表示，此番增长受益于中国经济和社会发展、重庆自身地理优势以及政策支持。
“重庆作为西部大开发重要战略支点、‘一带一路’倡议和长江经济带的联结点，有着重要的战略地位，在具有独特而重要的作用。”
- 秦代友，重庆百君律师事务所
“重庆作为西部大开发重要战略支点、‘一带一路’倡议和长江经济带的联结点，有着重要的战略地位，在国家区域发展和对外开放格局中具有独特而重要的作用。” 重庆百君律师事务所副主任秦代友律师介绍道，中国律师业的发展与经济社会发展规律息息相关，宏观经济的增长自然会反映到法律市场层面上。
重庆坤源衡泰律师事务所管委会主任付海平律师介绍，强劲基底之上，重庆也不缺乏新的发展驱动力。
例如兔年首个工作日，重庆市建设成渝地区双城经济圈工作推进大会明确提出，把双城经济圈建设和西部陆海新通道建设作为市委“一号工程”和全市工作总抓手总牵引；
而去年市司法局出台的《建设西部法律服务高地规划（2021—2025年）》，也相应就法律服务业高质量发展作出了详细规划。
在上述区位优势、政策支持的“层层buff”叠加下，重庆法律服务业表现出众。“2020年重庆市律师行业总产值41.88亿元，2021年突破50亿元，2022年尚未有官方数据公布，预计也在50多亿元。重庆2022年经历了疫情、高温等事件，在此背景下，依然实现了逆势增长。”付海平律师说。
2022年，长江上游法律服务中心在重庆正式运行，加上此前最高人民法院第五巡回法庭、中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会西南分会等法律服务头部资源在重庆聚集，重庆法律服务市场面临更多发展机遇。重庆还实施了“专业精品所”培育计划，优选30家中小律所深耕金融、知识产权、数字经济等领域，打造专业服务品牌。
秦代友律师表示，受疫情影响，重庆律师行业在2022年创收增长速率虽有所下降，但随着经济向好和法律服务需求的增加，律师行业创收或将继续保持稳步增长。全市共有律所908家，同比增加31家，其中非本地律所过去一年在重庆新设立了13家分支机构。
而法律服务市场仍在演进。目前重庆本土所面对的市场需求相对“传统”，即诉讼业务仍占大多数。重庆律协数据显示，2022年，全市律师办理诉讼业务与非诉讼业务的比例约为4.4 : 1。
值得注意的是，这一比例在2021年约为8.1 : 1。付海平、秦代友律师都提到了非诉业务的快速发展。秦律师介绍，2020至2022年三年中，重庆律师办理非诉讼业务的数量分别约为1.6万件、2.7万件和4.89万件。“可以看出，非诉业务潜力巨大，增长趋势整体向好。”
付律师则认为，京沪大所在非诉业务开拓和办理方面的确有独到之处，要加强学习赶上去。
付律师还表示，重庆的破产业务也在激增。“作为西部地区首家破产法庭，重庆破产法庭成立三年来，共审结各类案件近5000件，清理债务2130多亿元，盘活企业资产960多亿元。” 坤源衡泰破产业务也呈现爆发式上涨。
秦律师说，百君所近一年在破产重组业务领域持续创新，扩大了破产重组部门规模，以适应企业日益增长的转型需求。
规模化道路
尽管重庆法律市场总体上在增长，但百君、坤源衡泰都看到了本土律所在规模化发展上面临的挑战。
根据重庆律协的数据，截至2022年底，该市律所平均有执业律师14.4人，100人以上律所共16家。全国律师执业诚信信息公示平台数据显示，重庆的“百人所”中，本土律所仅占5席。
与之相对比，尽管广州尚未公布2022年的数据，但2021年末“百人所”数量就已达到32家，成都市2022年末则有23家“百人所”。
此外，在创收方面，虽然重庆已突破50亿大关，但和上海300亿+的律师行业总创收相比，差距依然可观。
“可以看出，重庆本土律师事务所的规模化程度仍有发展空间。” 百君的秦代友律师认为，规模化发展是大势所趋，重庆需要加快打造地区强所，打造在成渝地区、西部乃至全国都具有一定影响力的区域强所，以抵挡“东征西伐、北上南下”的京沪大所对本土所的冲击。
“规模化发展进入下半场，未来的律所发展之路不仅要看谁的摊子铺得大，更要看谁能更好地将资源整合、有效盘活。”
