经过40余年发展，中国的法律服务市场日益壮大，区域性法律市场也发生着巨大变化，不断向前发展。在这份全新榜单中，ALB聚焦区域市场的杰出律所，评选出了环渤海地区，即天津市、河北省、辽宁省、山东省的顶尖律所。.
时间进入2022年1月，ALB颁布了本年度首个区域法律市场排名，这一次，我们将目光投向了中国的第三大经济区：环渤海地区。共有十家本地与非本地律所登上了这一榜单。
与此前的两个区域性榜单（分别是华南、长三角榜单）类似，此次ALB所观察的环渤海地区，既是个地理概念，也蕴含有经济意味。从地理上看，“环渤海地区是指环绕着渤海全部及黄海的部分沿岸地区所组成的广大经济区域”；从经济上看，环渤海地区囊括“京津冀鲁辽”，是中国北部的重要发展引擎，国家在2006年曾提出“环渤海经济圈”概念。2020年，这一地区GDP约14.8万亿元，占全国总量的14.6%；人口约2.3亿，占全国总量的16.4%。
由于北京及其法律市场具备特殊性，此次ALB环渤海地区榜单仅聚焦于“一市三省”。最终上榜的十家律所中，有3家来自天津、辽宁、山东的本地律所，以及7家非本地律所。有趣的是，在后者中，不但包括5家总部位于北京的律所，还有两家总部位于上海、成都，这也从侧面凸显了环渤海地区在中国大型律所全国布局中的重要性。
此次ALB的评选，同样从“软硬实力”两个侧面展开。一方面，我们考察了律所在地域布局、设立时间、人员规模、营收情况、客户构成、业务质量等方面的基本情况；另一方面，我们也邀请律所分享了他们在该地区的市场策略与未来战略方向。上述信息为我们描绘出了上榜律所在环渤海地区过去、现在，甚至未来时的发展路径。
布局策略
在展开此次榜单调研的过程中我们发现，和长三角及粤港澳大湾区相较，环渤海的一体化特性较弱。环渤海“一市三省”的经济各具特色，发展速度不均衡，区域经济协调性较弱。这也决定了律所在该区域采取的发展策略不尽相同。
按经济体量，环渤海地区排名第一的是山东省，其GDP占该地区近一半。山东经济以制造业为特色，近年正经历“新旧动能转换”；排名第二的为河北省，2017年，为纾解北京部分城市功能，提振河北发展，国务院提出了建设雄安新区国家战略，促进了河北产业转型发展。
排名第三的是辽宁省，作为中国重工业的摇篮，辽宁在中国经济发展中曾占有重要地位，近年则肩负着全面振兴东北老工业基地的重任，省会沈阳也被评为中国15个新一线城市之一；最后是天津市，它是中国四个直辖市之一，虽然经济体量不大，但拥有较雄厚的科教实力，以及交通、医药等特色产业。
纵观本次上榜律所，他们在本区域内的布局地点、发展规模、业务领域等，正反映了上述情况。
三家本地律所，即天津四方君汇律师事务所、山东德衡律师事务所、辽宁同方律师事务所，选择深度聚焦本地市场。其中辽宁同方在沈阳、大连、鞍山三大核心城市设有办公室；山东德衡在总部青岛以8家办公室实现城市“全覆盖”，山东其他城市分所数量也达14家；天津四方君汇的人员规模则超过200人，以十大业务部，为天津市场提供综合、专业的服务。
本次上榜的非本地律所则多为关注规模化发展的大所，在他们的全国性布局计划中，环渤海是不容忽视的重要区域。其中已实现“一市三省”全覆盖的有4家：大成、隆安、炜衡、国浩；总部并非设立于北方的锦天城、泰和泰都选择在经济意义更为凸显的天津、山东布局；中伦则根据自身特点布点青岛。
谈及在环渤海地区布点的策略，炜衡律师事务所管委会主席张小炜律师提出了“政策引领”和“区域要素”两点思考。在政策层面，由于“国家提出了环渤海、京津冀地区协同发展的规划，以及伴随着雄安新区的发展、建设”，环渤海成为了“大型、规模化律所必然要设立分所”的地区。
张律师指出，炜衡选择布点的几座环渤海城市“名头”都不小，例如天津是中国北方最大的港口城市、全国先进制造研发基地、北方国际航运核心区、国际性综合交通枢纽；石家庄是国家物流枢纽；烟台则是国家十四个沿海开放城市之一。
在区域要素层面，如上所述，环渤海地区一市三省经济各具特色，而在法律服务层面，张律师坦言，则“市场基础较落后，地方律所仍以传统法律业务为主”，这也给全国性大型律所满足当地客户高端法律服务迫切需求提供了机会。
总部设立于上海的锦天城律师事务所目前在环渤海拥有三家办公室，布局时间集中在2014和2015两年。锦天城高级合伙人朱林海律师参与了上述办公室的设立，他对ALB回忆道：“那段时间我们很看好这个区域……当时锦天城基本完成了在长三角，尤其是江苏、浙江的布点，也设立了北京、深圳办公室，当时觉得应该把视线往北边看：山东肯定是比较重要的市场，另外也觉得应该考虑在直辖市天津布点。”
