| 作者 |
 [资料备查]《Law Firms in Greater China 2003》-Local Law Firms |
 |
dontbesocute
[博客]
[个人文集]
头衔: 海归中将
声望: 专家
加入时间: 2004/08/05
文章: 3020
海归分: 624866
|
|
|
作者：dontbesocute 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
资料来源 www.asialaw.com
China Local Law Firms
While the number of international law firms with representative offices in China numbers just over 160, there are more than 10,000 domestic law firms and 110,000 lawyers registered in the PRC. These numbers are impressive and misleading at the time. Given the fact that lawyers were once classed among the worst type of "stinking intellectuals" in China, enormous progress has been made by the legal profession to create a sphere of business that is increasingly respected and is viewed as one of the requisite institutions of a society seeking to create a modern economic system. Although there are some glaring shortfalls both in China's legislative system and the treatment of the law in practice, Chinese lawyers (particularly commercial lawyers and law firms) are leading an aggressive drive to redefine Chinese law and meet international standards in legal terms. This drive is being assisted by the growing number of lawyers in the mainland who have studied law overseas and have worked in foreign jurisdictions before returning to China to practise law.
Although there are thousands of local law firms, the overwhelming majority have no international orientation and never come into contact with foreign investors or businesses. But among the local firms that are involved with foreign investment, there are dozens of outstanding firms that have gained an excellent reputation for their work. These are predominantly located in the coastal cities that have seen high levels of foreign investment over the years, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The legal profession in these cities has grown dramatically as foreign investment has risen over the years. Today in Shanghai for example there are an estimated 400 to 500 law firms employing a total of more than 5,000 lawyers.
The leading domestic firms are truly international class. Jun He Law Offices and King & Wood are outstanding full service law firms. Haiwen & Partners has been a traditional leader in capital markets work among Chinese law firms. Commerce & Finance Law Offices is strong in banking, corporate finance, securities and investment issues. Jingtian & Gongcheng, another of the best known PRC law firms, has been involved in some of the leading investment, financing and M&A deals in the past few months. Llinks Law Office is internationally renowned for its PRC banking practice. Shanghai-headquartered Fangda Partners is very strong in corporate and commercial work, including foreign direct investment and corporate finance.
Beijing institution Global Law Office was founded in 1979. Today it maintains its status as one of the best-known mainland law firms, and is busy in project finance, corporate finance, international trade, shipping and maritime, and disputes.
Pu Dong Law Office in Shanghai has a very well regarded banking and finance practice, and an active maritime dispute resolution practice. Zhong Lun Law Firm has sizeable offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The firm is strong in corporate and commercial work, M&A and restructuring and reports that it has been busy recently in real property transactions.
Beijing-headquartered firm East Associates is a full service law firm, and is respected for its work in many areas, including banking, finance and securities issues, intellectual property, project finance, foreign investment and real estate. The firm has a significant Japanese client aspect to its practice, and has a Tokyo representative office. The firm's senior partners were among the first generation of lawyers to be admitted to practice law in China in the modern period.
Another Beijing firm, De Heng Law Office, is one of China's most international law firms, with associated and partner offices in the US, Belgium, France, Japan and Hong Kong. De Heng has a largely public sector clientele. The firm is general counsel to many government entities, including the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China National Tobacco, China Non-ferrous Metals and the Yangtze Gorges Project. A significant component of the firm's overall practice is litigation work representing Chinese companies in overseas court cases. In non-litigation work, De Heng has been active recently in A share issues, bonds, IT investment, as well as considerable foreign direct investment activity.
Tianyuan Law Firm is especially strong in capital markets and operates from both Beijing and Shanghai.
Anping & Partners is undergoing a major restructuring involving other Chinese law firms, and the reorganization should be completed by summer 2003.
Zheng Liu Yuan & Zhou was one of the first private partnerships in China. The four name partners all came from C&C Law Office, a state law firm that was under the aegis of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC). Madame Zheng Shujun, the firm's senior partner, was licensed to practice law in 1982 and was one of China's first lawyers admitted after the resurrection of the profession following the beginning of the reform period.
