今年的ALB长三角报告聚焦于南京和杭州两座城市。南京、杭州是长三角地区经济体量相当的省会城市，然而各有特点的发展历程造就了它们截然不同的商业文化。两座城市的律师和ALB分享了当地经济发展带来的法律需求变化，以及他们当下的机遇和挑战。
2021年，普华永道联合中国发展研究基金会，共同评定出47座在“十四五”期间值得重点关注的中国城市。在这份名为《机遇之城2021》的报告中，老牌一线城市北上广深依旧排名前四，紧随其后的便是杭州与南京。其中杭州在技术成熟度、文化与生活、经济影响力三个维度中领衔，南京则在智力资本和创新、交通和城市规划领域表现亮眼。
作为长三角紧随上海的重量级城市，杭州和南京有着鲜明的经济特点。杭州民营经济活跃，近年尤其见长于互联网、云计算、大数据等板块发展；南京则以国有企业为主导，过去几年见证了生物医药、汽车、通信等板块崛起。
过去两年的一系列数字说明了这两座城市的实力。杭州作为阿里巴巴总部所在地，是全球排名第六的金融科技城市，2020年以新产业、新业态、新模式为主要特征的“三新”经济增加值占GDP的35.5%；而南京则实现了连续11个季度GDP增速8%以上，位列东部GDP过万亿元城市首位。
以制造业为底色，加持创新生产力，杭州、南京的经济特点为下一阶段发展奠定了稳固基础。随着中国进入城市群高质量发展阶段，以杭、宁为代表的“中心城市的带动引领作用愈发凸显”，《机遇之城》报告指出，“中心城市的体量和规模将不断扩大，吸引劳动力及消费需要新增人口涌入”。
“智库”南京
南京被称为江南“科教重镇”，这座城市拥有8所重点大学，位列全国第三。南京的发展也离不开这样的实力。根据第一财经的分析，近年来，南京一方面发挥科教优势，“大力打造科创名城，发展新兴产业”；另一方面，则通过对年轻人才的天然吸引，加快南京都市圈建设。
根据天眼查发布的数据，过去十年中，南京在中国重点城市投资活跃度度方面排名第四，平均涨幅达259%。
“在2020年特殊国际局势背景下，南京着眼国内国际产业链重构，明确了八大主攻方向，推动构建自主可控的先进制造业体系。”
- 沈永明，大成南京
法律作为与经济发展“同呼吸，共命运”的行业，法律人也透过服务客户和从事交易，感知着本地经济的变化。大成律师事务所南京办公室主任沈永明律师告诉ALB，在2020年特殊国际局势背景下，“南京着眼国内国际产业链重构，明确了软件和信息服务、新能源汽车、新医药与生命健康、集成电路、人工智能、智能电网、轨道交通、智能制造装备八大主攻方向，推动构建自主可控的先进制造业体系”。
根据房地产服务机构仲量联行的观察，南京实现了制造业创新转型和战略性新兴产业两翼齐飞，且部分新兴产业在全市经济占比已超过传统产业。在沈永明律师看来，未来南京发展将继续以创新为关键词：“近几年来中美贸易关系较为紧张，在这样的背景下，我国对创新和高科技产业的大力扶持有目共睹。”
“如何为这些产业领域企业的健康发展保驾护航，是律师面临的新挑战。”沈律师坦言。他告诉ALB，目前大成南京在上述新兴领域积累了不少常年合作客户，未来需要“紧跟市场动态，关注这些新行业领域的整体发展动向，研究有关政策、产业链架构、经营策略、行业趋势，以便适时为客户提供优质法律服务方案，把握先机，抓住增量市场”。
除了科研与人才，创新另一个不可或缺的因素便是资本，这也促进了南京金融市场的快速发展。根据仲量联行数据，2019年上半年，南京金融业实现增加值730亿元，增速高达11.7%，仅次于上海。未来南京将构建“泛长三角区域金融中心”，促进科技、产业、金融三者互为驱动。
法德东恒律师事务所总部位于南京，其管理合伙人王磊律师对此颇为感触。王律师告诉ALB，过去两年法德东恒“着重开拓了金融、证券领域相关客户，他们对法律服务的需求增势明显”。另一个服务需求量明显增长的领域则是医疗大健康。“此类客户的最大特点是需求复杂、跨领域、要求响应时间短，必须有比较专业的律师团队进行匹配。”王磊律师总结道。
