又到了总结一年、展望未来的时刻。ALB邀请国内及国际所合伙人，分享过去一年的营收及业务发展情况；律所如何通过战略调整适应市场发展；律所采纳的人才策略；他们如何观察疫情及监管下法律行业的深刻变化；以及他们对虎年的趋势展望。
在马不停蹄的忙碌中，中国律师告别了2021年，迎来了2022年。时间倒推12个月，当ALB邀请在华律所负责人展望2021年时，他们大多提到了“审慎乐观”“危中有机”等字眼，过去一年的发展恰也回应了这样的预判。
“与2020年相比，2021年大环境更为复杂，面对着持续肆虐的疫情、国际贸易壁垒加剧、以及宏观经济的不确定性。”通商律师事务所管委会主任吴刚律师坦言。面对环境波谲云诡，已在疫情下“历练”两年的律所开始将开放、灵活演变为一种面对未来的长久心态。“通过积极拥抱市场需求和法律变化，通商继续保持了稳中有增的发展趋势，整体创收较上年实现了良性增长。”吴律师说。
2021年底奥密克戎毒株的全球蔓延打破了疫情将在新一年收尾的盼望。在中国，虽然国门尚未打开，但国内疫情的有效控制为经济稳健增长奠定了基础，也构成了中国律所过去一年的发展底色。“在此大背景下，律师业得以继续蓬勃发展。”广东广和律师事务所首席合伙人、主任童新律师指出，以广和为例，“截止2021年11月底，广和全所营收较2020年同比增长20%。”
同样实现了营收同比明显增长的还有天达共和律师事务所。天达共和管理合伙人汪冬律师告诉ALB，虽然最终的数字要到春节后才能得出，但2021年的营收“基本达到了我们的预期……并且就工作忙碌程度来看，2021年甚至已经超过了疫情前的忙碌情况”。
国枫律师事务所首席合伙人张利国律师也用“稳中有增”一词总结国枫2021年的整体发展。借助资本市场、知识产权、争议解决、房地产、跨境并购及境外投资等领域的发展，张律师预期“2021年国枫的创收相较于2020年会有一定增长”，不过也坦言“增长幅度应该不会超过10%”。
作为在疫情下仍取得不俗成绩的在华国际所代表，伟凯律师事务所也分享了他们过去两年的营收情况。“2020年伟凯完成了为期五年的全球发展策略，当年全球营收达到23.9亿美元，相较2019年增长了9%。”伟凯北京办公室管理合伙人李得伟律师说，“2021年的数字还没出来，但在充满不确定的一年中，我们的工作仍极为繁忙，代表客户完成了多宗‘业界第一’的复杂跨境交易。”
充满不确定性的环境中，促进创收增长外，“更聪明地花钱”也十分重要，这反映在了律所的支出变化中。
“在疫情造成经济下行的背景下，精细化运营是律所防范风险的必然措施……国枫也谨慎缩减了管理成本。”张利国律师坦言。然而，面对疫情下数字化转型的快速发生，国枫选择了“在信息化建设、数据库等方面进行必要投入。随着人工智能等领域发展，利用技术手段进行数据收集、案例查询等基础核查工作，将有效提高律师的工作效率、降低成本”，张律师说。
过去一年，除人员等成本的正常增长，天达共和则在开拓区域市场方面进行了大手笔投入。“今年我们新开了南京和西安办公室，支持新办公室发展是笔不小的支出，例如为新办公室租赁当地最好地段的写字楼等。”汪冬律师告诉ALB，“我们正处于整体发力的阶段，支出肯定会不断增加。”
不断调整业务发展
“深入”疫情两年，如果说诸多中国律所凭借稳定的营收增长证明了自身实力与弹性，他们在迎向挑战的过程中也重塑着自身业务策略，为依旧充满不确定的未来做出准备。
过去一年，国枫、通商都选择了在夯实资本市场业务的同时，加速发展新兴业务领域。
总结2021年国枫的整体策略，张利国律师指出：“国枫坚持立足于资本市场，以此为基础拓展相关的争议解决、知识产权等业务。”他告诉ALB，2021年国枫引入了刑事合规、保险、房地产及银行金融等领域多位专业合伙人，还举办了资本市场、合规、房地产等研讨活动。“适度多元化”的成果最生动地展现在了业绩中：国枫不但依靠境内IPO审核通过30家、再融资审核通过28家在资本市场领域位居前列，知识产权等团队也凭借标志性案例，在业内积聚了影响力。