- 付海平，重庆坤源衡泰律师事务所
与百君一样，坤源衡泰也曾在本地经历了合并重整的过程。在付海平律师看来，合并重整并不是单纯的1+1组合，而是要将优势强强联合，走上规模化发展强路。
“不少规模律所的确通过不断扩大的体量，收获了一定的品牌效益，提升了律所收益。但规模化发展进入下半场，未来的律所发展之路不仅要看谁的摊子铺得大，更要看谁能更好地将资源整合、有效盘活。”付律师说。
在规模化道路上，百君、坤源衡泰均在成都、贵阳等地开设了分支机构。秦律师介绍百君将考虑在昆明等西部其他中心城市设立分所，以适应陆海国际新通道的法律服务需求；而付律师表示坤源衡泰筹备在重庆区域中心城市设立分所，真正实现扎根重庆、立足西南并力争适时辐射全国的战略布局。
青年律师面临挑战
从表面上看，重庆律师队伍稳步增长：市律师协会数据显示，2022年末，重庆市有律师16069人，同比增长10.21%。然而，在数字增长的背后，重庆律师行业也在经历着基础性挑战。
2月初，重庆律协发布《重庆青年律师生存与发展调研报告》，剖析了青年律师执业发展的普遍性问题，并总结了该群体的诉求。
例如，在参与该调研的青年律师中，年收入在10万元以下的占69.57%，年收入在5万元以下的占31.01%，仅1.69%青年律师收入在30万以上；
超过70%的青年律师因新冠疫情影响，业务有不同程度下降，收入与开支持平或略有盈余的占64.83%，入不敷出的占34.18%；基于工作强度的心理压力约占40%，案源开拓压力占比超过40%；
不到50%的青年律师表示未来仍然会选择律师行业，更多的青年律师有所犹豫，考虑视情况而定。
该报告最后提出了建立青年律师绿色成长培养指导体系、加强青年律师执业能力系统化培训、建立以最低工资保障为基础的底薪保障机制等一系列建议，体现了重庆法律行业刀刃向内的决心。
付海平、秦代友律师均提到了本土所应加强对人才的重视和管理方式。付律师在坤源衡泰官网一篇署名文章中则表示，助力青年律师成长是坤源衡泰的重点策略，为此律所已展开一系列努力，例如为所内律师搭建了培训体系，开办“坤源衡泰大讲堂”“青年律师成长季”“鲲鹏计划”等系列讲座、活动、沙龙。
“功以才成，业由才广。”秦律师说，在律师人数增长的同时，应该加强对青年律师的培养，推动重庆地区律师专业服务素质和整体水平的提升。“复杂的外部环境要求规模化律所必须与时俱进地进行组织管理革新，如若不然，发展可能因管理问题踌躇不前。”
GROWING PAINS
Chongqing has surpassed Guangzhou to become China's fourth largest city by GDP, and the legal industry is reaping the benefits, with revenue of five billion yuan ($720 million) expected in 2022. However, if Chongqing’s law firms want to become seriously competitive players on the national stage, they need to upgrade themselves and also support their lawyers better.
Chongqing recently surpassed Guangzhou to become China's fourth-largest city by GDP, and now boasts a GDP of 2.91 trillion yuan ($421.6 billion). This growth, say lawyers, has been driven by China's economic and social development, the city’s own geographical advantages, and policy support.
