自1982年开始从事律师工作以来，李大进律师先后担任过数百家企事业单位和政府机关的法律顾问，办理过上万件各类法律事务，在长期的律师生涯中积累了丰富的执业经验，作为资深律师在社会各界及同行中享有良好的声誉。李大进律师擅长知识产权、名誉权、国际贸易、民商事法律纠纷的诉讼与仲裁，以及投资项目的法律事务等，为大型国有企业、国家机关及大型跨国公司提供常年法律顾问及专项法律服务。
ALB：是什么让您选择了律师的职业，并多年如一日地坚持？
李大进主任：律师职业能让我数十年如一日地坚持，首先是兴趣使然。我对这个行当始终具有着非常浓厚的兴趣，直至今日也丝毫没有减退。第二，我的性格很适合做律师。我是一个适合与人打交道并且非常愿意表达的人，而这恰好和律师的职业特点十分契合。做律师需要和各行各业、形形色色的人打交道，如果一名律师不具备这样的能力，我认为是很难将这份职业坚持下去的。第三，能走到今天，和我从小到大所受到的家教熏陶和自己的经历是分不开的。是这些帮助我在作为律师的工作中取得了令自己较为满意的结果。第四，我对律师这一职业具有着坚定的信仰。一个人只有靠着信仰的支撑，才能够把一件事做好，而且能数十年如一日地坚持下去。
ALB：您秉承着怎样的处事原则？
李主任：在中国做律师必须在懂法律、懂社会以外，非常清晰地懂中国国情。第二，想要成为一名优秀的、受人尊敬的律师，内心必须要有不可撼动的对人与事的敬畏和执着。第三，不向欲望低头、献媚。正所谓无欲则刚，在这一点上，我也可以比较满意与自豪地说，这样的认知和践行使我的内心一直保持了安宁与干净，我为此既庆幸，也无悔。律师执业过程中应当把解人之惑、救人出困、助人为乐当做己任，努力做到、做好这些的过程对我而言是十分快乐的。
ALB：您有着怎样的管理理念？
李主任：对律师这个较为特殊的专业群体，在管理上既要有为有治，也要无为而治，还要治而不死，治中有序。
想要成为优秀的律师事务所管理者，让别人对你有所信服，同时也能引领别人，有几点是必须要做到的：首先，你必须是一个自律性极强的人。如果不自律你很难成为合格的管理者，更无法被人信服，也别谈得到尊重。第二，管理者时时要想到，你所发出去的指令、要求和信息，除了具有制约要求之外，还要对他人和律所整体是有益的。管理的目的和效果应该很直接地带来有益的结果。无益的管理也应是无效的。第三，作为管理者，要让他人很明确地知道你的底线。我担任律所主任几十年来，总是会很清晰地让我的同事们了解我的好恶和言行边界，我个人认为这是非常重要的品质和素质，对管理有益无害。
ALB：对于律所扩张，您有着怎样的策略？
李主任：我认为律所要扩张必须具备四个基本条件：目的必须清晰、能力必须匹配、基因必须能够得到传承、结果必须是能够受益。
ALB：过去几个月中的疫情给贵所带来怎样的挑战？您是如何克服的？
李主任：疫情给全世界都带来了混乱和恐惧，这不仅仅是律师事务所面临的问题，而是全人类都在面对的挑战。这是一次前所未有的重大公共卫生事件，是一次没有经验可借鉴的特殊的战役。
和很多行业一样，由于疫情的危险和自我保护的需要，律师事务所也一度陷入了停摆的状态，如今已经逐渐恢复的状态下，想要克服疫情带来的挑战和困难，首先，要克服心理上的很多干扰；其次，要发挥律师事务所一体化管理的机制优势，运用机制优势能够帮助律所稳定人心，平稳度过疫情。再次，大难之中，律所的人文文化关系，也就是人际关系，某种程度上决定了律所在疫情之下是否依然会井然有序，还是会一盘散沙。
我所在这次“大考”中承受住了考验。我们一体化的管理机制和多年所积淀的人文文化发挥了很好的作用。在疫情期间，律所的每一个人都不是孤立的个体，只要有需求都会受到来自律所的关怀。到今天为止，我所无论是北京办公室还是外地的六个办公室，人员健康及出行情况始终坚持每日一报。每天我们都可以清晰地知道同伴们的现实状态。
ALB：您认为律所文化有着怎样的重要性？
李主任：一个律师事务所应当具备最基本的三种文化：第一，是这个所专业特色所带来的专业文化。专业文化就好比是一个人的肌肤，它可以使人健康光鲜、让人眼前一亮。第二，这个所机制所反映出的管理文化就好比一个人的骨骼，起着根本的支撑作用。一个好的管理构架能使人看到你良好的姿态。第三，一个律所还要有人文文化，这就仿佛是一个人的血脉，它决定了律所日常运营是否舒缓和通畅，人文文化所起到的润滑疏通作用是至关重要的。
ALB Conversations: Li Dajin, Director of East & Concord
Li Dajin, Director of East & Concord, started practicing law in 1982. Since then, Li has worked with hundreds of enterprises, institutions and government agencies as legal adviser, and handled tens of thousands of various cases, and therefore has accumulated a wealth of practicing experience. As a senior lawyer, Li enjoys a good reputation among peers and in all related industries. Li specializes in litigation and arbitration involving intellectual property rights, reputation rights, international trade, civil and commercial legal disputes, and legal matters of investment projects, and serves as legal adviser of and provides specialized legal services for large State-owned enterprises, State organs, and large multinational companies.