作为资本市场领域强所，通商在2021年也“继续保持了在细分领域的强势地位，完成了数个极具影响力的代表性项目，持续领跑香港IPO业务，全年共完成逾40件交易，在中国律师事务所中排名第一”，吴刚律师告诉ALB。此外，通商也积极拥抱变化，“面对错综复杂的市场变化积极布局，在数据合规、证券合规、贸易合规、知识产权、家族财富管理等领域实现了快速增长，市场占有率进一步提高”。
天达共和则观察到了在法律服务竞争加剧的背景下，法律服务行业化趋势的不断增强。
汪冬律师举了个例子：2021年东京奥运会上，天达共和作为中国奥运代表团首次聘用的外部律师随团赴东京提供全程法律服务。“我们在体育法律服务领域已经占据了领先地位，这是因为我们的律师不仅懂法律，还懂行业，深刻了解体育规则、反兴奋剂规则等非常细微的领域。”他说。体育法之外，数据合规、刑事合规、反垄断合规和支付合规，也是天达共和过去一年重点耕耘的细分领域。
对此，童新律师也感触颇深。他告诉ALB，过去一年，广和将聚焦点特别放在了“新经济业态，以及数字经济，数字政府，数字社会所带来的法律服务机会”上，例如开拓了网络直播相关服务、创立了“元宇宙法律服务中心”等。为了服务好新业态，广和还“加大了智慧律所投入，与法律科技公司密切合作，探索数字化转型，利用创新管理和智能化科技手段为客户提供高质量服务”。
什么是内核？
虽然在不确定性中灵活调整业务布局尤为重要，但受访律所指出，充满变化的环境也考验着律所更为“深刻”的东西：例如愿景和制度。正是这些稳健的内核，赋予了律所应对变动的能力。
“过去几年变化发生的速度让人眼花缭乱：不仅中国如此，全球也是如此。这样的变化速度并没有降缓的趋势。”李得伟律师如此说，“作为一家国际律所，伟凯已经习惯了在这样显著的变化中为客户提供服务。但关注变化，也得保持长远眼光，不要随波逐流地改变策略方向。”
在通商看来，为业务灵活变化提供支撑的则是律所信息化建设和职能团队支持。“作为业务层面的强有力配合，通商持续进行事务所信息化建设与数字化转型，以满足客户日益升级的服务需求。”吴刚律师说，“事务所职能团队与专业人员有效配合，以全职能、全岗位、生态化赋能，为业务的开拓提供了高效支撑与助力。”
汪冬律师则指出，过去两年对于业务增长的要求，归根结底是对律所制度的考验。“天达共和的一体化制度为新业务发展提供了制度保障，我们具有很强的内部协同能力，能够展开跨部门、跨领域、跨地域合作。”汪律师举了个例子：不久前天达共和参与的某个重大金融项目涉及北京、上海、南京、深圳四家办公室几十位律师的通力合作，“没有制度保障，不可能形成这样的协同”。
在汪律师看来，未来客户需要的服务将愈发多维度、多门类，“律所的制度以及组织架构一定要匹配这样的服务需求……如果只是在某些领域有不错的合伙人，而不能把资源有效整合，可能在竞争上会有些欠缺。”他指出，“过去40年的中国律师行业发展历程中，不少中国律所并没有关注到管理的重要性，疫情实际上促进了越来越多与此相关的思考。”
加速区域布局
正如汪律师所说，疫情项下，许多中国律所开始更有意识地“向管理要效益”，并愈发强化商业思维，为机构制定长远发展策略。伴随“十四五”规划特别强调区域均衡发展，加速布局区域办公室，也成为不少律所过去一年的策略重点。
以广和为例，这家总部位于深圳的律所早已不囿于华南。童新律师告诉ALB，2021年，广和新设了长沙、乌鲁木齐、赣州、厦门、洛杉矶分所，“截至目前已在25个地区设立了分所”，他说。