“As an important strategic pillar for the Great Western Development strategy, and a nodal point between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing occupies a key strategic position and plays a uniquely important role in China's regional development and opening up to the outside world."
- Qin Daiyou, Baijus Law Firm
“As an important strategic pillar for the Great Western Development strategy, and a nodal point between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing occupies a key strategic position and plays a uniquely important role in China's regional development and opening up to the outside world," says Qin Daiyou, deputy director of local Chongqing firm Baijus Law Firm.
Fu Haiping, director of the management committee of Chongqing Kunyuan Hengtai Law Firm, adds that Chongqing also has plenty of new drivers of growth, such as a new policy. In January this year, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle Work Promotion Conference gave the unequivocal signal that the development of the economic circle and the construction of the new western land-sea corridor would be the “No. 1 Project” of the Municipal Party Committee and the overarching priority of the Municipal Government. Additionally, the Plan for Building Legal Service Highlands in Western China (2021-2025) issued by the Municipal Bureau of Justice last year also includes detailed plans for the quality development of the legal services industry.
Leveraging on Chongqing’s geographical advantages and the slew of policy support, the city's legal services industry has demonstrated remarkable growth. "The total output value of the legal industry reached 4.2 billion yuan ($610 million) in 2020 and exceeded five billion yuan in 2021. Although official data are yet to be released, the figure for 2022 is expected to surpass five billion yuan too. Despite the pandemic, heat waves and other incidents in 2022, Chongqing’s legal services industry has managed to achieve growth against all odds,” says Fu.
Further, in 2022, the Upper Yangtze River Legal Services Center officially started operations in Chongqing, which, coupled with the Fifth Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court, the Southwest Sub-Commission of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and other leading legal services resources, has brought about more development opportunities for Chongqing’s legal services market. The city has also launched its "specialized boutique firm" plan, under which 30 small and medium-sized law firms have been selected to deepen their expertise in fields such as finance, intellectual property and digital economy, and build their professional brands.
According to Qin, although there might not have been a big growth in revenue between 2021 and 2022 thanks to the pandemic restrictions, as the economy improves and the demand for legal services rebounds, the near-term outlook for the industry remains bright. The city had 908 law firms as of the end of 2022, 31 more than the end of 2021, with 13 of that latter figure being the branches of non-local firms.
And as the legal market grows, it is also evolving. Chongqing’s market is still relatively traditional, in that litigation still accounts for the majority of business. Data from the Chongqing Bar Association show that in 2022, the ratio of litigation to non-litigation work handled by lawyers in the city was approximately 4.4:1. Notably, however, this ratio was about 8.1:1 in 2021.
Both Fu and Qin mention the rapid growth of non-litigation work. According to Qin, in the three years between 2020 and 2022, Chongqing lawyers have handled approximately 16,000, 27,000, and 48,900 non-litigation matters respectively. "Non-litigation business has huge potential and enjoys a very positive growth trend," he says.
One big practice area in Chongqing is bankruptcy, according to Fu. "As the first bankruptcy court in western China, the Chongqing Bankruptcy Court has closed nearly 5,000 cases within three years of establishment, clearing off debts worth more than 213 billion yuan ($30.8 billion) and revitalizing over 96 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) of corporate assets," he notes, adding that Kunyuan Hengtai has also witnessed exponential growth in its bankruptcy practice.
Qin agrees on the growth of the bankruptcy practice, sharing that Baijus has beefed up its bankruptcy and reorganization practice group in the past year to meet the growing needs of restructuring from enterprises.
NEED TO EXPAND
Despite the overall growth trajectory of Chongqing’s legal market, both Qin and Fu say that law firms are struggling to carry out the expansion needed to match their ambitions.
Data from the Chongqing Bar Association show that as at the end of 2022, firms in the city employed an average of 14.4 practicing lawyers, and there are only 16 firms with more than 100 employees. The National Lawyer Credit Information Publicity System reports that only five of these are homegrown Chongqing firms.
