In the last year, not only did Allbright Law Offices put up a joint venture law firm with Hong Kong-based Stevenson, Wong & Co. at the Qianhai Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen, but it also launched offices in places such as Jinan and Hefei. Wu Mingde, Allbright’s managing director, talks to ALB China’s Li Shangjing. 

Shanghai-headquartered Allbright Law Offices is the leading law firm in china in terms of size. In the last year, not only did it put up a joint venture law firm with Hong Kong based Stevenson, Wong & Co. at the Qianhai modern service industry cooperation zone in Shenzhen, but it also launched offices in places such as Tianjin, Jinan and Hefei. In 2016, Allbright plans to set up offices in various places including Xi’an, and will very soon move the headquarters of its expanding operations to Shanghai tower, the tallest building in China. Wu Mingde, Allbright’s managing partner, talks to ALB China’s Li Shangjing about the criteria used to select office locations in China, the tussle between the corporate structure and partnership structure, as well as the challenges of his post and the growth and future of the firm.

ALB: As the managing partner of Allbright Law Offices, what do you think are the most difficult and challenging tasks? What role should a managing director or partner play in a law firm? 

Wu: The most difficult task is to align the interests of a firm’s partners with the interests of the firm and move forward in one direction. AllBright’s goal is to grow larger and stronger and to build international presence, but the firm’s partners are diverse. Some partners specialise in foreign-related practices with overseas clientele. So their goal is consistent with that of the firm’s. However, there are other partners focusing on domestic non-litigation projects, making their goal different from the overall objective of the firm. 

As the capital invested by a firm would be allocated among all partners, the larger a firm becomes, the more disagreement its partners would have. As the managing director or partner, you have the crucial task of ensuring that more than 95 percent of the partners move in the same direction as the firm. 

I believe the role that the managing director or partner plays is to have an international perspective, an open mind and a sense of inclusiveness and cooperation. There has to be an awareness of risk control and the ability to coordinate with patience. A firm can only progress steadily if its managing director or partner works with the entire management team in good faith and unity. 

As a managing partner, I do not get involved in actual legal practice work. When AllBright set up this role, the intention then was not for the MP to be practicing. Instead, the MP was tasked to balance all the practice teams. Now, however, I spend more effort in checking on projects. As many financing projects in the capital market need to bear my signature, I have to be discreet when I sign. Issues such as whether there are problems with project quality or if due diligence was effective have to be taken into consideration. The stakes are high should any problems arise. We have learnt many lessons in China. 

Other challenges we face include intensifying competition in the legal profession. Our priority is to consider how our firm can be more competitive in a complex and ever-changing economic landscape and legal environment, both at home and overseas. 

ALB: What has Allbright done to recruit and bring in talent? What are the hiring criteria for new partners and associates? What are the considerations in setting up offices? 

Wu: In setting up an office, we would find out whether this city is the local economic hub. It usually has to be at least a provincial capital. However, developed cities along the coastal areas, such as Qingdao and Xiamen, are also included. When we assess the potential of cities, we focus on how suitable it is to the firm, if it is a match. The five-year plan of AllBright is to have no more than 25 offices in total. We are very cautious in our selection. 

For example, we originally planned to open an office in northeastern China. However, our studies showed that the economic development and the level of rule of law in that area were not that mature yet. In the end, we did not carry on with our plan. We have also taken our time in deliberating about northwestern China due to differences in thinking. But fortunately, we will be setting up our Xi’an office this year. It has taken us two years to prepare for this office, as we were very careful in selecting the right people. After Xi’an, we will turn our attention to Urumqi as we watch the development of the Central Asian market. 

In the future, we will also set up offices in Guangzhou and Wuhan. As for the Southeast Asian market, we are likely to choose a city between Guangxi and Yunnan. Currently, we are still looking for the appropriate location. 

In terms of talent recruitment, we are working to improve our criteria. While we respect the assessment made by professional teams, we will also step up our efforts at the firm’s level. When recruiting new partners, candidates have to meet revenue generation thresholds, be young and energetic and possess a wide knowledge base. They should also have growth potential for professional competence and the ability to work well in teams. 

ALB: There have been heated discussions about whether law firms should adopt the partnership structure or the corporate structure. In your view, what is the more appropriate structure for law firms in China? What is the management system in Allbright? 

Wu: There are strengths and weaknesses in both structures. AllBright is a partnership-based law firm operated by professional teams. We have been walking on this path for the past 17 years, and it has proven to be successful for AllBright. However, we have to keep up with the times and continue reforming and improving our existing team management structure. 

