ALB连续第二年观察发达且具备风向标意义的长三角区域市场，今年，我们同时将目光投向了长三角地区优异的律师新星。部分上榜律所及律师分享了他们在过去不平凡的一年所遭遇的挑战，以及他们如何蓄势待发，准备和长三角市场共同迎接新一波发展。

过去一年对于长三角地区法律服务市场可谓挑战重重，在这样的背景下再次观察长三角，对于理解中国法律服务市场整体韧性及未来趋势，可以说有着特殊的意义。

今年的长三角地区榜单，ALB观察的范围仍旧是上海、江苏、浙江、安徽，榜单分为本地和非本地律所两部分，最终评选出了30家在长三角地区成绩卓越的律师事务所。

伴随越来越多中国律师事务所将人才布局视为律所发展头等要务，今年的长三角地区排名回应这一趋势，添加了长三角地区律师新星评选，最终上榜的15位律师不仅代表了长三角年轻法律人的风采，也指示出这一地区已为未来发展积累下雄厚的人才资源。

在具体介绍今年上榜律所及律师情况前，或许可以先简单回顾2021及2022上半年长三角地区经济基本面。

根据官方数据，2021年长三角地区GDP为27.6万亿，全国占比达24%，沪苏浙皖GDP增速都达8%及以上。数据背后，战略性新兴产业和高新技术产业成为拉动发展的重要因素，深化区域联动成为长三角下一阶段的关键词。

2022年上半年，受疫情管控及国际局势等因素影响，长三角受到较大冲击，不过仍稳住了基本盘。根据已公布数据，上半年沪苏浙皖GDP总量超13.44万亿，除上海外均保持增长。其原因在于长三角新兴产业面对环境变动保持住了韧性，较发达的数字经济也在管控下维持住了动力。

上述数据也基本奠定了长三角法律服务市场在这一时段的发展情况。

律所方面，今年上榜的15家长三角本地律所总部分别位于上海、杭州、苏州，有四家新上榜律所，分别为：汉盛律师事务所、江苏剑桥颐华律师事务所、海华永泰律师事务所，以及上海市建纬律师事务所。本地所中，3家营收超10亿元，4家超5亿元，其余都属于“亿元俱乐部”。

15家非长三角本地律所则都来自北京，其中国浩律师事务所为新上榜律所，律所总体营收呈现出整体平稳态势。布局方面，过去一年观韬中茂和天元开设了合肥办公室，通商则入局杭州。

律师方面，15位长三角地区律师新星平均年龄为38岁，执业年限为12年。他们的执业领域反映了长三角最活跃的业务板块，较集中于金融、资本市场、投融资并购、建设工程房地产、知识产权、破产重整、数据合规领域。此外值得注意的是，其中5位同时在律所担任管理职务。

上海：挑战的一年

过去一年长三角地区整体及法律服务市场绕不开“挑战”一词。在断续的疫情管控措施和风云变幻的国际形势下，上榜律所业务及营收表现如何？他们又采取哪些灵活措施应对困境？

首先看看上海。李强律师是国浩律师事务所上海办公室管理合伙人，他告诉ALB，国浩上海在2021年整体营收实现了较好的增长，其中诉讼业务增速超过非诉讼业务。“我们尤其乐见这一现象。过去几年国浩上海通过内部挖潜和外部引进，在资本市场业务之外做了许多补强工作，效果已经呈现出来。”

但2022年上半年则出现较大变化。李律师坦言，律所的运营和业务到6月才逐步恢复正常状态，“今年全年，我们希望通过全体员工的努力，将总体下降幅度保持在可控状态”。

德恒律师事务所上海办公室是德恒第一批分支机构，目前拥有70多位合伙人和顾问，以及200多位执业律师。德恒上海管委会主任、高级合伙人王军旗律师也坦言，今年长三角地区受疫情影响发展遭遇不小挑战，不过“德恒上海的运营依然保持着稳健态势”。