In contrast, Guangzhou already had 32 firms with 100 or more employees by the end of 2021, while the figure for the city of Chengdu was 23 by the end of 2022.
In addition, although the revenue generated by Chongqing’s legal services industry has broken the five-billion-yuan mark, there is still a way to go to match the 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) brought in by firms Shanghai.
To Qin, it is clear that local Chongqing firms need to become larger and more sophisticated, something he sees as an “inevitable trend.” The city needs to produce regional powerhouses that are not only influential in the Chengdu-Chongqing area and Western China broadly, but can also beat back competition arriving in the form of the local offices of large national firms based in Beijing and Shanghai.
Fu of Kunyuan Hengtai agrees that on the need for growth, either inorganic or organic, but when it comes to mergers, he feels that firms need to be cautious, aiming for not simply a “1+1” combination, but instead ensuring that the merging parties are compatible.
"Many large firms have indeed reaped certain brand benefits and increased revenue through continuous expansion. However, as the journey of upscaling continues, the future development of firms will depend not only on who has the largest size, but also on who can better integrate and make effective use of resources.”
- Fu Haiping, Chongqing Kunyuan Hengtai Law Firm
"Many large firms have indeed reaped certain brand benefits and increased revenue through continuous expansion. However, as the journey of upscaling continues, the future development of firms will depend not only on who has the largest size, but also on who can better integrate and make effective use of resources,” he notes.
Both Baijus and Kunyuan Hengtai have opened offices in the cities of Chengdu and Guiyang. Qin says that Baijus is considering setting up offices in Kunming and other prime cities in the west to meet legal services demands stemming from the new land-sea corridor. On the other hand, Fu shares that Kunyuan Hengtai is preparing to set up offices in key districts of Chongqing to effectively carry out its strategy of covering the entire country from Chongqing and southwestern China.
TALENT CHALLENGES
All the growth plans may be stymied by the most fundamental obstacle of them all – a shrinking local talent pool. On the face of it, the numbers seem to show a steady growth in lawyers - according to data from the Chongqing Bar Association, there were 16,069 lawyers in Chongqing as of the end of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent – but behind the stats, the situation is dire.
In early February, the Chongqing Bar Association released its Research Report on the Survival and Growth of Young Lawyers in Chongqing, which found that less than half of the young lawyers surveyed indicating a desire to continue in the industry. One main reason appears to be pecuniary, with about a third of the lawyers making less than 50,000 yuan a year, and the majority earning below 100,000 yuan.
More than 70 percent of young lawyers experienced a decline in business to varying degrees due to the pandemic, and more than a third unable to make ends meet. Further, they felt a lot of mental pressure due to high workloads and the need for client development.
Its conclusions are damning, finding that "young lawyers are not closely integrated into the management and development of firms. Young lawyers do not pay sufficient attention to the development of firms, and vice versa. Further, young lawyers have limited training and exchange opportunities within their firms, making it difficult to meet their needs for professional upgrading and social interaction."
The report ends by putting forward a series of suggestions, such as establishing a training and guidance system for the growth of young lawyers, strengthening systematic training of young lawyers' practice abilities and building a base pay protection mechanism based on minimum wage, which reflects the resolution of Chongqing's legal industry to reform internally.
Fu and Qin both emphasize that local firms must value lawyers more, and manage them better. In an article authored for Kunyuan Hengtai's website, Fu argues that helping young lawyers grow is a key strategy of the firm. To this end, the firm has made a series of moves, such as setting up a training system for lawyers and launching a series of seminars, events and salons such as the Kunyuan Hengtai Lecture and Young Lawyer Growth Season.
"Success is based on talents," said Qin. At the same time of increasing the number of lawyers, firms must step up training of young lawyers to promote improvement of the professional service quality and overall competency of lawyers in Chongqing. "The complex external environment requires large firms to carry out organizational and management innovations in keeping with the times. Otherwise, development may be held back by management issues,” he says.