When I was working at the Ministry of Justice, I strongly advocated that we should follow the U.S. and Europe in establishing a 100 percent corporate structure for Chinese law firms. However, I no longer hold this belief after joining private practice. I feel that the situations in China are not absolute, and we need to put in place a structure that suits us based on our own practice. 

It is rather strange that even though China is a socialist country, the “big rice bowl” type of corporate structure does not work here. Instead, U.S. and European law firms are more cooperative in nature. In fact, the reason why the people’s commune and “big rice bowl” were not successful in those years was because the corporate structure was not able to stir enthusiasm among the Chinese people. This might be related to a cultural background that still has remnants from our feudal society and small peasant economy. 

However, there would be problems in a total partnership structure, too. In particular, the problem would lie in the cooperation among different teams. Take for example the bidding for a project. It requires cooperation among many teams. Some teams are aware of their own limitations while other teams would want to proceed on their own. This would result in inadequate expertise and a lack of service quality. 

Since I joined the firm, I have always stressed that we cannot hold on to the partnership structure and we have to break down the barriers among teams. So we started to implement professional integration in 2009. Centering on this issue, we have established the rules for cooperation among teams while retaining the professional teams individually. We have also made significant progress in improving the rules. 

Therefore, we cannot say that the corporate structure is the future for law firms in China. But at present, there might be more vitality if we combine both structures. 

ALB: AllBright has made several moves in the past year. Its joint venture law firm with Hong Kong-based Stevenson, Wong & Co. was established at the Qianhai Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen. Offices in places such as Tianjin, Jinan and Hefei have also been set up. Very soon, you will also move to Shanghai Tower. Can you tell us what’s next in the development strategy of Allbright? 

Wu: The strategic positioning of AllBright is to build a full-service and professional law firm that is first in class domestically and renowned internationally. The development strategy for the next five years can be summed up in two phrases, namely “a large-sized firm” and “a strong professional firm”. It can also be summed up quantitatively in three figures: “5-5-10”. The first “5” refers to the number of lawyers, as we aim to stay at the Top Five nationally. The second “5” refers to the total amount of our generated business revenue, which we also want to keep at Top Five nationally. The “10” refers to getting into the Top Ten nationally in the per capita generated business revenue.

ALB: How have Big Data and cloud technology changed the ways lawyers work? How should lawyers adapt to the new ways of working? 

Wu: We are now in the Internet era. Big Data and cloud technology are affecting the ways lawyers work in a positive manner. A law firm exists to offer legal assistance to clients. We should leverage information technology to enhance our service capability and efficiency. Our firm is investing more into building additional information infrastructure and improving the efficiency of our communication with clients. Good IT has raised the efficiency of the firm’s technical support and workflow, making them conducive to enhancing professional service standards, risk control, knowledge management and brand building, among others. 

ALB: What are your observations about the judicial landscape in China in the past two years? What kind of missions do you think lawyers are taking on? 

Wu: China has made some progress in judicial reform in the last two years. Of course, the practicing environment for lawyers in certain fields and aspects is not satisfactory. The rule of law can only flourish with a thriving legal profession. 

However, there remains a lack of understanding of the nature of a lawyer’s role in all sectors of the society, especially the public authorities. It is fairly normal for conflicts with public authorities to arise when lawyers are trying to safeguard social justice. Public authorities should not view this as stirring up trouble, as lawyers undertake the mission of advancing social justice and fairness, and protecting human rights. 

Despite the difficulties in the coming years, progress will still be made developing the rule of law in China. 

ALB: What are the areas of practice that Allbright has been focusing on in the past year? Why these areas? What is the outlook for the coming year? 

Wu: In the past year, the key areas of practice for AllBright remained in corporate restructuring, M&A, securities and capital markets, banking and finance, WTO and international trade, intellectual property rights, litigation and dispute resolution. In addition, attention has been directed at the practice areas pertaining to free trade zone development as well as the construction of the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) project. Our main consideration is that the above-mentioned areas are closely associated with economic restructuring in China and the development of Shanghai into an international financial centre. They are also closely related to the development strategies of AllBright itself, and are the bases for the firm to establish a sustainable and stable development footing as a large full-service firm. 

As an international metropolis, Shanghai has the most conducive environment for legal practice in China. AllBright should seize opportunities in domestic economic reform and opportunities in the development of Shanghai as an international financial, shipping, trade and economic centre. While continuing to offer premium services in the areas I mentioned earlier, the firm will also strengthen legal services in the relevant fields involving OBOR and free trade zone development. The firm should also be well positioned to open up legal markets in fields such as aviation and shipping, cultural industries, environmental resources and Internet finance, allowing AllBright to take its professional service capabilities and standards to a new level.