ALB：What made you choose to work as a lawyer and persistent about it for decades？
Li Dajin: First of all, it's because I've been personally very interested in the legal profession. Even now, after years of practice, I'm still keen on this field. Secondly, my personality is very suitable for being a lawyer. I'm a people person and good at interacting with others, which, I believe, is the right personality for this job. As a lawyer, you need to interact or deal with all kinds of people from all walks of life. If a lawyer does not have the ability in this respect, I think it is going to be difficult to continue with this job. Thirdly, my family background and my experience enable me to achieve satisfactory results in my work. And finally, I firmly believe in what I am doing – as a legal professional. I think that only with a strong belief can one be persistent in what they do, and remain committed to it for years.
ALB：What are your principles at work and in life？
Li: First of all, to be a lawyer in China, you must have a profound and in-depth understanding of the national situations, in addition to the knowledge of laws and the society. Secondly, if you want to be an excellent and respected lawyer, you must show respect for people and the truth. Thirdly, I would say, never give in to lust and never be obsequious or sycophantic. At this point, I'm very satisfied with myself since I've been sticking to this rule for years; and I take pride in that. And finally, I believe that lawyers should take pleasure from helping others – helping others to solve problems, helping them to get out of troubles – that makes me happy.
ALB：What is your management philosophy？
Li: Lawyers are a special group of professionals, and my management philosophy is: giving full play to their potentials, setting up boundaries and limits, carrying out management functions in light of circumstances, and implementing the bottom-line principle.
An excellent manager of a law firm needs to establish trust and confidence and meanwhile is able to guide others to make continuous progress. There are a few things that are crucial: first, he must be a person with strong self-discipline. Lawyers use laws as a tool to provide services for people. Without self-discipline, he would not be a qualified manager since he cannot build trust or confidence, let alone be respected. Secondly, as managers, we also need to make sure that the instructions given or requirements put forward not only set up rules for the staff to follow, but also help them to complete their jobs. The effective management should yield beneficial results directly; otherwise, I think it is a failure in management. And last, as a manager, you should clearly tell others where your bottom line is. It is a very important quality. Having served as the managing partner for nearly 40 years, I have always clearly let my colleagues know my likes and dislikes and where my bottom line is, which helps with the effective management greatly.
ALB：In particular, what is your strategy for expanding your law firm？
Li: I think that the law firm must achieve four basic conditions for expansion: the purpose of expansion must be clear, the firm must have the capacity corresponding to the intended expansion, the genes for the expansion can be transmitted, and the results of expansion should be that people in the areas to which we expand and those who are involved in the expansion all benefit from that.
ALB：What are some of the big challenges facing the firm over the past few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic? How are you going to tackle them？
Li: COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult and stressful for the whole world, causing fear and anxiety. It is an unprecedented public health emergency affecting every industry, a special experience with no previous experience to learn from. And it is a challenge facing all mankind.
Like many other industries, law firms were once in a state of suspension of business due to the national lockdown. Now that we are gradually going back to normal, to overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic, the first thing is to cope with stress. Meanwhile, a well-established firm's mechanism is also very important, which can help the firm to pass the test of the pandemic. Furthermore, the firm's humanistic oriented culture also plays a very important role, which supports staff to work together in an orderly manner during the pandemic.
East & Concord withstood the "big test" of COVID-19 pandemic. Our integrated management mechanism and our humanistic oriented culture played a significant role. Everyone in the firm was cared for during the outbreak, whether they are in Beijing office or other six offices. The staff reported their situations daily, so we all clearly knew what was going on with one another every day. All these have enabled us to work together and stay together during the pandemic.
ALB：In your opinion, how important is a law firm's culture？
Li: I think that a firm should build a culture from three aspects: first, it must have a professional culture characterized by its specialized areas of practice. The culture of professionalism is like the skin of a person, which determines whether the person has a healthy look or good image, thus making him or her stand out; secondly, for a law firm, the good management culture, which is like the human skeletal system, plays a very important support and protective role; and thirdly, a law firm also needs a humanistic oriented culture, which is like the blood of human body -- playing the lubricant and dredging role -- determines whether the day-to-day work and business activities of the firm can be carried out effectively and smoothly.
ALB Conversations is a weekly series of in-depth Q&As with leaders of law firms and in-house legal departments across Asia. If you are a managing partner or general counsel based in the region who is interested in being a part of this series, please send an email to shiyu.liu@tr.com.
“对话ALB”（ALB Conversations）是一系列每周发布的深度对谈类文章，我们将与亚洲各地的律所管理者和企业总法律顾问展开对谈。如果您是执业于亚洲地区的律所管理者或总法律顾问，并有兴趣参与该系列访谈，请邮件联络shiyu.liu@tr.com.