如上所述，开拓区域市场也是天达共和过去一年的重点之一。汪冬律师告诉ALB，南京和西安的选址对于天达共和来说“颇具深意”。先是南京办公室，在上海、杭州之外，完善了律所在长三角地区的布局，“顺应了国家长三角一体化经济战略部署，使天达共和在区域市场形成了合力状态”；而西安办公室则是天达共和“在西部市场的一枚重要棋子”，回应了近年来西部经济版图不断壮大的趋势。
设点之外，天达共和也在制度层面思考着适合分所的发展之道。为此，在一体化管理制度的基础上，“我们在过去一年赋予了分所一定程度的自主创新权利，例如在杭州、上海办公室变革了用人制度，释放了区域办公室的活力”，汪律师分享道。
人才竞争加剧
2021年，中国法律服务市场的另一个热门词是“人才竞争”：几乎所有律所都在强调高质量法律人才的稀缺，繁重的工作量也增加了律所对于初级律师的需求，这直接引发了年轻律师薪资的水涨船高。到了年底，伴随部分律所将一年级律师的月薪调整到3至3.5万元，市场上出现了“金圈所”“3万元俱乐部”的说法。
这是否会给其他律所带来更大的人才焦虑？汪冬律师坦言，天达共和目前的薪资水平尚未达到市场最优，且“不会跟这样的风……我们认为优秀人才是在长期主义的价值观下培养出来的。真正的优秀人才需要长时间不断磨砺才能脱颖而出，这是我们秉持的人才培养方式
在吴刚律师看来，薪资之外，更为多元的激励机制对年轻律师也很重要。“面对行业新一轮‘涨薪潮’，通商致力为年轻律师搭建多元化的上升平台和长远发展空间，激励他们分享经验、互相学习。”吴律师指出，“与此同时我们也持续强化了内部晋升机制。”
的确，招到和留住优秀年轻人并不容易，在内卷和浮躁的社会氛围中培养具备踏实务实美德的新一代法律人更为困难。张利国律师告诉ALB，为此，国枫仍保留了“师徒制”培养模式。“通过带教律师的言传身教，年轻律师可以对业务有更深入了解，促进他们业务能力、沟通能力，甚至项目管理能力的全方位发展。”张律师说，“在定期培训中，资历丰富的律师在分享业务知识的同时，也会传达工作理念和工作态度。”
在培养年轻律师方面，广和则建立了一套完整的方法论。童新律师告诉ALB，针对毕业生，广和注重帮他们完成从法学生到“法律人”的转变；对于一到三年级律师，则通过制度帮助他们接触真实案源，在实践中学本领；而对三到八年级律师，律所着重于帮他们提升专业、拓宽客户群。“对于那些可以成为权益合伙人的资深律师，广和制定了业务、管理、市场、研究四个维度的培养方向与目标。”童律师说。2021年，广和还特别鼓励更多年轻律师参与律所管理，“更加有效实现规模化律所管理的‘下沉’和‘集智’。”
面对中国市场逐渐严峻的人才竞争，国际所又是否感觉到压力？
“人才竞争确实很激烈，而伟凯通过构建员工口碑，将自身和竞争律所区别开来。”李得伟律师说，“我们会在招聘阶段就强调律所的价值观，让应聘者明白伟凯的不同之处，以及他们应该加入伟凯的原因。”此外，在李律师看来，国际所依旧具备独特的吸引力，例如帮助年轻人实现法律职业成长的全球性平台，以及可以获得更丰富人生体验的公益、多元化及包容性法律项目。
内生性增长外，在规模化红利尚未消逝的中国市场，横向招聘也是获取人才优势的重要方式。然而，伴随律所竞争逐渐从“拼人头”向“拼质量”转变，律所开始更重视“找到合适的人”，以及“让合适的人更好地融入制度”。
“律师是一个高度专业化的行业，因此在人才纳新上，国枫始终坚持以专业能力为基础、谨慎遴选志同道合的伙伴，而非一味追求人越多越好。”张利国律师坦言，“在引进新合伙人或团队时，我们重视引入专业度高、业界口碑好的团队，协同资本市场团队，共同为客户提供优质服务。”
汪冬律师则表示，相较于先壮大队伍、后做制度融合的做法，天达共和更愿意走一条“小众路线”。“只有先认同我们的文化和制度，才能成为天达共和的合伙人。”他说，“当然，这种模式会导致律所在规模化道路上走得比较慢，但我们坚信：行稳方能致远。”