Intellectual property (IP) specialists Liu, Shen & Associates, East IP, and Kangxin & Partners are all headquartered in Beijing and have leading IP practices. IntellecPro is a government-affiliated intellectual property firm with patent, trademark and copyright filing, prosecution, licensing and franchising practices, as well as administrative and judicial enforcement and protection expertise.
Shanghai firm AllBright is Shanghai's largest private firm and is a well-regarded full service firm. Fellow Shanghai firm Duan & Duan has established roots in the city. In 1992, the founding partners, husband and wife team Charles and Janet, obtained approvals from the Ministry of Justice and the Shanghai Bureau of Justice to create the first privately financed and owned law firm in China.
Jin Mao Law Firm, also headquartered in Shanghai, was founded in 1988 as a quasi-government cooperative law firm. It became a partnership in 2002, and today is one of the city's strongest firms with a range of international and local clients. The firm has an active corporate and commercial and M&A practice, and reports that it has been busy in project finance.
In the early days of China's state-run law firms, firms were only designated by number. In 1985, Shanghai United was among the first to be allowed to register with a name and began solely as a litigation practice. The firm today is a private partnership and continues to have a leading litigation practice. In addition, the firm has five Shanghai offices, some of which are in association with other city firms. Shanghai United continues to have close ties to the public sector, and represents many large state-owned enterprises and government bureaux. Managing partner Zhu Hongchao is the chairman of the Shanghai Bar Association.
Richard Wang & Co. has a leading litigation practice and is a strong full service law firm headquartered in Shanghai, with additional offices in Beijing, Shenzhen and New York. In litigation, the firm has represented a number of multinational clients in "firsts" in China, and its anti-dumping experts have been called upon by the State Council to advise on drafting work for anti-dumping legislation. Name partner Richard Wang is a founding member of the Shanghai Bar Association WTO body, and plays a leading role in several other key legal and political bodies in Shanghai.
Beijing firm Li Wen & Partners was founded in 1994. Name partner Raymond Li Wen began his legal career in a law firm directly under the Ministry of Justice. Today the firm is a full service firm, though it maintains a leading real estate practice and has played the main legal role in many of Beijing's recent real estate developments. It has considerable experience on the development and purchasing side of real estate projects, as well leasing of property, real estate management and mortgages for individuals.
Beijing-headquartered firm Jin Cheng Law Firm prides itself on its international trade dispute practice. The firm has considerable experience working on anti-dumping claims, and has represented both international and Chinese parties in disputes. Recently, the firm represented the European Steel Tube Association as well as Taiwanese tin plate manufacturers in the first ever anti-safeguards steel case initiated by China under China's anti-safeguard legislation that was introduced in 2002.
Shanghai's Watson & Band is a strong dispute practices and intellectual property firm. The firm is among the few PRC law firms that has dedicated patent and trademark registration divisions, in addition to IP prosecution and enforcement practices. The firm has 24 patent and five trademark attorneys. Watson & Band represents largely multinational companies in IP issues in China, including a significant Japanese client base.
Yi Wen Law Firm occupies modest offices in Beijing but is very well known and regarded for its dispute resolution practice, as well as a range of M&A and corporate restructuring work, foreign direct investment, property issues, securities work and banking, finance and letters of credit.
作者：dontbesocute 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
|
|
|
| 返回顶端 |
|
 |
|
-
 [资料备查]《Law Firms in Greater China 2003》-Local Law Firms -- dontbesocute - (9204 Byte) 2004-8-26 周四, 17:54 (2109 reads)
|
|
|
|
您不能在本论坛发表新主题, 不能回复主题, 不能编辑自己的文章, 不能删除自己的文章, 不能发表投票, 您 不可以 发表活动帖子在本论坛, 不能添加附件不能下载文件, |
|
|
