位于中国东部沿海的福建省历来以活跃的民营经济和外向型经济著称。这里的法律服务市场也曾占据领先位置，却在其后发展中光彩消逝。过去几年，先进制造业的快速发展为福建带来新的活力。当地律师也在不断自我革新，打造能够追赶上福建经济发展图景的现代服务业。
2022年，福建省GDP首次突破5万亿元人民币，来到全国第八的位置，直逼中部强省湖北，这一年，福建的经济增速也位列全国第一，达到4.7%。
中新网指出，近年来，“21世纪海上丝绸之路”核心区、自由贸易试验区、福厦泉国家自主创新示范区、福州新区等相继落地，让福建成为中国优惠政策落地最多、最集中的省份之一。
政策助力下，福建的快速发展得益于清晰的思路，即对先进制造业的集中打造。北京德恒（福州）律师事务所执行主任、高级合伙人陈家堂律师指出，持续推动支柱产业发展壮大和产业链提质增效，是福建近年来的产业政策。
“过去三年，福建四大支柱产业增长明显：电子信息产业规模跃升至全国第五位；先进装备制造产业营收突破一万亿，特别是动力电池出货量连续保持世界第一；石油化工产业产能显著提高；现代纺织服装产业已形成完整的产业链。”陈家堂律师说。
此外，被誉为“四大经济”的数字、海洋、绿色、文旅经济，也成为福建着力培育的对象。
产业的发展壮大给各行各业都带来机会，法律服务行业也不例外。陈家堂律师指出，福建投资增加、市场主体增多、贸易和服务增长，新兴产业出现和发展壮大，“给法律服务提供了新领域、新类型、新机会，同时也提出了新要求”。
但与此同时，福建法律服务行业的现状却显得有些“捉襟见拙”。
因为工作的缘故，陈家堂律师经常前往各地办案，“对此颇有感触”。他指出，从历年来发布的“中国司法文明指数”看，福建排名明显靠后，“与东部发达地区的身份不符，也与经济发展水平不相适应”。
他将福建法律服务市场存在的问题总结为几点：服务收费和行业总收入较低；法律服务辐射范围有限，为本地客户服务的区域化特征明显；传统业务竞争激烈，高端和新兴领域业务人才不足；民营企业活跃但缺乏现代化管理理念和法律意识等。
“这些都制约着福建法律服务市场的良性健康发展。作为律所和律师，要正确认识存在的问题和困难，认真分析市场和行业发展趋势，找准方向，把握机遇，以‘爱拼才会赢’的精神和法律人的智慧去闯出一片新天地。”陈家堂律师坦言。
确实，如陈律师所说，如果去看福建法律服务行业的发展历程，在经历过90年代对外开放时期的高峰后，整个产业相对陷入沉寂，但在过去十年又奋起直追，无论在特色业务领域还是发展策略上，都在以“本地智慧”和“爱拼才会赢”的精神，探寻一条适合自己的发展之路。
重塑辉煌
福建英合律师事务所的故事便和福建法律服务行业的发展脉络不谋而合。
1984年，英合所的前身、厦门对外经济律师事务所成立。当时，厦门经济特区刚设立不久，拥有先发优势的英合在整个福建都保持着行业翘楚地位。然而在1996年后因为体制问题无法及时从国办所改制为合伙制律所，加之厦门合伙制律所的迅猛发展，导致英合出现了大量人才流失，失去竞争优势，陷入了一段长达十年的沉寂期。
2011年，几位英合的年轻合伙人希望能带领律所做出改变，如今英合的主任陈咏晖律师便是其中之一。陈律师将接下来的十年描述为英合“再次白手起家”的阶段，“我们自主培养了一支年轻律师团队，其中许多人从离开校园便进入英合，一直做到高级合伙人，在业务领域、行业内部都受到了认可”。
陈咏晖律师告诉ALB，如今英合尤其在厦门地区，积累起了丰富的服务经验，以及深厚的口碑和社会认知度，伴随着厦门本地客户业务的不断外延，英合律师的服务半径也在扩展，参与了不少外省的投资类项目。
另一家设立于厦门的律所——福建信实律师事务所也有着类似的发展历程，这尤其反映在信实最具特色的涉外法律服务领域。