国浩天津办公室主任梁爽律师以自身的例子，讲述了“政策”和“市场”两点因素在律所布点中的重要性。她告诉ALB，国浩天津的前身律所成立于1994年，在2006年成为了天津法律服务市场第一个加入全国品牌性大所的本地所。当时，除了直辖市身份，国家对天津还有港口贸易、金融贸易中心，以及环渤海地区经济中心几重定位，有很强的战略重要性。
此外，天津还拥有强劲的实体经济基础，“机械装备、电子工业、化学工业、冶金工业是天津的四大支柱产业”，她说，“这些产业给法律服务市场提供了很好的经济载体”。
朱林海律师很赞同这一看法，他指出，律所布点“肯定跟着市场走，但也有一个相辅相成的过程”，例如锦天城基于国家政策和产业基础布局了天津、青岛、济南三家办公室，“布完后发现，这个区域已经可以产生联动、实现市场协同”。实际上，过去几年，这三家办公室的增长速度在锦天城全部分支机构中位于前列，“为锦天城品牌的发展，在区域和专业层面都做出了贡献，我们认为这一布局是比较成功的”。
核心业务领域
虽然环渤海地区内各省市经济各具特点，但受到相近的资源、文化条件影响，该地区经济又存在某种一致性，这导致律所在该区域的重点业务领域集中度较高。
首先，环渤海地区是中国最大的工业密集区，是中国的重工业和化学工业基地，并以天津为代表，集中了相对的科技实力。扎实的实体经济伴随着传统法律板块的深厚发展，绝大多数上榜律所都以证券与资本市场、并购与投融资、银行金融、建设工程与房地产、知识产权业务、诉讼及争议解决等，为环渤海地区办公室的重点业务领域。
近年，伴随传统经济转型压力增长，“新旧动能转换”步伐加快，相关的破产清算、并购业务、企业改制重组法律服务开始在环渤海发展壮大。
其次，在地理区位上，环渤海地区拥有40多个港口，构成中国最为密集的港口群，还是中国交通网最密集的区域之一。另外，它位于东北亚经济圈的中心地带，连通日韩、蒙古和俄罗斯，涉外经济活跃。这使得海商海事、国际贸易、跨境投融资等，成为该区域律所不可忽视的业务板块。
最后，根据南开大学环渤海经济课题组的研究，和中国其他经济区相比，环渤海地区在经营环境方面，“行政干预力量比较强”；在企业结构层面，“大型企业比重偏高，中小企业相对较少，国有企业比重高于全国平均水平”。这使得国有企业及政府法律服务等，成为了该地区颇具特色的业务板块。
地域特点决定了律所在环渤海的重点业务领域，但也造就了传统法律服务在当地市场占比较大的问题。张小炜律师坦言，虽然“环渤海地区律所、律师数量不断增加，但诉讼业务占比仍然较高。伴随该地区客户法律需求越来越向高、精、专方面提升，急需具备商务和法律专业知识的复合型律师，这是制约法律高端服务发展的瓶颈”。
谈及市场现状，梁爽律师指出应从业务量、业务收入两个角度思考这个问题。“在业务量层面，传统法律服务毕竟还有很大的市场需求。以天津为例，城市本身的经济支柱是国有企业，拥有31家市管委管企业。对于天津法律服务市场而言，目前的需求虽大部分还是日常法律咨询、纠纷处理等——天津法律服务市场2020年整体创收二十几个亿，前述这类法律服务要占一大半；但同时也感受到非诉业务正在逐年上升，这就包括对PPP、ABS、发债、上市、投融资并购等的法律服务需求。”
考虑到“根据十四五规划方向，天津将发展更多新兴产业，必定会带动新兴法律服务市场发展，未来新业务增长是天津经济发展的客观需要”，她说。
此外，如果从创收角度看，虽然传统服务数量占比大，但高端业务创收高，以国浩天津为例，其“诉讼和非诉法律服务比例在逐年变化。2021年我们一共承接了3000件左右案件，非诉项目第一年反超了诉讼项目，占比51%”。
在朱林海律师看来，在“专业化”当道的今天，律所在环渤海地区的优势业务领域，实际上是律所传统优势和当地产业特点不断互动的结果。他讲了锦天城几家办公室的故事。例如锦天城天津，“业务开端期其实面临有点困惑的局面。传统上天津的大型、高端业务很大一部分被北京所占据，天津律师对于如何定位自己存在疑惑”。
但发展到今天，“天津所的定位已经很明确：借力高端制造业等新兴产业的迅猛发展，同时依托锦天城此前服务长三角先进制造业的经验”；此外，和北京相比，天津较低的收费、人力成本等也能形成错位竞争，反而成了优势。
此外，青岛依靠高度开放发展并购、跨境投资业务；济南在国企改革不断深化的背景下发展国企并购、混改、破产重整等业务，也都成了锦天城在当地越来越明确的方向。“进到这个市场，就要对市场变化非常敏感，布局方向调整非常灵活……这是我们和市场不断交互的结果”，朱律师说。