展望2022
面对业已拉开序幕的2022年，律所又有哪些展望？受访律师表示：诸多政策已释放红利，为法律服务下一步发展指明方向。
“去年11月初举行的中央十九届六中全会表明，中国会继续加快经济发展。”汪冬律师指出，“在这样的宏观政策指引下，相信经济、法律服务市场都会保持活跃。我看好2022年。”
“当然，有些领域的发展会相对突出，例如北京交易所和‘专精特新’行业。律师事务所应当紧盯着这些领域发力，天达共和2022年也将会考虑增加这些业务领域的布局。”汪律师补充道。
张利国律师有着相似观察。“随着注册制全面推行、北京证券交易所设立，资本市场改革给证券业务为主的律师事务所带来了全新机遇，也必然伴随着挑战。”他说，“新的一年，国枫将重点关注‘专精特新’中小企业登陆新三板及申报北交所业务，积极参与IPO项目的招股说明书起草及业务核查等；同时，国枫将利用在A股资本市场积攒的优势，发力港股市场。”
“我们对资本市场，尤其是境外资本市场，需要保持审慎乐观的态度。”吴刚律师则指出，“争议解决、类破产重整业务、大合规领域、知识产权、家族财富管理等领域，将迎来新的增长机会。”
在李得伟律师看来，律所也应抓住以数字化转型、环境社会与治理为代表的新社会思潮所带来的机遇。“2021年，伟凯为相关领域几宗开创性交易提供了服务。”李律师介绍道，“例如去年10月，伟凯代表亚洲基础设施投资银行、欧洲复兴开发银行和中国工商银行向哈萨克斯坦某风电项目提供融资”，支持了金融机构客户的绿色投资目标。
精确瞄准业务领域之外，扩展区域市场依旧位列不少律所的新年计划。例如天达共和计划增强在粤港澳大湾区的布局；通商将加大在国内经济热点地区分支机构的建设；广和则计划在进一步实现大湾区内地城市全覆盖的基础上，“考虑在南京、西安、沈阳、重庆、南昌、郑州，以及海外欧美城市新设分所”，童新律师说。
此外，2022年，中国律所也将更多地把“数字化转型”从口号变为实践。“当务之急是把律所自身的数据资产进行整合，在此基础上形成有效运转的内部资源。我们看到很多律所已经在这方面下了功夫。”汪冬律师指出。伴随转型深化，汪律师预计未来“律师事务所会成为律师和其他专业领域人才共同打造的平台，AI、技术、管理类人才都会参与到律所运营中来，这个趋势不可逆”。
“面对着法律服务向头部律所聚集效应的持续增强，律所唯有在软硬件上不断升级，才能裂变出更大的市场能量。”吴刚律师总结道。2022年，加强内部管理、分支机构建设、人才梯队完善、律所文化锻造、夯实业务水平同时拓展法律服务领域……一个都不能少，方能“取得更骄人的成绩”，吴律师说。
EYE OF THE TIGER
It's time again to take stock of the past and look ahead to the future. ALB speaks to partners of domestic and international firms in China to learn about their firms' revenue and business development in 2021, the strategic adjustments they made to navigate market changes, their talent strategies, their observations of the profound changes in the legal industry amid the pandemic and tightening regulation, as well as their outlook for the Year of the Tiger.