郭明昆律师是信实的高级合伙人、涉外业务领头人。他对ALB回顾道，八九十年代，借助福建外向型经济的优势，厦门在海运、外商投资等领域的涉外法律服务在全国都比较领先，信实也在彼时布局了涉外业务，尤其在海商海事领域拥有较强实力。
然而，伴随90年代全国逐渐开放，厦门失去了曾经的优势，信实及其他福建律所的涉外服务份额也越来越多被北京、上海律师所分割。但在2010年后，伴随涉外业务在福建的重新兴起，“信实又一次较早展开了布局”，郭律师说。
先是在2016年，信实开设上海办公室，并和霍金路伟国际律师事务所展开联营，为乐高、暴雪娱乐等高端外资客户提供服务，在更广阔的市场中为信实的涉外业务打出名气。2019年，信实又在厦门自贸区开设了福建信实·台湾广和联营办公室，“目前有11位台籍律师在联营所工作，主要服务于台商，也期待依靠联营所品牌吸引更多台商来到自贸区”。
福建法律服务市场在重塑辉煌的过程中，也迎来诸多全国性律所品牌的进驻，德恒便是其中之一。陈家堂律师告诉ALB，2012年初，德恒福州成立，当时便是“德恒面向海峡两岸法律服务市场设立的分所”。
正是借助福建法律市场在过去十年的“迎头赶上”，以及自身打造高端法律服务综合型律所的战略定位，如今，德恒福州已经成为一家“管理有序、信誉良好，具有一定影响力和知名度的律所，并在诉讼与仲裁、工程建设与房地产、政府与公司事务、企业拯救与破产、资本与证券、刑事与合规等领域建立起了服务优势”，陈律师说。
树立优势业务领域
经济是法律服务的基础，尤其在福建这样具有颇多区域特色的市场，因循经济需求打造法律业务板块，也成为当地律所快速发展的“秘诀”之一。
谈到英合的特色业务领域，陈咏晖律师着重介绍了三块。一是政府类法律服务，“厦门市、区两级政府，以及资源规划、建设、市场监管等重要的政府职能部门都是英合的客户，这是我们的业务强项”；二是房地产与建设工程类业务，“谈到房地产，大家就会提到‘北上广深厦’，厦门成熟的房地产产业决定了相关法律服务的重要性”。
三是针对高技术领域企业的服务。“厦门在发展战略上强调‘两高两化’（高素质，高颜值，现代化，国际化），在招商引资上着重吸引技术类企业。我们目前主要提供纠纷领域服务，同时也在开发投资、交易结构创新设计、知识产权、企业合规等方面的服务能力。”陈律师说。
在信实，高级合伙人黄煌律师介绍道，过去几年信实除了重点关注传统的并购重组、破产重整、高端商事争议解决、不良资产与执行、税务、乡村振兴法律服务领域外，由于“福建经济发展趋势与国家的产业政策相吻合，信实也特别观察到知识产权、企业合规、数字经济、一带一路等领域的日趋活跃”。
黄律师具体介绍道，例如在数字经济板块，过去几年福建见证了区块链、元宇宙等新兴产业的发展，信实因此专门成立了数字经济团队，除了相关企业，还服务于各地区的大数据发展管理局。
郭明昆律师补充道，借助于美图、美柚等明星企业，厦门的计算机软件行业曾十分受关注。“厦门的十四五规划中，软件和信息服务依旧是一条千亿产业链。”他说。在此领域，律师也遇到一些新的服务需求，例如“游戏出海、境外数据合规等，近期我们就在帮客户在马来西亚设立数据库”。
数字经济外，黄煌律师说，福建的新能源领域企业近年也是律师重点服务的对象，例如科华恒盛、紫金矿业、宁德时代，都有着不少法律需求。
持续打造涉外服务标签
与福建外向型经济相契合的涉外法律服务也是当地律师重点开拓的领域。
德恒的陈家堂律师介绍道：“福建是全国第二大侨乡，还是最早实施对外开放的省份之一，是外向型经济聚集地，涉外法律服务大有可为。”
“福建近年来建立了由156 名律师组成的省涉外律师人才库，不断优化高层次法律人才培养引进体系……律师在服务外商来闽投资、企业出境投融资、海商海事纠纷、国际贸易纠纷和涉侨权益维护等方面发挥了重要作用。”陈律师说道。
