JunHe LLP was the biggest winner at SSQ ThomsonReuters ALB China Law Awards 2017 after picking up seven awards, including Managing Partner of the Year, Beijing Law Firm of the Year and SSQ Award China Law Firm of the Year, with King & Wood Mallesons receiving six awards.
The awards were handed out at a gala ceremony at the Park Hyatt Beijing on April 20, the 14th annual event honored the best deals, in-house teams, law firms and individuals across 44 categories, more than 260 representatives from top law firms, companies in China attended the event.
JunHe LLP also won the Equity Market Deal of the Year, China Deal of the Year, Regulatory Compliance Law Firm of the Year and Employment Law Firm of the Year.
KWM, meanwhile, received six awards, including Debt Market Deal of the Year, TMT Deal of the Year, Banking Law Firm of the Year, Insolvency & Restructuring Law Firm of the Year, Litigation Law Firm of the Year and Young Lawyer of the Year – China.
Of the international law firms, Clifford Chance picked up four awards in the form of the International Law Firm of the Year, Private Equity Law Firm of the Year-International, Dealmaker of the Year – International and Young Lawyer of the Year – International. And Baker & McKenzie won three high-profile awards, which are Regulatory Compliance Law Firm of the Year, IP Law Firm of the Year- International and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year-International.
Meanwhile, Backdoor listing of S.F Express on A-share market was declared the China Deal of the Year. Global Law Office, Grandall Law Firm and JunHe LLP were the firms involved on the transaction.
At the in-house end, Alibaba Group, including Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial Group") Legal Department won the Tian Yuan Award Chinese Private Owned Company In-House Team of the Year as well as East & Concord Award Innovative In House Team of the Year. Tahota Award In-House Lawyer of the Year went to CHEN Leiming of Ant Financial Service Group. China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd. Legal Compliance Department won two awards, which are Banking & Financial Services In-House Team of the Year and LONGAN Award SOE In-House Team of the Year. Morgan Stanley China Legal Team and Daimler Greater China Legal Department took home the Investment Bank In-House Team of the Year and Duan & Duan Award MNC In-House Team of the Year, respectively.
ALB introduced one new award on the night, Young Lawyer of the Year – China went to SU Zheng of King & Wood Mallesons and NI Jiahua from Clifford Chance LLP won the Young Lawyer of the Year – International.
LIU Jinrong of Global Law Office and FANG Liu of Clifford Chance LLP named Dealmaker of the Year-China and Dealmaker of the Year – International; XIAO Wei of JunHe LLP, who won Managing Partner of the Year, were other individuals who stood out on the night.
The full list of winners of SSQ ThomsonReuters ALB China Law Awards 2017 can be found here.