而在业务领域上，法德东恒尤其感受到了企业合规需求的增长。在为客户提供合规服务时，法德东恒特别强调“法商结合”的思维。“我们从企业运营需要出发，将法律服务和企业发展相结合，形成了一系列可操作的合规法律服务产品。”王磊律师说，“经过辅导，众多企业客户建立了完整合规管理体系，有效预防各类风险发生，真正做到了管理风险、创造价值。”
近年来南京法律市场的另一个增量领域则是政府法律服务。在大成南京的沈永明律师看来，这一市场正伴随经济创新快速发展，它“前景广阔”，但又“容易被忽视……正经历巨大变化”。
沈律师告诉ALB，国家党政机关已经普遍建立了法律顾问制度，目前大成南京服务了江苏省内大量的行政机关。过去，政府法律服务局限于“提供日常咨询、代为出庭应诉等”，现在则要“围绕政务改革、营商环境优化、金融风险防控等重点任务，在课题研究、立法文件起草、立法后评估工作、风险事项评估等非诉业务上展开大量工作”。在沈律师看来，这类服务“专业性较强”，未来的增长趋势也十分乐观。
南京市场另一个不可忽视的板块，沈永明律师指出，则是涉外法律业务。
南京被称为“一带一路”交汇点重要枢纽，江苏企业在“走出去”，尤其是近年在海外营运境外园区的趋势中，都扮演着引领角色。
沈律师告诉ALB，大成南京服务于多类企业的多元涉外法律需求，“这两年较为典型的业务是‘一带一路’沿线国家的投资，例如工业园的建设和运营，以及EPC工程项目……这类项目通常需要组成专业的法律服务团队，律师需要具备对外投资、融资、工程等领域专业素养，还要具备外文工作能力，这也是大成南京的突出优势”，他说。
谈到疫情和新国际关系下南京涉外服务的变化，沈永明律师指出，南京涉外业务的“新机遇在于跨境合规、反垄断与竞争，以及跨境争议解决。尤其是跨境数据合规……很多企业，尤其是互联网企业已经充分重视起数据合规，大成在这一领域新增了不少业务”。
“创新”杭州
在南京以南230余公里的杭州，“创新”则是这里的关键词。
根据仲量联行的观察，在杭州，新制造、数字经济已经成为经济增速的双引擎。尤其面对蓬勃发展的数字经济，杭州市自2019年9月启动了“新制造业计划”，促进产业转型，预计至2025年，将杭州规模以上工业增加值提升到6800亿元。
“杭州产业发展均衡……诸多科技新型产业已将浙江的产业转型推进到后半段，使浙江经济向着更高品质的方向发展”。
- 徐万钧，大成杭州
在大成律师事务所杭州办公室主任徐万钧律师的观察中，“杭州产业发展均衡，传统制造业与商贸业均发达，在互联网等产业中具有较好的产业基础，投资、创新比较活跃。诸多科技新型产业已将浙江的产业转型推进到后半段，使浙江经济向着更高品质的方向发展”。
正是借助这样平衡的经济发展现状，徐律师坦言，“大成杭州目前整体业务相对均衡，没有特别倚重的业务板块”。“我们更强调围绕客户需求进行敏捷创新，提升专业深度、协同支持与服务品质，并强调内部专业板块的提升。”他说。
拥有以阿里巴巴、网易为代表的大量互联网公司，杭州在中国数字经济版图中扮演的角色无需赘述。而根据经济学人智库的观察，伴随未来中国“过渡至更加由技术驱动的增长模式”，杭州等城市将处于“最有利的发展位置”。
为回应这样的趋势，大成杭州特别设立了互联网业务部。“杭州是互联网之都，未来数字化将改变中国经济的底层逻辑，互联网与数字化，包括随后的智能时代，需要融合诸多专业知识，除了技术与商业，法律也是核心模块之一。”徐万钧律师说，“大成杭州开设互联网业务部正基于这样的逻辑……我们在网红直播、互联网金融、数据保护、争议解决等研究与实践上均积累了诸多案例，走在了行业前沿。”
不过徐律师坦言，在服务互联网行业方面，杭州律师实际面临着某种“两重性”。一方面，“因为法律滞后于商业的原因，律师的执业能力往往会落后于行业发展，尤其在快速发展的互联网行业，杭州本地律师在互联网与数字经济法律服务方面有一定先进性，但与产业巨头的需求还存在差距”。