信实的郭明昆律师告诉ALB，近年在律所的着力打造下，信实的涉外业务也在几方面做出了更大特色。除了传统的国际贸易、海商海事、外商服务领域，信实尤其观察到中企海外投资“走出去”类型业务的发展。
郭律师介绍道，信实一方面服务于中企海外业务的合规需求，例如在2019年就为赴非洲投资的央企进行过集中培训；另一方面则服务于国企的海外投资项目。
“厦门的城市经济结构里，国企占比非常大，例如建发集团、国贸控股、象屿集团等都是世界500强企业，这几年有不少海外设立子公司、海外设厂等项目。”郭律师说。东南亚、印度是近年厦门国企的热门投资目的地，不过由于厦门外向型企业许多从事的是国际贸易生意，业务范围很广，“我们也给客户提供针对拉美、欧洲等国的服务”。
在欣欣向荣之下，福建本地律师对涉外服务也有着更高期待。陈家堂律师就对ALB坦言：“福建律师涉外法律服务现状与福建作为‘21世纪海上丝绸之路’核心区的地位不相匹配。一方面，涉外业务的类型和数量无法与北上广深相比；另一方面，涉外法律专业人才明显不足。这两个因素互相影响，导致专门从事涉外业务的团队和律师缺乏，高端涉外法律服务本地律师获客率不高。”
“要改变这种状况，既需要强化智力支撑，加快培养涉外法律人才，也需要完善涉外法律服务的扶持保障政策。”他建议道。
选择适合自己的策略
经过过去十余年的发展积淀，如今，福建律所正在积极思考未来的市场定位与发展策略。它们并不急于跟随别人的脚步，而希望寻找一条适合自己的路。
英合的陈咏晖律师告诉ALB，“现在英合再次进入到战略定位和转型过程。我们也在思考规模化、专业化的问题，包括律所在行业、地区内的定位，以及什么样的存在状态最适合英合”。
在此过程中，英合不崇尚“机构至上”，而更多从“人”的角度出发。陈律师解释道，英合的年轻合伙人集中于30-40岁的年龄段，他们既是律所的中坚力量，在个人生活阶段也承担着前所未有的压力。“如果急于扩张，产生的成本可能给年轻人带来更大压力，因此我们暂缓了一些比较激进的做法。”陈律师坦言。
当然，规模化是律所发展难以避免的规律，但陈律师认为这并不简单等同于分所数量的铺陈。利用律所年轻人较多、管理扁平且员工参与度高的特点，英合希望先关注于将自身打造为厦门本土的实力强所。
今年，英合也会特别鼓励律师打造专业标签，“我们要求年轻律师做自我职业设计，包括组建业务团队，把优势专业领域做出来。他们可以申报获得律所在经济等方面的支持，并回馈以一定的成果，比如参加几次行业论坛、发表多少篇专业文章、开拓多少客户等”，陈律师说。
信实则选择了一条有所不同，但同样适合自己的发展之路。
如今，在厦门之外，信实拥有14家分支机构。黄煌律师介绍道：“我们把福建的城市分为两类：一是福州、泉州、厦门，GDP在全省相对较高，所以这些地区的分所的增速也很快；二是其他三四线城市，例如莆田、龙岩、三明，当地的法律服务需求量都在提高。三四线城市分所的特点是以诉讼业务为主，但我们在有意识地在三四线城市的分所开展非诉业务，信实厦门总部给予专业和经验支持，例如莆田分所、龙岩分所，借助几个破产重整项目，增速就比较快。”
黄律师告诉ALB，信实全省布局的战略早在外地大所普遍进驻福建前就展开了，就此形成的协同效应和资源优势“是大所难以超越的……特别在不良资产、金融两个领域，不良资产的客户资产往往遍及全省；金融，尤其银行客户的业务也辐射到福建各个地区。广泛的分支机构能够提供时效性和服务质量层面的保障”。
福建之外，信实也在思考如何将上海分所的成功经验复制到其他重点城市，展开“走向全国”的战略。“在上海和霍金路伟的合作提升了信实的知名度，但坦白讲，在省外，我们的品牌效应依旧不高，这是很大的挑战。”黄律师坦言，“我们在思考是否能以差异化内容在外省实现落地。”