Chinese lawyers ushered in 2022 after bidding farewell to a very busy 2021. When ALB invited the heads of China-based firms to share their outlook for 2021, most of them talked about "being cautiously optimistic" or "finding opportunities in a crisis.” The experiences of 2021 have resulted in such predictions.
"Compared to 2020, the overall environment in 2021 was even more complicated due to the continuing raging pandemic, increasing international trade barriers and macro-economic uncertainties," says Wu Gang, director of the management committee of Commerce & Finance Law Offices. "By actively embracing market demand and legal changes, we managed to maintain steady growth and increased our overall revenue compared to the previous year."
The spread of the Omicron variant at the end of 2021 dashed the hope of the pandemic ending in the new year. Although China has yet to open its borders, the effective control of the pandemic domestically has laid the foundation for steady economic growth. "The legal industry continues to flourish," says Tong Xin, director of Guangdong Guanghe Law Firm. "As of the end of November 2021, Guanghe's overall revenue has increased 20 percent year-on-year compared to 2020."
According to Wang Dong, managing partner of East & Concord Partners, although the final figures will not be available until around the Chinese New Year, the firm's 2021 revenue has "largely met expectations... And judging from our workload, 2021 has been even busier than before the pandemic.”
Zhang Liguo, chief partner of Grandway Law Offices, also sums up his firm's overall development in 2021 with the words "growth amid stability.” He expects "revenue to increase in 2021 compared to 2020,” but also admits that "the growth rate would not exceed 10 percent.”
As a representative of international firms in China that managed to record outstanding results despite the pandemic, White & Case also shares its financial performance over the past two years. "In 2020, we completed our five-year 2020 global strategy. In relation to financial performance, White & Case’s total revenue in 2020 rose to $2.39 billion, a 9 percent increase on the previous year,” says David Li, executive partner of White & Case's Beijing office. "We are yet to release our 2021 financial results. However, in spite of another uncertain and volatile year we have been extremely busy and have worked with our clients on a large number of first-of-kinds and complex cross border transactions."
Against an uncertain backdrop, apart from pushing for revenue generation, being smarter with one's spending is equally important. This thinking is reflected in the changes of the expenditures of law firms.
"Amid the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, refined operation is inevitable for law firms to prevent risks. Accordingly, Grandway has cautiously reduced management costs," says Zhang. However, in the face of rapid digital transformation during the pandemic, Grandway has made "necessary investments in information technology development, databases, etc.”
East & Concord, on the other hand, has invested heavily in expanding into regional markets in 2021. "We opened new offices in Nanjing and Xi'an. It takes considerable capital to support the development of new offices, such as leasing office buildings in the best locations in town," shares Wang.
EVOLVING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Two years into the pandemic, many Chinese firms have proven their strength and resilience with stable revenue growth. They have also reshaped their business strategies as they tackle challenges in preparation for a future that is still full of uncertainties.
In 2021, both Grandway and Commerce & Finance have chosen to accelerate the development of emerging business areas while consolidating their capital markets practice.
As Zhang points out: "Grandway steadfastly holds to its deep root in capital markets practice and branches out to related dispute resolution, intellectual property and other practice areas." He shares with ALB that in 2021, the firm welcomed many partners specializing in criminal compliance, insurance, real estate, banking and finance, etc., and held seminars and workshops on capital markets, compliance and real estate.
As a leader in capital markets practice, Commerce & Finance "maintained its strong position in segmented fields and continued to lead the Hong Kong IPO business" in 2021, according to Wu. In addition, the firm "achieved rapid growth in fields such as data compliance, securities compliance, trade compliance, intellectual property and family wealth management.”
East & Concord, on the other hand, has noticed the increasing specialization of legal services against intensified competition.