但另一方面，过去两年中国针对互联网行业监管趋严，也为律师带来更多的合规业务。“长远来说，企业高速发展后受到监管，这也是对行业稳健发展、企业长期稳定的一种保护。”徐律师说，“目前律师参与企业运营的全面合规治理已经成为一种常态业务。”
如果说大成杭州从综合所的视角，展现了律所如何陪伴当地经济发展，杭州本地的阳光时代律师事务所，则从精品所视角，讲述了在本地经济版图的变动中不断寻求自我革新的故事。
阳光时代是一家专注于能源、环境和基础设施领域的律所，谈到为何会在杭州设立这样一家精品所，阳光时代主任陆利忠律师对ALB回忆道：90年代初，经济发展比较领先的浙江省缺电形势严峻，拥有电力工程、经济学与法律复合专业背景的陈臻参与了浙江省电力工业局和英国国家电力公司的外资办电项目谈判，由于英方要求中方必须聘请律师，陈臻于是“下海”创办了阳光时代。
以杭州为代表的浙江省是中国经济最发达地区之一，这意味着对能源的高度需求，也意味着经济不断“漂绿”过程中，新理念在当地的不断创新尝试，阳光时代也在这样的背景下跟随客户脚步，不断拓展业务边界，改变自我定义。
陆利忠律师告诉ALB，先是在2005年，“《京都议定书》正式生效，清洁发展机制（CDM）引入中国……阳光时代成为了全国最早涉足CDM项目的律所，并在此过程中重新明确了定位——致力于成为能源、环境领域最懂行的律所”。
2012年前后，CDM市场规模急剧萎缩，同时“全国七省市的碳交易试点开始，我们便打开了国内碳交易法律服务市场，协助客户开发了全国首个钢铁行业碳资产托管业务，并对绿色电力证书交易、用能权交易等开展研究。”陆律师说，“2015年阳光时代设立了环境资源业务部，成为当时国内少有把环境业务作为一个独立部门的律所。”
第三次“转型”则发生在近年。“2020年9月中国提出双碳目标，未来一两年，各部委会密集推出关于碳达峰、碳中和的具体政策。”陆律师介绍道，“这让阳光时代开始从能源、发电，延伸到交通、建筑、航空等行业……目前我们已成功助力全国首单CCER碳中和服务信托的设立；为某全球矿业巨头提供气候政策与气候诉讼服务等。未来，我们的绿色金融事业部将继续跟踪前沿行业政策，研发有关法律服务产品，助力中国双碳目标的实现。”
借助“一带一路”，杭州及浙江企业大量展开海外投资，其中不乏能源类企业，这也给了阳光时代“立足浙江，走向世界”的机会。陆利忠律师介绍道，基于之前的丰富经验和疫情、监管变化带来的新情况，这两年，阳光时代特别重视协助客户做好海外业务及项目合规、调查。“一方面，中国强化监管，对企业合规能力提出了更高要求。”他说，“另一方面，中国企业如今国际化经营程度高，必须正视多边金融机构和美、欧、英等主要司法区域的合规要求，更注重‘走出去’的质量。”
机遇与挑战并存
江苏、浙江都是“律师大省”，其中省会城市对于执业律师有着突出吸引力。根据两地律协数据，截至2020年底，南京共有8683名律师；杭州律师数量则为约10700人，实现了全省一半的业务创收，杭州律所数量为590家，其中百人所12家——值得注意的是，其中有7家为本土品牌。
对于南京法律市场的未来发展，大成南京的沈永明律师和法德东恒的王磊律师都抱有十分乐观的态度。“南京拥有深厚文化底蕴，也是江苏省经济发展中心，而江苏又是中国第二大经济省份，伴随优渥的市场环境与高速的经济增长，江苏省的法律服务市场也处在蓬勃发展、蒸蒸日上的时代。”沈律师说。
“2017年，南京正式跨入万亿级城市行列，南京成为北上广深之后中国法律服务行业屈指可数的战略高地。”
- 王磊，法德东恒律师事务所
王磊律师对此表示赞同。“2017年，南京正式跨入万亿级城市行列，南京成为北上广深之后中国法律服务行业屈指可数的战略高地。”他说。