梁爽律师则指出，实际上大型律所的“入局”，也重塑着环渤海当地市场的样貌。“天津办加入到国浩，对整个天津法律服务市场起到了非常积极的作用。”她坦言，“以前天津的前沿、高端法律服务都被北京律师抢占了，但依靠国浩的全国网络，我们可以跨办公室、跨业务领域，针对天津企业的需要组成团队提供服务。”
“我们感触很深的是，现在客户会直接问：你们国浩有没有做某方面的律师？而不像以前，对天津律师置之不理……此外国浩天津的专业化分工已基本完成，我们现在有37位合伙人，基本上每位合伙人的业务都是相对独立的。”她补充说。
新业务发展
过去几年， 伴随智能制造、物联网、医药健康等新兴产业在环渤海地区不断壮大，执业于此的律所也开发了一系列新业务领域，例如互联网、数据保护与合规、人工智能、区块链、医疗康养、涉军业务等。此外，伴随中国加入区域全面经济伙伴关系协定（RCEP），对外贸易将在国家未来经济发展中发挥更为重要的作用，也为该地区涉外业务发展奠定基础。
谈到过去几年新产业发展带来的影响，以天津为例，梁爽律师首先提到了蓬勃的生物医药领域。“我们的客户中就包括天津医药、药明康德等，另外天津本土医药企业发展也不错：例如康希诺、天士力、瑞普生物。”她说。为此，国浩在2021年组建了医药法律服务团队，“集合上海、南京、天津几家办公室的合伙人，共同扩展医药领域的诉讼和非诉市场”。
此外，天津的新材料新能源、高端制造、互联网产业发展势头也十分良好。梁律师告诉ALB，天津定位了八大产业集群，“但客观上讲，这些集群并非都已经做起来了。一方面我们根据政策指引律师关注这些市场，另一方面也要思考在业务量不足的情况下，专家律师如何夯实专业发展。我们现在探讨的是集合各办公室资源，让想做专业化的律师凑在一起，共同去做全国业务，未来在本地市场发展起来后能够直接上手”，她说。
上榜律所普遍提到的另一个新业务板块则是政府法律服务。多家律所告诉ALB，过去一年，他们在行政服务、地方立法、乡村振兴、优化营商环境等业务领域都有所开拓。
谈及背后原因，张小炜律师解释道：“环渤海区域的经济蓬勃发展，很大程度在于政府对营商环境的重视，从制度到服务，政府把营造好的营商环境作为工作考核指标。此外政府招商引资也需要营商环境作保障……律师服务政府成各级政府成为必然需求。”梁爽律师则告诉ALB，“尤其是2021年，政府法律服务增长特别明显，很多事项在上党委会前都需要由律师出具意见”。
张小炜律师观察到，服务政府的过程中，金融类和知识产权类能力成为律师的核心竞争力。此外，“和传统民商事法律业务不同，服务政府和行政机构需要律师不仅从法律专业角度解决问题，还要站在政治性、社会性和政策性的要求上提供专业支持”。
未来策略
未来，伴随京津冀一体化、振兴东北老工业基地、山东半岛发展规划等国家战略不断在环渤海地区推进，这里预期将迎来更为快速的经济变革与增长，法律服务也将迎来更多机会。
展望下一步发展，梁爽律师认为基于“一基地三区”政策，未来天津律师将大有可为，但许多业务板块都急需“补齐”。
以国浩天津为例，就需要通过吸收更多细分产业律师促进知识产权发展；伴随字节跳动、美团等互联网企业迁津开展数据安全合规、电子商务业务；结合天津重工企业现状和国家双碳目标发展环境能源业务；伴随退市规则完善强化上市企业破产重整业务；利用国浩在反制裁等领域优势升级涉外非诉服务；强化国企捆绑上市服务及上市衍生服务；此外在海事海商、家族财富管理领域也前景广阔。
“作为律所管理者，我们能给律师的首先是引导，让大家看明白市场，并且帮他们真的静下心来，夯实专业化。”梁律师坦言。
更为精细化地打造业务团队、提升专业化水平，促进整体法律市场成熟，也是锦天城下一步在环渤海的目标。朱林海律师告诉ALB，虽然锦天城在环渤海的布局已基本完成，但未来可做升级的地方依旧很多。
“首先，分所要加强有明显竞争优势的专业领域，和有鲜明发展特色、发展前景的行业领域。伴随三家分所在当地口碑的建立，我们要继续走专业化道路，在优势专业领域耕耘。”他说。
第二，则是加强互动——包括总分所层面，以及分所间互动。“我们会考虑根据产业链发展进行业务整合，要进一步研究国家在战略层面对环渤海产业发展的侧重，要做好‘抬头看路’。”
最后一点，也是本次上榜律所都十分关注的，即培养当地人才，“未来希望有更多年轻的、专业较强的合伙人涌现……我们期待这一市场新一代领军人物的诞生”，朱律师说。