Wang gives an example. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, East & Concord, as the first-ever external counsel retained by the Chinese Olympic delegation, accompanied the team to Tokyo and provided legal services throughout the Games. "We are now a leader in the field of sports law. This is because our lawyers not only know the law but also the industry," says Wang. In addition to sports law, data compliance, criminal compliance and antitrust compliance were also industry segments that the firm has focused on in the past year.
Tong shares the same sentiment. He tells ALB that Guanghe, setting its sights on " legal service opportunities brought about by new economic models, digital economy, e-government and digital society,” developed practices related to online livestreaming and established the "Metaverse Legal Service Center" in 2021.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Although being able to flexibly adjust business priorities is particularly important in the face of uncertainty, the firms interviewed also pointed out that the changing environment was a more profound test of their visions and structures. It is these robust core values that enable the firms to respond to changes.
"The world has seen change come at a blistering pace over the past few years—not just in China, but all over the world. And this trend does not appear to be slowing down. Whilst we do keep a close eye on changes to regulatory regimes and the market forces impacting our practices, having a long-term vision means we do not change our strategic direction at a whim," notes Li from White & Case.
To Commerce & Finance, what support flexible business changes are information technology development and its functional teams.
As Wang of East & Concord points out, the need for rapid business innovation in the past two years is, in essence, a test of a firm's management structure: "Our integrated structure provides institutional guarantees for the development of new businesses." He gives the example of a recent project that required partners of the firm's four offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Shenzhen to work together. "It is impossible to have synergy without institutional guarantees… In the past 40 years, many Chinese firms have not put management at a strategic level, but the pandemic has prompted more and more firms to think about this."
ACCELERATING REGIONAL PRESENCE
As Wang mentioned, the pandemic has nudged many Chinese firms to more consciously reap efficiency gains from better management and to step up business thinking and formulate long-term development strategies. With the "14th Five-Year Plan" placing particular emphasis on balanced regional development, accelerating regional presence has also become the strategic focus of many firms in the past year.
Guanghe is a case in point. This Shenzhen-headquartered firm has long expanded beyond southern China. According to Tong, in 2021, Guanghe opened new offices in Changsha, Urumqi, Ganzhou, Xiamen and Los Angeles, and presently has "offices in 25 regions globally.”
Developing regional markets has also been the focus of East & Concord in 2021. Wang tells ALB that choosing Nanjing and Xi'an as locations for opening new offices was "significant.” This is because the Nanjing office improves the firm's presence in the Yangtze River Delta region on top of Shanghai and Hangzhou, while the Xi'an office is a response to the growing economic pie of western China in recent years.
INCREASING COMPETITION FOR TALENT
Another important theme in the Chinese legal market in 2021 was "competition for talent.” Almost all firms are talking about the scarcity of high-quality legal talent, and heavy workload has also increased the demand for junior lawyers. By the end of 2021, as some firms raised the monthly salary of first-year lawyers to 30,000 to 35,000 yuan, talks of "Golden Circle" or "30,000 yuan club" emerged on the market.
Will this cause even greater talent anxiety to other firms? Wang says candidly that presently, the remuneration package of East & Concord is not the highest in the market, and that "we will not follow this trend... We believe that outstanding talents are nurtured under the values of long-termism. Fresh graduates need to be constantly challenged in order to stand out."
In Wu's view, apart from salary, a more diverse incentive mechanism is also very important to young lawyers. "Commerce & Finance is committed to building a diversified platform for career progression and long-term development space for young lawyers. At the same time, we also continue to strengthen our internal promotion path."
Indeed, it is not easy to recruit and retain outstanding young professionals. It is even more difficult to cultivate a new generation of legal professionals who are diligent and down-to-earth in an environment that prefers instant gratification. For this reason, Grandway still retains the "mentorship" training model. "Through the words and deeds of mentors, young lawyers can have a deeper understanding of their practice areas so as to promote their all-round development," Zhang tells ALB.