在德恒福州，陈家堂律师则对未来福建法律市场的发展趋势有着深度观察，并且认为需要在把握这些趋势的基础上为律所设计下一步的道路。“法律服务市场扩大的同时，律所数量、规模以及执业律师人数的增长更快，法律服务机会和挑战并存，行业竞争加剧。未来律所之间的较量，关键在核心能力。适度规模化、业务专门化、服务高端化和品牌优质化是律所发展的方向。”他说。
因此，陈律师告诉ALB，德恒福州未来会适度扩大规模，并坚持“内涵式发展”——即走团队化、专业化、品牌化之路。“一是全力做好现有业务，站稳传统领域高地；二是努力开拓新兴业务，开辟新领域前沿阵地；三是在深耕本土市场的同时，加强与德恒兄弟分所的合作，加强与大湾区、长三角区域律所的联系互动，优势互补，共同发展。”他说。
值得关注的业务领域
谈到下一阶段福建法律市场值得关注的业务板块，陈家堂律师指出：“法律服务必须紧跟经济社会发展。下一步，福建将深入实施制造业竞争力提升行动，编制重点产业链和产业布局图谱，推进福州光电、宁德高端储能、南平氟新材料、三明生物医药、泉州智能制造装备等新兴产业集群建设。”
此外，福建也会“持续推进新一代信息技术、新材料、新能源、高端装备、生物与新医药等新兴产业发展提速；推进发展海上风电、海工装备、深海养殖、海洋生物医药等海洋高新产业；加快在人工智能、先进通信网络、氢能装备制造等前沿领域布局”，“数字福建”“电动福建”“清新福建”和“海丝中央法务区”的建设也值得关注。
在此背景下，陈律师认为，“固定资产投资、新能源、知识产权和大数据、生态环境、企业合规、企业破产与拯救以及涉外法律服务等领域，是福建法律服务市场未来的重头戏，律所要加大投入，引进、培养和储备人才，及时推出法律服务新产品，开辟新的业务和效益增长点”。
英合的陈咏晖律师也指出海丝中央法务区对涉外法律服务的推动，以及厦门正在引进的工业地产，包括宁德时代的落户，都是律师关注的业务机会，不过厦门律师需要增强自身竞争力，才能真正受惠于明星企业的落地项目。
在信实，黄煌律师指出律所今年依旧会“主推和国家战略相吻合的领域，例如数字经济、为新能源企业提供服务等，此外预期今年将实施金税四期，我们也会在财税领域发力。关注重点行业、领域法律服务的专业提升，打造更多的拳头产品，提高业务专业在法律供应商中的专业竞争力和品牌影响力”，黄律师总结道。
而在涉外领域，伴随业务逐渐恢复正常，郭明昆律师预期许多积压中的涉外诉讼将正常开展、国际贸易业务会继续加强，中国企业海外投资的意愿也会增强。“信实不久前在海丝中央法务区开设了一家新分所，未来我们希望将多项涉外服务综合起来，为客户提供升级服务。”他说。
FUJIAN REPORT: PLAYING CATCH-UP
On China’s eastern seaboard, Fujian Province has long been known for its active private and export-oriented economy. It was once home to one of China’s leading legal markets, but since then, the sector has lost some of its sheen. With the past few years bringing rapid economic developments to Fujian, particularly due to its advanced manufacturing industry, local lawyers are working hard to keep up with the province’s economic development and ensure that its legal industry regains its old glory.