2022 ALB CHINA REGIONAL RANKING: CIRCUM-BOHAI SEA AREA FIRMS
After more than 40 years of development, China's legal market is growing fast, and the country's regional legal markets are transforming dramatically. In this new regional legal market ranking, ALB focuses on outstanding firms in the circum-Bohai Sea area of Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning and Shandong
This month, ALB is publishing its first regional legal market ranking of 2022, with the focus on China's third largest economic region: the Circum-Bohai Sea (CBS) region. A total of ten firms made the list, including local firms headquartered in the CBS region and non-local firms with offices there.
Similar to the two previous regional rankings (South China firms and Yangtze River Delta firms), the CBS region considered by this list has both geographical and economic implications. Geographically, the CBS region refers to a vast region surrounding the entire Bohai Sea and part of the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea; economically, this region encompasses the two cities of Beijing, Tianjin, as well as three provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Liaoning, and is an important engine for economic growth in North China. The GDP of this region reached about 14.8 trillion yuan ($230 billion) in 2020, accounting for 14.6 percent of the national total. The region has a population of about 230 million, or 16.4 percent of the national total.
Of the ten listed firms, three are local firms from Tianjin, Liaoning and Shandong, and seven are non-local firms. Interestingly, the non-local firms include not only five firms headquartered in the nearby capital city of Beijing, but also two firms headquartered in Shanghai and Chengdu, highlighting the strategic importance of the CBS region for large firms aiming to build national presence.