在此背景下观察南京市场，王磊律师指出，“南京市场传统业务还占主导地位，但是新兴领域，比如互联网、涉外等，发展迅速”。目前法德东恒的三大核心业务领域是破产重整、建设工程与房地产、重大商事争议解决，同时也在积极直面新领域挑战，“新领域对于律师的专业化程度要求越来越高，另外必须采取团队化服务，才能及时响应客户需求，也对管理提出了更高要求。南京律师行业也对管理增效有了更清楚的认识。”
沈永明律师告诉ALB，大成南京经历了类似的业务发展。目前大成南京三大优势领域为偏传统的民商事争议解决、专项法律服务和常年法律顾问业务，但“近年来各类非诉讼业务也在蓬勃发展”。
除了业务变化，法律产业本身也面临诸多新机会。例如沈律师指出，随着最高院第三巡回法庭的设立、多家专门法院落户，“河西·建邺法律服务产业园、南京江北新区法律服务园区先后运行，更让南京成为了律所的兵家必争之地”。
作为本地所代表的法德东恒对此感受颇深。“外地律所纷纷入驻南京，给本土律所带来的冲击明显。”王磊律师坦言，“一方面大所在规模、业绩、资质等方面有优势，高端业务不可避免地向其倾斜；另一方面，南京律师有了近距离与大所同台竞技的机会，在竞争中取长补短……面对挑战，法德东恒选择整合资源，深耕本土市场，精进专业服务，并汲取大所成熟经验，进行有效的改革创新，以自身的规模化、专业化、团队化方式服务客户，取得了不错的成绩。”
在沈永明律师看来，南京市场的变化实际上也反射着整个中国法律市场的蜕变。“中国律师业正在经历一场变革，面临着互联网、替代性法律服务等对传统服务模式的冲击，以及存量法律服务市场蛋糕减少、市场参与者增加等挑战。”他思索道，“未来律所不仅要专业，还要创新和综合。要注重管理体制的改革，加强团队的专业化、综合性建设，为客户提供综合性解决方案，并在服务过程中加入对法律科技的运用。”
“浙江法律服务市场无论从供给质量还是未来发展空间，都处于国内领先地位。总体而言，浙江法律服务市场竞争格局较为良好。”
- 陆利忠，阳光时代律师事务所
在杭州，经济发展后劲十足，也为法律市场提供着充裕的发展空间。论到目前杭州法律市场的格局，阳光时代的陆利忠律师指出，“浙江法律服务市场无论从供给质量、渗透率还是未来发展空间，都处于国内领先地位，因此吸引了头部律所纷纷入浙开设分所。但总体而言，浙江法律服务市场竞争格局较为良好，本土律所与头部律所在浙分所发展比较均衡，并未出现被头部律所大肆侵蚀市场份额的现象。”
而在大成杭州的徐万钧律师看来，杭州律师“居要位”，就该“思大事”。除了布局新“蓝海”领域，律所和律师也该“看得长远一些……浙江底层经济正在发生剧烈变化，我们应该关注提供对社会变革、企业创新、转型升级、价值提升有重要作用的长期法律服务方案。双循环经济格局下，法律服务市场也会出现新变化，需要花更多时间观察与研究，深入市场，做好总结与提升”。
未来趋势
谈到南京法律市场的未来趋势，王磊律师认为其关键词将是“竞争”和“转型”。一方面，“南京律师人数即将过万，百人所也已有十多家，未来竞争会更加剧烈，尤其在规模大所间，业务和人才竞争将成为常态”。
另一方面，伴随数字经济高速发展，互联网产业规模持续扩大，“传统法律服务也要向数字化转型，法律与科技融合成为显著趋势，如果律所在这些领域专注，前景将十分广阔”。
谈及应对未来，大成南京则提出了“专业化”和“人才培养”两个策略。沈永明律师告诉ALB，目前大成南京设置了7 个业务部门，19 个专业组，“律师依据自身素质及发展需求选择一主三辅四个专业方向，以求深耕于更加细分的专业市场，全方位响应不同客户的不同需求”。
更强的专业能力，也要借助于律所“更精细化的人才培养，以及注重走高端路线的人才引进”，沈律师说。为此，大成南京定期举办“金陵讲坛”、业务部门专业交流会，还参与到了“大成中国区举办的各项讲座、培训、比赛中去，通过大成的全球平台帮助律师成长”。
在杭州，借由专业精品所定位，阳光时代的陆利忠律师对于未来相对坦然，但也有紧迫感。“我们专注于在能源、环境和基础设施领域为客户提供差异化、深度法律服务，与其他综合性律所的竞争冲突并不是特别激烈，这是优势……当然，我们也面临规模化不足、专业板块不够齐全的挑战，会通过加强自身能力、与其他专业机构扩大合作等手段来弥补。”陆律师说。