In 2022, Fujian’s GDP exceeded the threshold of five trillion yuan ($728 million) for the first time, the eighth highest in the country and edging very close to powerhouse Hubei in central China. In the same year, Fujian’s economic growth rate reached 4.7 percent, ranking first across China.
According to Chinanews.com, Fujian has been enjoying the most preferential policies in China in recent years, including initiatives such as the Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Quanzhou National Innovation Demonstration Zone and the Fuzhou New Area. Boosted by policies, Fujian’s rapid development has benefited from a clear strategy to focus on advanced manufacturing.
Chen Jiatang, executive director and senior partner of DeHeng (Fuzhou) Law Offices, points out that Fujian’s industrial policies in recent years are to continue promoting the development and growth of pillar industries and improving the quality and efficiency of industrial chains. "In the past three years, Fujian’s four pillar industries have grown significantly: the electronic information industry has jumped to be the fifth largest in the country; the advanced equipment manufacturing industry has exceeded one trillion yuan in revenue, with shipment of power batteries continuing to clinch the top spot globally; the petrochemical industry has seen a significant increase in production capacity; and, the modern textile and garment industry has formed a complete industrial chain," says Chen.
In addition, the digital, maritime, green, and cultural and tourism economies, collectively known as the "big four economies,” have also become top priorities for Fujian.
As Chen puts it, more investment in Fujian, the increase in market players, the growth of trade and services, and the emergence and development of new industries have all "created new fields, new types and new opportunities of legal services, but also raised new requirements.”
At the same time, however, Fujian’s legal services industry seems to be caught short.
Chen often travels to different cities for work, and "has experienced this firsthand.” He says that Fujian’s ranking on the China Justice Index released over the years has been on the lower side, which "matches neither its status as a developed eastern province nor its level of economic development.”
He summarises the problems in Fujian’s legal services market as follows: relatively low fees and total industry revenue; limited coverage of legal services, mainly serving local clients; fierce competition for traditional practice areas and insufficient talents for high-end fields; private enterprises are very active but lacking modern management philosophies and legal awareness, etc.
"All of these are hindering the sound and healthy development of Fujian’s legal services market. Law firms and lawyers must understand the problems, find the right directions, seize opportunities, and breach new grounds with a can-do attitude and the wisdom of legal professionals," shares Chen.
Indeed, as Chen has described, if one looks at the growth history of Fujian’s legal services industry, after peaking during the opening-up in the 1990s, the entire industry has fallen into relative stagnation. In the past decade, however, the industry has made great efforts to catch up, and is exploring a suitable growth path in both distinct practice areas and the development strategy with "local wisdom" and the can-do spirit.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
In some way, the growth of Xiamen-headquartered Yinghe Law Firm is reflective of the evolution of Fujian’s legal services industry.
Xiamen Foreign Economic Law Firm, Yinghe’s predecessor, was established in 1984. At that time, the Xiamen Special Economic Zone was just launched, and Yinghe, as a first mover, was an industry leader across Fujian. Fast forward to 2000; however, with the rapid development of partnership law firms, Yinghe lost its competitive edges due to a brain drain, and fell into ten years of obscurity.
In 2011, several young partners of Yinghe hoped to lead the firm out of the doldrums. Chen Yonghui, Yinghe’s current director, is one of them. He describes the next decade as "starting from scratch again.” "We trained a team of young lawyers on our own. Many of them joined Yinghe immediately after graduation. They are now senior partners well recognised in their practice areas and the industry."
Chen Yonghui tells ALB that Yinghe has gained rich service experience, a solid client base and public recognition in Xiamen, and with local Xiamen clients continuing to expand their business, the service coverage of Yinghe is also expanding, and many lawyers have been involved in investment projects in other provinces.