王律师介绍道，例如德恒上海的核心优势领域——A股IPO业务，“连月来捷报频传，先后帮助紫燕食品、源杰科技、近岸蛋白、可川科技、中巨芯、森泰、采纳、翰博高新等多个项目过会。在私募基金、债券发行、股权融资、股权收购、争议解决、知识产权等领域也成功完成多个重大项目”。此外在资本市场、争议解决、破产重整、清洁能源、新经济等领域，德恒上海也不断扩大法律实务研究，发表了诸多研究成果。

宏观形势变动下上海律所的业务仍表现出一定韧性，李强律师对此也很认同。究其原因，具体到国浩上海，李律师认为主要得益于提前布局的非诉与诉讼业务并重的战略。“过去几年，在保持资本市场业务强劲增长态势的同时，国浩上海一直致力于加强争议解决、涉外法律服务、建筑工程、知识产权、破产重整等业务领域的发展，多元化布局让我们面对市场变化有了抗压能力。”

良好的制度在市场变化中也成为优势，尤其在遇到不可控的情势时，一体化管理制度让国浩能够快速调配资源，跨区域支持客户需要和业务实施。此外，利用有效时间开展内部培训、深化内部合作沟通、鼓励律师多参与外部交流和讲座等灵活手段，也帮助国浩上海持续展开业务创新和市场开拓。

王军旗律师对此深有同感。他将德恒上海在危机中仍保持稳健归因于两点。其一，“德恒上海始终倡导业务团队间的有机融合，让最合适的律师为客户提供最专业的服务，在持续夯实专业化的基础上，进一步着眼行业化耕耘”；其二，“在服务上，我们始终以客户为导向，以专业制胜；同时强调以人为本，不断吸纳海内外优秀法律人才加入”。

江浙皖：增长依旧

目光转向江苏和浙江。2021年两省GDP增长都在8%以上，且在2022年上半年保持住了增长态势：江苏实现同比增长1.6%，浙江增长2.5%。

同时，两地经济呈现不少亮点，例如江苏有软件、物联网等6个产业集群入围国家先进制造业集群，数量居全国第一，苏州也成为全国第一大工业城市；杭州今年上半年GDP总量首次在半年度突破9千亿元大关，数字经济和医药制造业分别实现了12.9%和43.3%的增长。

体现在法律服务板块，李强律师告诉ALB，今年国浩的南京、苏州、杭州、宁波办公室也都实现较好增长，“部分增长领域还很亮眼”。

六和律师事务所是浙江本地的头部律所，六和执行主任、管理合伙人刘珂律师说，疫情确实给律所发展带来挑战，不过，“在防控常态化背景下，六和所整体呈正向发展态势，通过多措并举多管齐下，业务创收稳步增长，其中企业合规、资本市场、基建、破产、数字等业务领域态势良好”。

作为本地大所，六和正享受着规模化带来的品牌价值和平台效应、资源整合、专业化规范化管理等红利，与此同时，刘律师坦言，规模化也带来挑战，例如事务所扩张伴随而来的管理复杂性、总分所一体化建设、信息技术建设、利益冲突和风险控制等，都是六和在积极思考应对的问题。

再来看看安徽。2019年实现“全域入长”后安徽表现可谓突出。2021年，安徽GDP首破4万亿，今年上半年，安徽GDP同比增长3%，居长三角首位。安徽的新能源产业及制造业已颇具特色，凭借雄厚的科研能力，其区域创新力已排名全国第8位。

这样的背景下，安徽法律服务市场也实现了可观发展。周世虹律师是国浩律师事务所执行合伙人，他告诉ALB，国浩合肥业务虽然一定程度受到疫情影响，但今年增速良好。究其原因，“国浩合肥诉讼业务和本地业务占比较大，因此受疫情冲击较小；此外，我们也新增加了业务能力精干的人员”。

外部角度，周律师则指出律所发展得益于合肥优渥的经济环境。“合肥现在被称为‘风投城市’，我们以资本促进产业发展，已经积累了不少成功案例。”