大成杭州的徐万钧律师则呼吁本地律师以“大局观”看待法律市场发展。“浙江、杭州是中国经济最活跃、最有生命力的地方，浙江法律服务市场容纳得下数个品质与规模兼具的律所一起提升。”他说，“相信在未来几年，会有一大批优秀律所获得更高提升。我也坚信，会有一大批优秀的年轻律师在这些平台上脱颖而出。”
大成南京的沈永明律师颇有同感。“未来，开放与合作依然是行业发展的主旋律”，除了律所间的合作，“我也期待律所与新经营业态最终由竞争变为合作，形成较良性的泛法律服务市场”。
即便市场机遇无穷，律所未来不免遇到来自外部的风险和不确定，对此沈律师建议道：“律所不变的应对之道，就是对发展、进步的执着追求。我们需要‘修炼内功’，时刻关注市场与客户的需求，注重产品和服务的品质，探索新思路与解决方法……只有不断超越，才有新的可能。”
ALB CHINA REGIONAL REPORT: YANGTZE RIVER DELTA
This year's ALB Yangtze River Delta (YRD) report focuses on Nanjing and Hangzhou, both provincial capitals in the YRD region of comparable economic scale, but each with distinct commercial cultures shaped by their respective development paths. Lawyers from both cities share with ALB the changing legal needs brought about by the various economic development trends, as well as the current opportunities and challenges.
In 2021, PWC identified 47 Chinese cities to watch during China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period in its Cities of Opportunity 2021 report. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen remained the top four cities, with Hangzhou and Nanjing on their heels.
As heavyweights in the Yangtze River Delta after Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing have distinct economic characteristics. Hangzhou has a very dynamic private economy and has been especially active in the Internet, cloud computing and big data sectors in recent years. Nanjing, on the other hand, is dominated by State-owned enterprises, and the city has seen the rise of sectors such as biomedicine, automobiles and telecommunications in the past few years.