Another Xiamen-based firm, Fidelity Law Firm, has gone through a similar journey, which is greatly reflected in the history of its cross-border legal services.
Johnny Guo is a senior partner and leader of the firm’s cross-border practice. He recalls that in the 1980s and 1990s, riding Fujian’s export-oriented economy, Xiamen’s cross-border legal services in maritime and foreign investment fields were leading the country. At that time, Fidelity also ventured into cross-border services and was especially strong in maritime and shipping law.
However, Xiamen lost its advantages as the whole country gradually opened up in the 1990s. Fidelity and other Fujian firms saw more and more of their cross-border services being taken away by lawyers from Beijing and Shanghai. After 2010, however, with the re-emergence of cross-border services in Fujian, "we once again ventured into this field early," shares Guo.
In 2016, Fidelity opened its Shanghai office and entered a joint venture with Hogan Lovells, serving high-end foreign clients such as Lego and Blizzard Entertainment and building a name for its cross-border practice in a broader market. In 2019, Fidelity opened the Fidelity-Guanghe joint venture office in the Xiamen Free Trade Zone. "At present, we have 11 Taiwanese lawyers working in the joint venture office, mainly serving Taiwanese businesses. We also look forward to leveraging the joint venture brand to attract more Taiwanese businesses to the free trade zone," shares Guo.
In rebuilding its splendour, Fujian’s legal services market has also attracted many national brands. DeHeng is one of them. Chen Jiatang tells ALB that when the DeHeng Fuzhou office was established at the beginning of 2012 and was positioned as "DeHeng’s office for the cross-strait legal services market.”
Thanks to Fujian’s legal services market playing catch-up in the past decade and the firm’s strategic positioning of building a high-end, full-service firm, DeHeng Fuzhou is now an "influential and well-known firm with sound management and good reputation, and is strong in litigation and arbitration, engineering construction and real estate, government and corporate affairs, corporate rescue and bankruptcy, capital and securities law, criminal law and compliance,” said Chen Jiatang.
A COMPETITIVE EDGE
Economic forces usually dictate the demand for legal services in any place. Especially in a market like Fujian, with many regional characteristics, building a legal services industry based on economic needs has also been one of the secrets for the rapid development of firms there.
At Yinghe, Chen Yonghui highlights three of the firm’s strong areas. One is government-related legal services. "The municipal and district governments of Xiamen, as well as important government functional departments, are all Yinghe’s clients. This is where our strength lies." Another is real estate construction and engineering. "When it comes to real estate, everyone will mention 'Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen'. So, Xiamen’s mature real estate industry dictates the importance of relevant legal services."
The third relates to services for high-tech enterprises. "Xiamen emphasises on developing into a beautiful, modern and global city with high-quality growth nowadays and focuses on attracting technology companies for local investment. At present, we mainly provide dispute services to these new entries, but are also growing our capacity for investment, intellectual property, corporate compliance, etc."
Fidelity’s senior partner Huang Huang shares that in the past few years, apart from focusing on traditional practice areas such as merger and acquisition, bankruptcy reorganisation, commercial dispute resolution, non-performing assets and enforcement, taxation, and rural revitalisation, “the firm has observed increased activities in areas such as intellectual property, corporate compliance, digital economy, and the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’-related legal services.”
In particular, Huang mentions that in the digital economy sector, Fujian has witnessed the development of emerging industries such as blockchain and metaverse in the past few years. Fidelity has accordingly set up a digital economy team, serving not only relevant companies but also big data development bureaus in various regions.
Guo adds that thanks to star companies such as Meitu and Meiyou, Xiamen’s computer software industry has attracted much attention. "In Xiamen’s 14th Five-Year Plan, software and information services still represent a 100 billion yuan industry chain." In this field, lawyers have also seen new service needs, such as "export of games overseas, overseas data compliance, etc. For example, we are currently helping clients set up databases in Malaysia.”