Selection of this list is also finalized based on both "soft power" and "hard power.” Apart from information on the number of offices, date of establishment, staff size, revenue, client mix and quality of service offerings of the candidates, ALB also invited the firms to share their market strategies in the CBS region. The information obtained depicts not only the past and present development of such firms but also their future directions.
UNIQUE STRATEGIES
Compared to the Yangtze River Delta region and the Greater Bay Area, ALB has noticed that the CBS region is relatively weak in terms of integration. Each city or province in the region has unique economic characteristics, and therefore imbalances in the speed of development and weakness in coordinated development, dictating that law firms adapt their strategies to characteristics of the local markets.
In terms of GDP, Shandong is ranked at the top, contributing nearly half of the GDP in the CBS region. A manufacturing powerhouse, Shandong has been transforming its economy to be powered by new growth drivers. Hebei ranks the second and has taken strides in industrial transformation since 2017 when the State Council unveiled the plan to build the Xiong'an New Area to free Beijing of certain non-capital functions.
Liaoning comes in third. As the cradle of China's heavy industry, the province once held a prominent position in China's economic development and has been tasked with the mission to revitalize the old industrial bases in Northeast China in recent years. Shenyang, the provincial capital, has also been named one of China's new first-tier cities. Finally, there is Tianjin. As one of China's four municipalities directly under the Central Government, Tianjin boasts deep academic and educational strengths, as well as robust transportation and pharmaceutical sectors.
The firms that make this list fully reflect the above picture in terms of the number of offices, the size of business, and areas of practice.
Three local firms, Tianjin Join & High Law Office , Shandong Deheng Law Firm and Liaoning Wang, Wu, Yang & Ma Law Firm, choose to focus on their local markets. Wang, Wu, Yang & Ma Law Firm has offices in the core cities of Shenyang, Dalian and Anshan, and generated total revenue of nearly 100 million yuan in 2021. Shandong Deheng Law Firm, with eight offices in the headquarters of Qingdao and additional 14 branches in other cities in Shandong, reported revenue of nearly 200 million yuan in the past year. Join & High Law Office provides a full suite of professional services to the legal market in Tianjin with more than 200 employees serving ten practice groups.
Most of the non-local firms on this list are large firms aiming to scale up. They regard the CBS region as an important outpost in their national expansion. Three of those firms have full coverage in the one municipality and three provinces in this region: Dentons China, Long An Law Firm, W&H Law Firm and Grandall Law Firm. AllBright Law Offices and Tahota Law Firm, while not headquartered in North China, chose to set up presence in economically strong Tianjin and Shandong, and earned approximately 200 million yuan in revenue respectively. Zhong Lun Law Firm has office in Qingdao to fit into its strategic focuse and registered over 100 million yuan in revenue.
BUSINESS FEATURES
Despite different economic characteristics, the municipality and provinces in the CBS region share some consistency in terms of economic development due to similar resource endowments and cultural landscape. This has resulted in a high concentration by law firms in key practice areas.
First, the CBS region, as the largest industrial cluster in China, boasts substantial technological strength, particularly Tianjin. On the strength of robust real economy coupled with years of development in traditional legal services, most law firms on the list have securities & capital market, M&A, investment and financing, banking & finance, real estate & construction, intellectual property, litigation & dispute resolution as their key areas of practice in this region.
With heavier pressure of economic transformation and a quicker pace of "replacing old growth drivers with new ones,” legal services in areas such as bankruptcy and liquidation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and reorganization have started to emerge and grow in recent years.
Second, as the largest port cluster composed of more than 40 ports, the CBS region is one of China's most connected regions in terms of transportation. In addition, located in the central part of the Northeast Asian Economic Circle, the region is connected with Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Russia and has brisk cross-border economic activities. This makes marine and maritime, international trade, and cross-border investment and financing crucial areas of practice for law firms operating in this region.