Figures over the past two years bear out the strength of these two cities. Home to Alibaba's headquarters, Hangzhou is the sixth-ranked fintech city in the world. In 2020, the added value of the "Three New" economy, mainly characterized by new industries, new forms of business and new business models, accounted for 35.5 percent of its GDP. Nanjing, on the other hand, achieved GDP growth of more than 8 percent for 11 consecutive quarters, ranking first among cities in eastern China with a GDP of over 1 trillion yuan ($157 billion).
Grounded on manufacturing and empowered by innovation, the economic characteristics of Hangzhou and Nanjing have laid a solid foundation for their next stage of development.
THINKTANK NANJING
Nanjing is known as the "key town for science and education" south of the Yangtze River. In recent years, Nanjing has given full play to those key strengths to "build a city known for science and innovation and develop emerging industries.” Moreover, it has accelerated the development of the Nanjing metropolitan area by leveraging its inherent attractiveness to young talents.
- Shen Yongming, Dentons Nanjing
Shen Yongming, director of Dentons’ Nanjing office, tells ALB that, amid the fast-changing international environment 2020, "Nanjing has been focusing on the reconstruction of domestic and international industrial chains, and identified eight major development areas including software and information services, new energy vehicles, new medicine and health, integrated circuit, artificial intelligence, smart grid, rail transport and smart manufacturing equipment.”
"How to support the healthy development of enterprises in these industries is a new challenge for lawyers." Shen admits. He tells ALB that Dentons Nanjing has many regular clients in those emerging fields. In the future, it needs to "pay attention to the overall development trends of these new industries, so as to provide high-quality legal service solutions for clients when needed.”
Another indispensable element for innovation is capital, which has contributed to the rapid development of Nanjing's financial market. According to real estate service provider JLL, in the first half of 2019, Nanjing's financial industry recorded value-add of 73 billion yuan, up 11.7 percent, second only to Shanghai.
Wang Lei, managing partner of Nanjing-based Fadedongheng Law Firm, knows this all too well. Wang shares that in the past two years, Fadedongheng "has focused on developing clients in the financial and securities industries in tandem with the significant increase in their demand for legal services.”
In terms of practice areas, Fadedongheng sees especially strong growth in demand for compliance services. When advising clients on compliance, Fadedongheng puts particular emphasis on “integrating legal services with enterprise development by centering on the needs of enterprise operation, so as to provide practical compliance solutions.”
Government legal services is another growth area in Nanjing's legal market in recent years.
According to Shen, Dentons Nanjing serves a large number of administrative organs in Jiangsu Province. In the past, government legal services were limited to "providing routine consulting, appearing in court, etc.,” but now lawyers must "focus on government reform, business environment optimization, financial risk prevention and control, etc. to perform a large volume of non-contentious work such as subject research, drafting of legislative documents, post-legislative evaluation and risk assessment.”
Another segment of the Nanjing market that cannot be ignored is a foreign-related legal business, Shen points out.
Nanjing is an important hub of the "Belt and Road Initiative.” Jiangsu enterprises have played a leading role in "going global,” especially in running overseas industrial parks in recent years.
Shen tells ALB that Dentons Nanjing provides diversified foreign-related legal services for enterprises of different types. "Typical services in the past two years concern investment in countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the construction and operation of industrial parks and EPC projects," he says.
Speaking of changes in Nanjing’s foreign-related legal services amid the pandemic and under the new international relations context, Shen points out that “new opportunities for Nanjing’s foreign-related legal services lie in cross-border compliance, antitrust and competition and cross-border dispute resolution, and cross-border data compliance in particular. Many enterprises, especially Internet enterprises, have paid sufficient attention to data compliance, and Dentons has many new engagements in this area."
INNOVATIVE HANGZHOU
In Hangzhou, some 230 kilometres south of Nanjing, "innovation" is the key theme.
- Xu Wanjun, Dentons Hangzhou
As observed by Xu Wanjun, director of Dentons’ Hangzhou office, "Hangzhou has a balanced industrial development, with both traditional manufacturing and commerce and trade industries in advanced stages. It has a solid industrial foundation for the Internet and other industries, with active investment and innovation. Many new technological industries have advanced Zhejiang's industrial transformation to the maturing stage, helping Zhejiang to pursue economic development of higher quality.”