例如在显示产业，2009年合肥市通过创新手段招商引入京东方，目前已成长为中国新型显示产业第一大城市。而在新能源汽车领域，合肥市于2020年出资70亿元引来蔚来入驻，占地约2万亩的“NeoPark新桥智能电动汽车产业园区”也将于今年投入运营。以此为起点，比亚迪、德国大众的新能源汽车业务也落地合肥，国轩高科、中创新航等动力电池生产商也相继进驻合肥。

此外，周律师指出，合肥在量子、芯片领域表现也不俗。“量子领域的国盾量子已经上市，还有5家潜在上市公司；芯片领域的长鑫存储也是业界龙头……合肥以资本为纽带促进产业发展，已经形成了创新创业热潮，同时吸引来许多基金和投资人。今年6月底安徽省启动‘迎客松行动’，力争到2026年末全省上市公司数量较2021年末翻一番，达到300家以上”。

此种发展自然也为法律服务带来庞大机会。周律师告诉ALB，在非诉领域，资本市场、投融资并购、基金业务需求大增，同时进出口贸易、知识产权、劳动人力资源、海事海商业务也经历发展；在诉讼领域，案件标的额的增长也值得注意。他总结道，合肥法律服务市场不仅总量在增长，也在向高端化发展。

市场新趋势

中国人通常认为经济发达地区的人也必是思想活络，他们擅于发现市场新趋势，并敢于尝试创新产品，这一点也呈现在长三角地区法律服务市场中。

作为中国法律服务市场的风向标，在前期调研中，ALB发现今年的上榜律所几乎都在过去一年开拓了新的业务领域。本地所方面，被提及最多的新设板块包括反垄断与竞争法、数据合规、新能源、破产重组、刑事合规、涉外争议解决、金融科技、消费零售，以及大文娱领域服务。

在非本地所方面，被提及最多的新板块则有新经济及互联网法律服务、财富管理、知识产权、碳交易和绿色金融、合规（包括刑事、金融、税务）、政府服务、破产重组、反垄断与竞争法，以及出口管制相关服务。

德恒上海的王军旗律师观察到，过去一年，“长三角市场的金融证券、跨境交易、新经济、合规等领域法律服务关注度依然较高，生物医药、碳市场等产业板块将是一片蓝海，各类金融争议解决值得重视”。

以德恒上海为例，近一年来律所完成的IPO项目中涉及了热门的医药医疗、高新材料、建筑科技等领域的数十个项目。在碳市场方面，“德恒上海成立了清洁能源业务组，为客户在清洁能源项目开发、建设、融资、运营、收购及争议解决等环节提供全方位、一站式法律服务，并开展政策研究以及学术探讨等活动”。此外，德恒上海今年还正式成立了数据合规、海事海商、破产重整三个业务部，整合律所精锐力量应对市场不断出现的新的需求。律所在金融领域，尤其是证券领域的争议解决上也取得了较好发展。

王军旗律师指出，长三角作为中国对外开放高地，国际局势一举一动也会对这里的经济，继而是法律服务产生影响。“今年以来，俄乌战争加速了全世界格局的演变，也带来了可见的能源危机。加之这一年来疫情反复，一定会对部分行业会产生深远影响，或消极，或积极。”王律师观察到，他们的部分能源企业客户业务明显增长；疫情以降，长三角制造业企业客户在新的国际经济形势下拿到了更多的国际订单，持续扩大产能、增加设备等，“近期我们的一家德资客户，今年的订单量已经超过该企业历史最高纪录”，这都给律师提供了新的服务机会。

增强粘性

成熟市场往往对服务业有着更为高端的需求，长三角地区法律服务市场也不例外。尤其在过去一年的特殊环境下，企业客户倍感压力，律师们也不断尝试提供更为周到、贴心的服务，支持客户，也增强客户粘性。

国浩上海的李强律师对此颇有感触。他告诉ALB，今年上半年，律所特别提出了强化沟通、关心客户、共同交流的倡议。国浩上海鼓励合伙人增进与客户的沟通交流，“尤其要去了解客户对增值服务的需求。原来客户可能只了解国浩的资本市场业务，现在要分享我们在其他业务领域的发展，国浩上海在争议解决、知识产权、证券合规等领域都有非常专业、经验丰富的律师团队，从而更好地展现国浩上海的整体实力”。