In addition to digital economy, Huang says that new energy enterprises in Fujian have also been the focus of legal services in recent years. Companies such as Kehua Hengsheng, Zijin Mining and CATL all have a lot of legal needs for lawyers to explore.
CROSS-BORDER CAPACITY
In line with Fujian’s export-oriented economy, cross-border legal services are also key areas eyed by local lawyers.
DeHeng’s Chen says: "Fujian is the second largest hometown in China to overseas Chinese and one of the first provinces to open to the outside world. It is a magnet of export-oriented economic sectors. There is great potential for cross-border legal services."
"In recent years, Fujian has set up a provincial talent pool comprising 156 expert cross-border lawyers, and has been continuously optimising training and attraction of high-end legal talents... Lawyers have been playing a key role in foreign investment into Fujian, outbound investment and financing by enterprises, maritime and shipping disputes, international trade disputes and protection of the rights and interests of overseas Chinese," says Chen.
Guo of Fidelity shares that through hard work, Fidelity has also made greater strides in cross-border business in several aspects. In addition to traditional areas of international trade, maritime and shipping, and foreign investment, the firm has noticed, in particular, the growth of services for outbound investment by Chinese enterprises.
Guo says that on the one hand, Fidelity serves the compliance needs of Chinese enterprises for their overseas operations. One example is the intensive training it conducted in 2019 for central enterprises that were to invest in Africa. On the other hand, the firm also serves the overseas investment projects of State-owned enterprises, or SOEs.
"SOEs account for a very large share of Xiamen’s economy. Xiamen C&D Group, Xiamen LTG Holding Group, and XMXYG Corp are all Fortune 500 companies, and have many projects for establishing subsidiaries and factories overseas in the past few years," says Guo. Southeast Asia and India have been popular investment destinations for Xiamen SOEs in recent years. However, as many export-oriented enterprises in Xiamen are engaged in international trade business, their business scope is very broad, and "we also provide clients with services targeting countries in Latin America and Europe.”
With a booming scene, lawyers in Fujian still have higher expectations for cross-border services. Chen Jiatang admits: "The cross-border legal services of Fujian lawyers still need to get to higher positions. For one, the type and volume of cross-border business is no match for Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. There is also clearly a shortage of legal professionals for cross-border services. These two factors interacting with each other has resulted in a lack of teams and lawyers specialising in cross-border services and a low success rate of local lawyers winning high-profile business."
"To change this, we not only need to step up support by accelerating the training of cross-border legal talents but also improve support policies to nurture a stronger cross-border legal services market," Chen suggests.
SUITABLE STRATEGIES
After more than a decade of growth and exploration, firms in Fujian are now actively thinking about their market positioning and development strategies for the future. Instead of blindly following others’ footsteps, they are keen to forge a path that suits their circumstances.
Chen Yonghui of Yinghe shares with ALB that "now Yinghe has again entered the phase of strategic positioning and transformation. We are thinking about matters such as upscaling and specialisation, including our positioning in the industry and Fujian and what suits Yinghe the best."
In this process, Yinghe will not always "put the organisation first" but will take a "people-oriented" approach. According to Chen, Yinghe's young partners are mostly between 30 and 40. They are the backbone of the firm, but are also facing unprecedented pressure in their personal lives. "If we rush to expand, the costs incurred may create more pressure on young people. That’s why we have refrained from taking some more radical approaches."
Although upscaling seems unavoidable in a firm's development, Yinghe’s Chen does not believe upscaling is simply about adding new offices. Taping a relatively young workforce with a flat management structure and high employee engagement, Yinghe wants to first focus on building itself into a powerhouse in Xiamen.
This year, the firm will also specifically encourage its lawyers to build their professional reputations. "We ask our young lawyers to do self-career design, including building a practice team and creating their professional advantages. In exchange for financial support from the firm, lawyers should demonstrate how many industry forums they will participate in, how many articles they will publish, and how many new clients they will develop, etc.,” says Chen.
Fidelity has chosen a different path that suits its profile.
