Beijing-headquartered V&T Law Firm has opened a new office in the southwestern city of Chongqing.Officially opened on March 17, this is the second of V&T’s offices in the southwest, after the set up of its Chengdu branch at the end of 2011.

Chongqing is China’s largest municipality and a key industrial and economic centre in western China.  The city’s vibrant growth is attracting national firms.

“We believe in the potential of Chongqing,” said V&T partner Xu Meng. “ The opening of the new office in the region is one of the strategic steps we are taking to develop in the southwestern legal market. Our target is to serve the local companies as well as investors from outside with our high-end practices.”

Unlike the conventional expansion approach of merging with a local firm that other national firms have adopted, V&T’s Chongqing office is manned and operated by lawyers sent from the firm’s headquarters.

However, V&T is also working on nurturing local talent. At the same time it opened its new Chongqing office, it also launched a scholarship at the Civil and Commercial Law School of the Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

V&T has offices across the eastern region in Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Its core offerings include securities and capital markets, infrastructure, real estate, environmental, resources, energy and cross-border investment.