对于增强客户粘性，德恒上海的王军旗律师也有许多思考。王律师指出，专业服务仍是律师的立身之本，在具有挑战性的环境中，客户会更在乎服务品质。“首先，我们可以为客户提供比较全面的专业法律服务，并着力培养行业律师，形成德恒上海特有的行业服务能力，并在更多的领域锐意进取，更专业、更具国际水准，满足客户深度法律服务的需求。”他说。

“第二，我们内部实施专业分工、团队合作机制，德恒上海在资本市场、争议解决、知识产权、跨境、数据合规等多个领域的专业服务都匹配了完善的专业律师团队，可以为客户提供更好的解决方案。”

宏观环境之外，不断变动的本地市场也给律所服务客户提出新挑战，对于长三角律所来说，不断积累声誉、强化品牌，也是留住客户的关键举措。

谈到本地法律服务市场的变化，周世虹律师感受颇深。“合肥市场在近10年内出现过一股外地大所开办分所的高潮，这打破并改善了合肥原有的市场格局，对本地法律服务机构进行了重新整合。”他回忆道。

“最近两年，伴随整合基本完成、市场再次进入稳定期，竞争成了关键词，律所纷纷关注起树立品牌形象的问题。我们观察到，合肥市场开始出现关注于不同层次、采纳不同策略的律所，同时出现了专业化优势明显的强所——例如有些律所在资本市场、破产重整、房地产建筑工程等领域树立起突出优势。借助专业化发展，律所品牌也变得逐渐清晰。”

强化品牌建设也是六和律师事务所的关注焦点之一。刘珂律师坦言，“相比外来大所自上而下的势能优势，受制于区域市场辐射的局限性，本土律所品牌化建设天然较为不易。另外，现今的品牌建设多停留在媒体运营推广层面，尚未将业务、行政管理、品牌建设系统性打通”。

伴随品牌效益在法律行业日益突出，未来长三角律所，尤其本土律所该如何做好品牌化建设？对此刘律师分享道：“专业水平是品牌建设的基石，人才培育是事务所发展的核心。品牌化建设可聚焦四点：一是在供给端，培育行业律师、名律师、核心团队，并做好服务产品的研发和迭代更新；二是在输出端，强调市场专业人员能够根据律师需求和行业特点进行内容输出和推广落地。”

“第三，要丰富品牌内涵与体系建设，明确品牌建设维度，拓展输出形式和渠道；最后则是加强信息技术和知识管理支持。”

年轻一代崛起

诚如刘珂律师所说，律所发展的核心是人才培育，优秀的年轻律师代表着机构甚至整个行业的未来。今年登上新星榜单的长三角地区律师又如何受益于区域发展，取得了怎样的成绩？

孙立君律师是上海融力天闻律师事务所高级合伙人以及管委会成员，谈到自身成长和长三角地区间的联系，孙律师说：“长三角是中国经济最为活跃的地区之一，伴随大体量商业往来，无论公司治理纠纷、股东投资纠纷、商事主体间纠纷还是不动产建设、转让、租赁纠纷，数量都特别多，这一点从法院每年的结案数量上可见一斑。另外，结合司法改革的推进，法治理念和环境愈发完善，这都给了专业领域律师特别的职业机会，在一个很好的时代和一个很好的区域，不负韶华。”

谈到年轻律师在长三角市场脱颖而出的“秘诀”，孙律师分享道：“法律功底、实务经验是最基本的硬实力；其次，思辨能力、口头和文字表达能力、抗压能力、身体健康也是比较重要的硬实力；同理心、洞察力、沟通力、预判力等则是比较重要的软实力。”

“另外，长三角地区有很多商界精英，精致化的追求也会体现在他们对法律服务的要求中，督促律师提供更完善、更专业、更精准的法律服务，因此，不断追求提供完美法律服务的信念或理念，也是一种非常吸引人的软实力。”

