上海和华利盛律师事务所北京分所近期获北京市司法局批准正式成立。

北京分所负责律师为上海总所委派的合伙人钟鹏。钟鹏的执业领域是企业重组、收购和兼并、私募股权投资和创业投资、国际贸易及商业投资规划、市场竞争法与反不正当竞争、公司欺诈和知识产权。

Seeking to provide more comprehensive legal services to a broader base of clientele, Shanghai firm Haworth & Lexon has recently launched an office in Beijing.  The new office will focus on capital markets, PE investments, overseas investment and listing and M&A work. The Beijing branch is also set to assist existing clients in communicating with various government ministrie.

Shanghai partner Tong Zhong will be relocated to head the new office, which will be staffed with four lawyers including partner Chen Rong. 

An increasing number of Shanghai-based firms have sought to establish themselves in Beijing – Jade & Fountain has also recently received approval for its Beijing branch and has since set up a preparatory desk in the city. “As firms seek growth, it becomes necessary to form a national network to provide better service for clients. Beijing is definitely one of the locations firms have to take. More and more Shanghai firms will seek to establish themselves in Beijing because many clients are growing their national businesses and would therefore encounter increasing regulatory problems,” said Bailey Xu, partner at Haworth & Lexon.

The difference in client profiles between firms based in Shanghai and those based in Beijing reflects the fact that Beijing is home to SOEs while Shanghai plays host to many MNCs, and this also influences expansion plans. “Beijing is where there are most SOEs and these companies are very active in investments so there are lots of business opportunities,” said Xu. “In Shanghai, most of our clients are MNCs, that is to say, foreign companies or foreign-invested companies in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. Our Beijing office will target domestic companies, especially SOEs. The new branch would also explore other business opportunities in foreign invested funds and be a service base to us to provide services for foreign companies doing business in northern China,” he added.

Haworth & Lexon is staffed by 67 lawyers working across offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Sydney.