When it comes to training young lawyers, Guanghe has established a complete set of methodology. Tong shares with ALB that in 2021, Guanghe also specifically encouraged more young lawyers to participate in the firm's management, so as to "tap everyone's collective wisdom and make sure the management of a large-scale firm is more effective."
Faced with increasingly fierce competition for talent in the Chinese market, are international firms feeling the heat?
"We recognize the highly competitive legal candidate landscape, and are focused on building our employer brand in China and other key markets to differentiate White & Case from our competitors," says Li. In his view, international firms still have their unique appeal, such as providing young lawyers with a global platform to drive their own legal careers, as well as life-enriching pro bono and D&I opportunities.
In the Chinese market where the dividends of scale have not yet disappeared, lateral hiring is also an important way to gain talent advantages. However, as the competition among firms has gradually shifted from "which firm has more lawyers" to "which firm provides better quality services,” law firms have begun to pay more attention to "finding the right people" and "better integrating the right people.”
"Lawyering is a highly specialized profession. Grandway always insists on carefully selecting like-minded partners, rather than blindly chasing after the number of lawyers," says Zhang. "When having new partners or teams onboard, we attach great importance to having teams that are highly professional and have a good reputation in the industry."
To Wang of East & Concord, the firm is more willing to take the "niche route" rather than the traditional way of first increasing headcounts and then focusing on integration. "Only those who identify with our structure and culture can become our partners. Of course, this approach will slow down the scaling-up of the firm, but we still believe that only by taking steady and solid steps can we reach far."
BULLISH ABOUT 2022
What are the aspirations of law firms for 2022? According to the lawyers interviewed, many policy measures are beneficial to the legal industry and have pointed out the directions for the next stage of development.
"The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC held in early November last year indicated that China would continue accelerating economic development. Guided by this macro policy, I believe that both the economy and the legal market will remain active. I am bullish about 2022," comments Wang.
"Of course, some fields will enjoy more robust development, such as the Beijing Stock Exchange and the newly-defined "high-tech and specialized" industries. Law firms should focus on those areas," he adds.
Zhang has similar observations. "With the full implementation of the stock listing registration model and the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange, capital market reforms have brought about new opportunities to law firms specializing in securities business, although inevitably challenges will follow. In the new year, Grandway will focus on the listing of technologically-advanced or specialized small and medium-sized enterprises on the New Third Board and applications for listing on the Beijing Stock Exchange, actively participate in prospectus drafting and business verification for IPO projects, and take on business on the Hong Kong stock market."
"We continue to be cautiously optimistic towards capital markets, especially overseas capital markets," says Wu of Commerce & Finance, "dispute resolution, quasi-bankruptcy reorganization, compliance, intellectual property and family wealth management are among areas that will see new growth opportunities."
To Li of White & Case, law firms should also seize the opportunities brought about by new social waves represented by digital transformation, as well as environmental, social and governance. "Our teams have advised on a number of transactions in 2021 that are breaking ground in these areas," he reveals.
In addition to precisely targeting business areas, expanding regional markets continues to feature in the plans of many firms in 2022. East & Concord plans to build up its presence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Commerce & Finance intends to ramp up offices in domestic economic hotspots. Guanghe is considering "new offices in Nanjing, Xi'an, Shenyang, Chongqing, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, and some cities in Europe and the U.S." on the basis of further realizing the full coverage of cities in the Greater Bay Area.
In addition, more Chinese firms will turn "digital transformation" from a mere slogan to practice. According to Wang, "the most urgent task is to integrate a firm's own data assets and on that basis form internal resources that can operate effectively." His prediction is that in the future, “law firms will become a platform jointly created by lawyers and other professionals, and AI, technology and management talents will all participate in the operations of law firms.”
"Faced with the continuing gravitation of legal services towards leading firms, only by continuously upgrading software and hardware can law firms generate greater market power," concludes Wu. In 2022, a firm that wants to "achieve even greater results" must focus on strengthening internal management, building up offices, improving the talent mix, forging firm culture, consolidating professional competency and expanding legal service fields, all of which are indispensable, says Wu.