值得注意的是，此次登上长三角地区律师新星榜单的律师中有多位已在律所担任管理角色，孙立君律师就是其中之一。孙律师告诉ALB，融力天闻管委会成员经常为了事务所的发展连续五、六个小时开会，也常常牺牲个人时间去各地考察分所设立和各种发展事宜。“作为管委会成员中年轻的一员，我觉得‘年轻的特质’往往伴随着勇往直前的闯劲、快速发展的决心、追求进步源源不断的驱动力、寻求卓越和改革的精神、对新生事物的接受力、充沛的精力、健康的体魄，这些都是推动事务所发展的重要燃料。我们也希望有源源不断的拥有‘年轻的特质’的优秀律师加盟。”

思索未来

最后，照例来聊聊未来。有趣的是，在前期调研中，当被问及律所下阶段发展策略，上榜律所中几乎已经没人再提及规模化，他们的关注点转而集中于：人才培养；在业务层面补齐短板的同时继续突出专业特色；实现行业化发展；全国性品牌还将关注于进一步强化跨区域联动。

在仍具备诸多不确定性的情况下谈及未来，国浩上海的李强律师坦言，“以前大家都专注于做长期规划，当然，大的发展方向仍要坚持，但是宏观和微观环境都不确定时，律所也要有灵活性，能够随机应变，而这来源于内部管理精细化的提升”。

基于此，国浩上海希望未来一年能够在管理层面，加强标准化建设、继续提升内部员工培训，同时把控好内部风险。此外，“国浩上海作为国浩的创始所之一，也要继续为国浩整体发展做出贡献，包括加强与兄弟办公室的经验交流、业务合作”。

国浩合肥则继续在未来一年继续强化专业化标签。周世虹律师说，在保持高端诉讼、房地产建筑工程业务优势的同时，2023年国浩合肥希望在证券和资本市场、破产业务上实现突破。对于国浩在长三角的全局业务而言，“未来国浩在长三角的6家办公室在整体保持资本市场领域的强劲实力外，也会各自发挥专长，实现共同发展”。

立足上海、辐射长三角、同时面向国际客户则是德恒上海对自身的期许。德恒上海对内不断优化制度机制，着力提升发展新动能。“本着安静、自信、专业、感恩的基本理念，致力于为客户提供综合性、全方位的一站式法律服务，和各界朋友共同建立多赢格局，通力紧密合作，携手面向未来。”王军旗律师说。

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2022 ALB China Regional Ranking: Yangtze River Delta Firms & Rising Lawyers

For the second year in a row, ALB puts the spotlight on the developed and bellwether market of the Yangtze River Delta region. This year, we also set our sights on rising lawyers there. Some of the winning firms and lawyers share with us the challenges they encountered in the past eventful year, and how they are preparing themselves to embrace a new wave of development together with the local market.

The past year has been challenging for the legal services market in the Yangtze River Delta region. Observing the region amid this context is especially meaningful for understanding the overall resilience and future trends of the Chinese legal services market.

As in the first edition, this year’s Yangtze River Delta region list cover Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Thirty top firms in the region have made it onto the list, a combination of local and non-local firms.

As more and more Chinese firms prioritize talent strategies, this year's ranking has therefore added the selection of rising lawyers. The 15 winners are not only representative of young lawyers in the Yangtze River Delta region, but also send a signal to the abundant human resources the region has already accumulated for future development.

Before going into details of the firms and lawyers on this year’s list, ALB briefly reviews the economic fundamentals of the Yangtze River Delta region in 2021 and the first half of 2022.

According to official data, the Yangtze River Delta region recoded GDP of 27.6 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion) in 2021, accounting for 24 percent of national total. The GDP growth rates of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui all reached eight percent or higher in 2021.

In the first half of 2022, however, the region was hit hard by factors including pandemic lockdowns and global geopolitics, but its fundamentals remained stable. Public data point to the total GDP of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui exceeding 13.44 trillion yuan in the first six months of the year, with all but Shanghai maintaining growth.

These data have largely set the scene for the development of the legal services market in the Yangtze River Delta region during this period.