Today, the firm has 14 offices outside of Xiamen. According to Huang: "We divide cities in Fujian into two categories: one category includes Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen with relatively high GDP, where the growth of our offices is also very fast; the other is other third- and fourth-tier cities, such as Putian and Longyan, where both the demand for and the quality of legal services are increasing. Offices in the second category mainly engage in litigation practice, but we are consciously bringing non-litigation business to them. For example, our Putian office is growing fast thanks to several bankruptcy and reorganisation projects."
Huang tells ALB that Fidelity embarked on its province-wide growth journey long before the influx of large non-local firms into Fujian, and the synergy and resource advantages the firm has gained from this growth strategy "are difficult for those large firms to surpass, especially in non-performing assets and finance fields. This is because clients in the non-performing assets field often have assets all over the province, while the business of financial clients, especially banking clients, also extends across Fujian. Having a wide network of offices guarantees the timeliness and quality of services.”
Beyond Fujian, Fidelity is also thinking about replicating the success of its Shanghai office in other key cities to launch its "go national" strategy. "The cooperation with Hogan Lovells in Shanghai has enhanced Fidelity’s brand awareness. Frankly speaking, however, recognition of our brand is still muted outside Fujian, which is a big challenge for us," says Huang. "We are thinking whether we can leverage differentiated practices to make more impact outside Fujian."
With deep insight into the future development trends of Fujian’s legal market, Chen Jiatang of DeHeng Fuzhou believes that the next growth stage for the firm needs to be designed on the basis of understanding those trends. "With the legal services market expanding, the number and size of firms and the number of practicing lawyers are growing faster, bringing both opportunities and challenges, and causing intensifying competition in the industry. The key to competition between firms in the future will lie in a firm’s core capabilities. Having an appropriate size, specialised practice areas, high-end services and a reputable brand should be the direction of a firm’s development."
Therefore, DeHeng Fuzhou will moderately expand its scale in the future and continue to pursue "meaningful development" — that is, emphasising teamwork, specialisation and branding. "While further entrenching ourselves on the local market, we will step up cooperation with other DeHeng offices and have more interactions with firms in the Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta region to complement each other’s advantages and grow together," says Chen.
AREAS TO WATCH
When it comes to practice areas to watch in Fujian’s legal services market in the next stage, Chen Jiatang points out: "Legal services must keep up with economic and social development. Going forward, Fujian will focus on sharpening the competitiveness of its manufacturing industry, creating key industrial chains and layouts, and driving forward the construction of emerging industry clusters such as optoelectronics in Fuzhou, high-end energy storage business in Ningde, fluorine new materials in Nanping, biomedicine in Sanming, and smart manufacturing equipment in Quanzhou."
Against this backdrop, Chen believes that “fixed asset investment, new energy, intellectual property and big data, ecology and environment, corporate compliance, corporate bankruptcy and rescue, and cross-border legal services are future priorities of Fujian’s legal services market. Firms must increase investment, attract and train talent, build talent pools, promptly launch new legal services products, and create new business and profit growth points.”
Yinghe’s Chen Yonghe points out that the industrial real estate industry that Xiamen is attracting, including having CATL headquartered in Ningde, represents business opportunities that lawyers should watch out for. However, lawyers in Xiamen must enhance their competitiveness to benefit from the projects of heavyweight enterprises truly.
Huang of Fidelity shares that this year the firm will continue to "mainly focus on areas that are in line with national strategies, such as digital economy, serving new energy companies, etc. In addition, as the fourth phase of the Golden Tax project is expected to go live this year, we will also prioritise finance and taxation practice. Our strategy is to focus on sharpening our professional competency of legal services in key industries and fields, create more star products, and raise our professional competitiveness and brand influence among legal service providers.”
As to cross-border legal services, with business gradually returning to normal, Guo expects that many cross-border lawsuits in the backlog will be able to be conducted normally, international trade business will continue to grow, and Chinese companies will be more willing to invest overseas. "Going forward, we hope to integrate multiple cross-border services to provide clients with upgraded services," says Guo.