Lastly, according to research from Nankai University, this region has "heavier government intervention" in the business environment as compared to other economic zones in China. In terms of the mixture of corporations, the region has "a higher proportion of large enterprises versus smaller ones, and a higher proportion of State-owned enterprises against the national average.” Accordingly, legal services for State-owned enterprises and governments have become distinctive areas of practice.
Thanks to the continuous growth of emerging industries such as smart manufacturing, Internet of Things, and healthtech in the past few years, law firms in the region have started to practice in new areas, such as the Internet, data protection and compliance, artificial intelligence, blockchain, healthcare, military-related practice and more. Meanwhile, with China’s accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), foreign trade is going to play an increasingly important role in future national economic development.
As administrative authorities continue to play a large role in improving the business environment of the region, providing extensive legal services to governmental agencies will continue to be an area of focus for law firms. A number of firms tell ALB that in the past year, they accordingly explored areas of administrative services, local legislation, rural revitalization, business environment optimization, PPP projects, mixed-ownership restructuring of State-owned enterprises, and so on.
FUTURE STRATEGIES
As implementation of national strategies such as the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, the revitalization of the old industrial bases in Northeast China and the development of Shandong Peninsula continues to progress in the CBS region, the region is expected to embrace more rapid economic transformation and growth, creating more opportunities for the legal service sector.
Speaking of the development planning for this region, several firms on the list aim to equip their teams with more niche skillsets and professional service capabilities, so as to foster a mature legal market.
Grandall, for example, plans to "moderately grow business and establish professional teams with tailored expertise and skills to serve dedicated areas of business" in its Tianjin office. AllBright's Jinan office will "stick to the strategy of differentiated competitive advantages by centering around corporate and capital market,” while its Qingdao office will "focus on building specialized teams, and match professional knowledge and expertise with market needs.”
The five offices of W&H in the CBS region will focus on business structure optimization and innovation. Its Shijiazhuang office, for example, will "grow the non-contentious practice and high-end practice.” The Yantai office will "advance the pilot run of the Legal Counsel Operation Center and the Compliance Center,” while the Shenyang office will "ramp up efforts in optimizing the revenue structure, and grow non-contentious practice, intellectual property and high-end services.”
Zhong Lun believes that "with growing market specialization in the legal service sector, the number of litigators and non-litigation lawyers for segmented areas of expertise will keep growing. Therefore, law firms need to further analyze the business environment and available resources, and actively explore areas of legal services for emerging industries.
Shandong Deheng points out the importance of talent grooming. The firm aims to attract senior lawyers and enhance training for younger lawyers under a talent program, and will "promote star lawyers via convergence media.” Wang, Wu, Yang & Ma emphasizes the importance of embracing the future, and "will push forward with full-scale digital transformation in tools, projects, management, markets and incentives, and build a technology-powered talent team.”
Long An is confident in the CBS region and plan to open up to eight offices in Hebei and Shandong in the coming year to host 300 employees. The firm is also "dedicated to servicing clients in capital market, bankruptcy & restructuring and intellectual property areas as well as Chinese enterprises that are going global.”
All firms on the list express their conviction and confidence to become leaders in this growing market. This, as Dentons China points out, requires constant reforms and rapid development of the firms in expertise structuring, business innovation, teamwork, governance structure and talent cultivation.
THE LIST 上榜名单
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AllBright Law Offices Dentons China Grandall Law Firm Join & High Law Office Long An Law Firm Shandong Deheng Law Firm Tahota Law Firm W&H Law Firm Wang, Wu, Yang & Ma Law Firm Zhong Lun Law Firm |
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Methodology Research will be based on law firm’s basic information, professional strength, business layout, customer relationship and development path. This ranking opens to law firms headquartered in Circum-Bohai Sea Area, which is in Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin and Shandong; law firms which headquartered in other provinces with branches/offices in in above regions; and the international law firms with offices in above regions.
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我们的排名 排名将基于律所基本情况、专业实力、业务布局、客户关系及发展路径等指标进行评定。总部设立于环渤海地区，即辽宁省、河北省、天津市、山东省的律师事务所，或在上述区域设有分所/办公室的总部设立于其他省的律师事务所，以及在上述区域设有办公室的外资所，可参与本次排名。
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