In terms of firms, the 15 winning local firms are headquartered respectively in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou, with four new entries. Among them, three have revenue of over one billion yuan, four generate revenue exceeding 500 million yuan, and the rest all belong to the "100-million-yuan club".

On the other hand, the 15 winning firms that are not native to the Yangtze River Delta region all come from Beijing. Grandall Law Firm is this year’s new entry, and all firms have showcased stable overall revenue performance. Guantao Law Firm and Tian Yuan Law Firm both established presence in Hefei in the past year, while Commerce & Finance Law Offices entered Hangzhou.

In terms of lawyers, the 15 rising stars on this year’s list have an average age of 38, with 12 years of practice under their belt. Their specializations are reflective of the most active business sectors in the Yangtze River Delta region. Five of them also hold managerial positions in their firms.

Shanghai: A year of challenges

In the past year, “challenge” is the theme for the entire Yangtze River Delta region and the legal services market. Given the intermittent pandemic control measures and evolving international dynamics, how have the ranked firms fared in terms of business and revenue? What flexible measures have they taken to deal with the difficulties?

Li Qiang, director of the Shanghai Office of Grandall Law Firm, tells ALB that the Shanghai office managed to achieve over 10 percent of growth in overall revenue in 2021, with litigation business outgrowing non-contentious business. However, the first half of 2022 is a different story. According to Li, the firm had almost zero income in April and May, and both collection and business resumed only in June.

Wang Junqi, director of the Shanghai Office of DeHeng Law Offices, also concedes that development in the Yangtze River Delta region has encountered many challenges due to the pandemic, but "DeHeng Shanghai still maintains stable operations".

Wang shares that A-share IPO business, one of DeHeng Shanghai's core competitive edges, "has received many good news in the past few months. The Shanghai office has also successfully completed many major projects in private equity, bond issuance, equity financing, equity acquisition, dispute resolution, IP, etc.". In addition, capital markets, dispute resolution, bankruptcy and reorganization, clean energy and new economy are other fields that have seen highlights.

Despite drastic changes in the environment, firms in Shanghai continue to be resilient in business. Li fully agrees with this assessment. When it comes to Grandall Shanghai, he believes that it is mainly thanks to the strategy of placing equal emphasis on non-contentious and contentious practices in advance. "Having a diversified portfolio enables us to withstand pressure when faced with changes." Having robust institutional systems has also become an advantage in a crisis. In particular, against the background of pandemic control, having an integrated system allows Grandall to quickly allocate resources and support clients’ business across regions.

Wang feels the same. He attributes DeHeng Shanghai's steadiness in the crisis to two points. First, "DeHeng Shanghai has always advocated for the organic integration of practice teams so that the most suitable lawyers can provide clients with the most professional services". Second, "we are always client-oriented in our services. At the same time, we pay great attention to talents and constantly attract top legal talents at home and abroad to join us".

Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui: Continued growth

Jiangsu and Zhejiang both maintained their growth momentum in the first half of 2022, achieving year-on-year growth of 1.6 percent and 2.5 percent respectively. At the same time, there are many bright spots in the economies of the two provinces. For example, Jiangsu has built six industrial clusters, including software and the Internet of Things, shortlisted for the national advanced manufacturing cluster, ranking first in the country. Hangzhou’s total GDP in the first half of this year has exceeded 900 billion yuan for the first time.

When it comes to the legal services sector, Li says that Grandall’s Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Ningbo offices have all grown this year, and "the growth rates of some of them are very eye-catching".

Zhejiang L&H Law Firm is a leading local firm in Zhejiang. Liu Ke, its executive director and managing partner, says that the pandemic has indeed brought challenges to the development of the firm.  However, "against the background of long-term pandemic control, our firm is on an overall positive development trajectory, with practice areas such as corporate compliance, capital markets, infrastructure, bankruptcy and digital law in very good shape".