It is such balanced economic development that enables Dentons Hangzhou to have "a relatively balanced overall business structure at present, with no over-reliance on any particular business segment." Xu says.
Hosting Internet companies such as Alibaba and NetEase, Hangzhou plays a critical role in China's digital economy. To ride this tailwind, Dentons Hangzhou has set up a dedicated Internet practice group which has “accumulated strong experience in the research and practice of online celebrity live streaming, Internet finance, data protection, dispute resolution and other areas.”
However, Xu admits that lawyers in Hangzhou actually face a "duality" in serving the Internet industry. On the one hand, "as legislation lags behind commercial development, the practicing capability of lawyers often lags behind industry development. While lawyers in Hangzhou are leaders in Internet and digital economy legal services, there is still a gap in meeting the needs of industrial giants.”
On the other hand, tightening regulation of the Internet industry in China over the past two years has brought about more compliance engagements to lawyers. "At present, it has become routine for lawyers to get involved in the comprehensive compliance governance of corporate operations."
If Dentons Hangzhou demonstrates how law firms support local economic development as a full-service outfit, Hangzhou’s local practice Sunshine Law Firm tells the story of constant self-innovation amid changes in the local economic landscape as a boutique firm.
Sunshine Law Firm specializes in energy and environmental matters. In the early 1990s, during negotiations between Zhejiang Electric Power Industry Bureau and National Grid (UK) for a foreign-invested power project, Chen Zhen founded the firm because the British side required the Chinese side to hire a lawyer.
Zhejiang Province, represented by Hangzhou, is one of the most economically developed regions in China, creating a high demand for energy. In addition, as economic development becomes increasingly environmentally conscious, new ideas are constantly being innovated and trialled locally. It is within this context that Sunshine is constantly expanding its business boundaries.
Lu Lizhong, director of Sunshine Law Firm, tells ALB that in 2005, "as the Kyoto Protocol officially came into effect, and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was introduced to China... Sunshine became the first law firm in the country to set foot in CDM projects, and re-defined its positioning in the process.”
Around 2012, the size of the CDM market shrank sharply, but "Sunshine tapped into the domestic legal service market for carbon trading, assisted clients with development of the first carbon assets custody business in China's steel and iron industry, and carried out research of green electricity certificate trading and energy use-rights trading.”
The third "transformation" has taken place more recently. "In September 2020, China put forward goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In the next year or two, various ministries and authorities are expected to introduce a succession of specific policies. This allows Sunshine to expand its business from energy and power generation to transportation, construction, aviation and other industries," says Lu.
Thanks to the "Belt and Road Initiative,” enterprises in Hangzhou and other cities in Zhejiang have made substantial investments overseas, including energy enterprises. Lu says that in the past two years, Sunshine has been paying special attention to assisting clients' overseas business as well as project compliance and investigation. "Chinese enterprises today are highly internationalized, so they must face up to the compliance requirements of multilateral financial institutions and major jurisdictions such as the US, Europe and the UK, and pay more attention to the quality of ‘going global,'" he points out.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES ABOUND
Jiangsu and Zhejiang are both home to a large number of lawyers. According to data of the lawyers' associations of the two cities, as of end 2020, there were 8,683 lawyers in Nanjing and about 10,700 lawyers in Hangzhou. Hangzhou also has 590 law firms, 12 of which have over 100 lawyers.
The lawyers interviewed were all upbeat about the future development of Nanjing's legal market. "Nanjing is the centre of economic development of Jiangsu Province, and Jiangsu is the second largest province in China economically. Jiangsu's legal service market is also booming," says Shen.
"In 2017, Nanjing formally joined the club of cities that generate over 1 trillion yuan of GDP, and has become one of the few strategically important markets for China's legal industry after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen."