After its entire territory was included in the Yangtze River Delta region in 2019, Anhui has been churning out outstanding report cards. Its GDP exceeded 4 trillion yuan for the first time in 2021. In the first half of 2022, Anhui recorded 3 percent of GDP growth year-on-year, ranking first in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Against this background, Anhui’s legal services market has also achieved considerable development. Zhou Shihong, director of the Anhui office of Grandall Law Firm, tells ALB that although Grandall’s business in Hefei has been affected by the pandemic to some extent, it still managed to record growth of 30 percent in the past year.

Zhou points out that the development of the firm benefits from Hefei’s favorable economic dynamics. "Hefei is now known as a 'venture capital city'. We promote industrial development with capital and have accumulated many success stories."

For example, Hefei attracted BOE to invest in the city through innovative means and has now grown to be the largest city in China for the new display industry. In the field of new energy vehicles, Hefei invested 7 billion yuan in 2020 to attract NIO. Quantum and chips are two other areas of highlight for Hefei. "Hefei uses capital as the link to promote industrial development, and has created a boom in innovation and entrepreneurship, attracting many funds and investors,” says Zhou.

Developments such as these naturally bring opportunities for legal services. According to Zhou, non-contentious business such as capital markets, investment, financing and M&A, as well as funds have seen greatly increased demand, while import and export trade, IP, labor and human resources, and maritime law are also growing. In terms of litigation business, the increase in the value of case subject matters is noteworthy. He concludes that Hefei’s legal services market is not only growing in volume, but also moving towards the higher end.

Rise of the younger generation

The core of a firm’s development is talent. Excellent young lawyers are the future of a firm and even the entire profession. How have this year’s rising lawyers in the Yangtze River Delta region benefitted from regional development, and what achievements have they made?

Alex Sun is senior partner of Ronly & Tenwen Partners and a member of its management committee. As Sun puts it: "The Yangtze River Delta region is one of the most economically active regions in China. Large volumes of commercial deals will bring about a huge number of disputes. In addition, the increasing awareness of rule of law and improvement in the legal environment have created special career opportunities for lawyers."

Speaking of the "secrets" for young lawyers to stand out in the Yangtze River Delta region market, Sun shares: "Legal skills and practical experience are the most fundamental hard powers. Secondly, the abilities to think, to express well orally and in writing and to handle stress, as well as physical health are also important hard powers. Empathy, insight, communication skills and the ability to anticipate are the more important soft powers."

"In addition, many business elites reside in the Yangtze River Delta region, and their pursuit of excellence is also reflected in their demands for legal services. Therefore, the continuous pursuit for providing the best legal services is also a very attractive soft power."

It is worth noting that many of the rising lawyers in the Yangtze River Delta region this year already hold managerial roles in their firms, and Sun is one of them. Sun tells ALB: "As a young member of the management committee, I feel that being 'young' is often accompanied by the courage to move forward, the determination to develop rapidly, the continuous drive to pursue progress, the spirit of pursuing excellence and reform, the ability to more quickly accept new things, abundant energy and a healthy body. All of these are important fuels to propel a firm’s development."

Thinking about the future

Finally, when it comes to future outlook, interestingly almost no winning firm this year mentioned scaling up anymore during preliminary survey when asked about its development strategy in the next stage. Instead, the firms’ focuses have turned to talent training, continuing to highlight specialization while making up for weaker practice areas and achieving industry-wide development. National firms also emphasize further strengthening cross-regional links.

Thinking about the future amid abundant uncertainties, Li of Grandall Shanghai says frankly: "In the past, everyone focused on long-term planning. However, when the macro and micro environments are both uncertain, law firms must also be flexible and be able to adapt, all of which comes from improvement in refining internal management".

Grandall Hefei will continue to beef up specialization in the coming year. According to Zhou, at the same time of maintaining advantages in high-end litigation and engineering real estate areas, the Hefei office hopes to achieve breakthroughs in securities and capital markets and bankruptcy areas in 2023.

DeHeng’s Shanghai office sets itself the goal of using Shanghai as the base to cover the entire Yangtze River Delta region and serve global clients. "With calmness, confidence, professionalism and gratitude, we are committed to providing comprehensive and all-round one-stop legal services for clients, and build the future together with friends and partners," says Wang.

 

THE LIST