- Wang Lei, Fadedongheng Law Firm
Wang concurs. "In 2017, Nanjing formally joined the club of cities that generate over 1 trillion yuan of GDP, and has become one of the few strategically important markets for China's legal industry after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen."
Observing the Nanjing market in this context, Wang points out that "traditional business still dominates Nanjing's market, but emerging fields, such as the Internet and foreign-related practices, are developing rapidly.”
In addition to business changes, the legal industry itself is greeted with many new opportunities. For example, Shen mentions with the establishment of the Third Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court and many special courts, "Hexi-Jianye Legal Service Industrial Park and Nanjing Jiangbei New District Legal Service Park came into operation, making Nanjing a strategically important location for law firms.”
Fadedongheng, as a leading local firm, is feeling the heat. "The influx of law firms into Nanjing has had a significant impact on local firms," Wang concedes. "On the one hand, high-end business inevitably tilts towards bigger firms. On the other hand, Nanjing lawyers now have the opportunity to compete directly with bigger firms and learn from each other's strengths."
"Zhejiang's legal market is leading the nation in terms of quality of supply, and therefore it has attracted top law firms to set up shop locally. As a whole, the competition landscape of the legal market in Zhejiang is relatively benign."
- Lu Lizhong, Sunshine Law Firm
In Hangzhou, the strong momentum of economic development provides ample upside for the legal market. As for the current landscape of Hangzhou's legal market, Lu of Sunshine Law Firm believes that "Zhejiang's legal market is leading the nation in terms of quality of supply, penetration and future development potential, and therefore it has attracted top law firms to set up shop locally. As a whole, the competition landscape of the legal market in Zhejiang is relatively benign, and there is no sign of market shares being grabbed by top law firms."
Xu of Dentons Hangzhou believes that lawyers in Hangzhou, based in such a "critical location,” must "think about the big picture.” Other than building presence in new "blue ocean" practices, law firms and lawyers should also “take the longer-term view... Zhejiang's underlying economy is undergoing drastic changes, so we should pay attention to providing long-term legal service solutions that can play an important role in social reform, enterprise innovation, transformation and upgrading, and value enhancement."
FUTURE OUTLOOK
When it comes to the future of Nanjing's legal market, Wang offers "competition" and "transformation" as the two dominant themes. On one hand, "as the number of lawyers in Nanjing will soon exceed 10,000, competition for business and talents will become the norm among large firms.”
On the other hand, with rapid development of digital economy and the continuous growth of the Internet business, "conventional legal services must also undergo digital transformation, and integration between law and technology will be the dominant trend.”
Speaking of adapting to the future, Dentons Nanjing has set itself two strategies: "specialization" and "talent development.” Shen shares with ALB that Dentons Nanjing currently has seven business departments and 19 practice groups. In addition, it regularly holds "Jinling Forum" and participates in "various lectures, training and competitions held by Dentons China.”
In Hangzhou, Lu is taking the future in his stride, but is not without a sense of urgency. "Our competition with other full-service firms is not particularly intense, which is an advantage... Of course, we also face the challenge of insufficient scale and incomplete practice fields."
Xu of Dentons Hangzhou urges local lawyers to take a "big picture" view of legal market development. "Zhejiang and Hangzhou are the most economically active and vibrant places in China, and the legal market in Zhejiang is big enough to accommodate multiple large-scale, high-quality law firms. I believe a large number of excellent law firms and outstanding young lawyers will emerge in the next few years," he says.
Shen of Dentons Nanjing shares the same sentiment. "In the future, openness and cooperation will still be the main theme of industry development." In addition to cooperation between firms, "I also hope that the relationship between law firms and new legal business formats will eventually transit from competition to cooperation, creating a more virtuous pan-legal service market."
Despite enormous market opportunities, law firms will inevitably encounter external risks and uncertainties going forward. "The only way of law firms to respond to these risks and uncertainties is to keep pushing for development and progress...New possibilities will only be created by continuous breakthroughs," advises Shen.