China Legal Business 6.3

ISS

UE

6.3

CHINA

www.legalbusinessonline.comn DEALS ROUNDUP n LATERAL MOVES n IN-HOUSE VIEW n REgULATORy UPDATES n UK, US REPORTS

ALB China Law Awards 2009All the finalists revealed2009 ALB 中国法律大奖候选人名单揭晓

PRC firms expand overseasIs Hong Kong just the beginning?香港：中国律所迈向国际市场的第一步

SOEs promote general counsel roleA positive message for law firms国企深入推进企业总法律顾问制度

ALB Special Report: Shanghai 09Still shining… for now上海09：化挑战为机遇

最佳雇主

Lawyers name the best firms to work for律师投票评选出年度最佳雇主

CHINA

The Skadden Beijing team

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2

Editorial >>

ISSUE 6.322

IN THE FIRST PERSON

Growing pains

Last year, it seemed that the champagne corks were popping nearly every week as one foreign firm or another expanded its horizons. China, of course, was and continues to be the prize destination but entry to this particular party is carefully vetted. Other emerging

markets such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Gulf were also popular destinations. Meanwhile, PRC firms, although not claiming international status just yet, have returned the serve with their own expansions, most notably into the US and Hong Kong.

Despite a more subdued outlook this year, “international strategy” and “globalisation” remain the clichés of choice in legal business parlance. But, underneath the familiar buzz words, how consistently do ‘international’ firms apply internal policies across their impressive list of locations. And how truly seamless are their trans-border service offerings?

A story doing the rounds at the moment illustrates the point. A well-known international firm announces redundancies across several of its offices. In one location, angry lawyers complain that their redundancy package is the bare statutory minimum. They demand to know why this is the case when their colleagues in other offices are receiving more generous packages. The response? That the other offices are part of a separate partnership.

Is this approach inconsistent with the concept of a cohesive international firm or simply the reality of managing a multi-jurisdictional operation? When we speak of international firms, are we speaking of one global firm or many associated local operations united by the same branding?

Some firms, of course, have been successful in building a cohesive international practice. Many have not. Chinese firms that are eyeing overseas office openings would do well to focus on exactly what internal management directives will produce that cohesiveness – and stick to them. After all, a truly international practice is built on much more than a long list of cities on the firm’s website.

“Price is definitely an element that we consider when choosing legal advisors but, more importantly, it depends on jurisdiction and what kind of service we need”Julie Zhu, general counsel of AkzoNobel in charge of North Asia (p42)

“There are people out there with cash, but they don’t have any confidence in valuations”Stephen Eno, partner, Baker & McKenzie, on restructuring (p47)

“West China has … more potential for growth compared to the mature markets in the coastal regions”Han Duyun, managing partner, Solton & Partners (p15)

When we speak of international firms, are we speaking of one global firm or many associated local operations united by the same branding?

CHINA

http://www.ipba2009.com.ph

ISSUE 6.34

CoNtENtS >>

contents

ANALySIS

10 SOEs promote general counselThe move to introduce general counsel into SOEs is paying dividends as legal risk management issues come to the fore

12 PRC firms expand overseasChinese firms are establishing themselves in Hong Kong in growing numbers – but do they have ambitions beyond Greater China?

14 Growth opportunities in West ChinaFirms are stepping up their efforts to serve burgeoning investment in China’s western provinces

FEATURES

40 ALB Special Report: Shanghai 2009 Challenging economic conditions have not dampened the enthusiasm of international or local firms in Shanghai

46 ALB China Law Awards 2009 finalistsAs the industry’s night of nights draws near, ALB China reveals the nominees for the top lawyers, firms and deals for the 2008 calendar year

REgULARS

6 NEWS• MajorpartnerintakeatMWEChina• FreshfieldsappointsAsiachiefafterthreeyears• Litigationrisingrapidly• HerbertSmithre-hirespartner• Beijingfirmstakeleadinsecuritieswork• MercantileExchangeaddressesChina-focused

commodities markets• CompaniesgettoughonIPinfringements• Dachengactivatesinnovativecross-strait

partner scheme • ForeigntradehelpsUrumqimarketevolve• PinsentConsortiumbuildsbridgeswith

tender triumph

17 UK report

19 US report

27 M&A update

56 Sign off

COMMENTARy

21 Insurance Grandall

22 International taxAzureTax

23 SingaporeLoo&Partners

24 RegulatoryPaul,Weiss

PROFILES

26 Lifang & Partners

28 Longan

30 Guantao

43 HaoLiWen

ALB CHINA ISSUE 6.3

10

COVER STORy32 ALB Employer of Choice 2009

Lawyers in China name the top firms to work for in ALB China’s annual in-depth survey of law firms as employers

40

46

32

http://www.orbis.org.hk/kidsfriends

6

NEWS | deals >>

ISSUE 6.3

Client:Issuer

Firm: ConyersClient:Issuer

Firm: GlobalClient:Issuer

Firm: Jeff Leong, Poon & WongClient:Issuer

Firm: Goncalves Pereira, Rato, LingClient:Issuer

• RCGisfirstcompany with shares admitted to trading on AIMtolist on HKSE

• RCGisaninternationalproviderofbiometricandRFIDproductsandsolutions services

• DeutscheBankisfinancialadviser on deal

Client: Franshion Properties

• HongKong-listed Franshion Properties(China) has announced will sell shares worth HK$2.72bn (US$349m)bywayofrightsissue

• ShareswillbesoldtoraisefundsforacquisitionofChinaJinMao

• FranshionPropertiesistheflagshipreal estate developer of Sinochem Corporation,akeyPRCstate-controlled conglomerate

| CHINA/HONG KONG |

RCG HoldinGs ►HonG KonG iPo

Firm: Simmons & Simmonslead lawyers:CharlesMayo, Henry OngClient: CLSA (sponsor)

Firm: Travers SmithClient:Issuer

Firm: Reed Smith Richards Butler

deals in brief

| CHINA/PHILIPPINES/ HONG KONG |

state GRid CoRP oF CHina ►ConsoRtium PHiliPPines eleCtRiCity system bidus$39.5bn

Firm: Baker & McKenzielead lawyer: StanleyJiaClient: State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC)

Firm: Picazo Buyco Tan Fider and SantosClients:NGCPandonePhilippinepartner (of Consortium)

Firm: SyCip Salazar Hernandez & GatmaitanClient:OnePhilippinepartner (of Consortium)

• SGCCandtwoPhilippinecompanies(collectively, “Consortium”) have bid for25-yearconcessiontooperate,maintainandexpandnationwidetransmission system and electricity gridinPhilippines(“Concession”)

Stanley Jia, Baker & McKenzie

Charles Mayo, Simmons & Simmons

Henry Ong, Simmons & Simmons

| CHINA/HONG KONG |

FRansHion PRoPeRties ►RiGHts issuanCeus$349m

Firm: Latham & Watkinslead lawyers:CathyYeung,OliviaWong

Cathy yeung, Latham & Watkins

• DealresultedinformationofNGCP,JVvehicleforConsortium

• SGCC’sinvestmentarminHongKong,StateGridInternationalDevelopmentLimited,holds40%ofshareholdinginterestinNGCPwhileremaining60%interestheldbyother two members of Consortium

• TransactionrepresentslargestinvestmentmadebyPRCcompanyinPhilippinesandisfirsttimethatPRCutilitycompanywillbeinvolvedinoperatingforeignstate-levelelectricity grid

• SGCC,thelargestutilitycompanyin world, is largest electric power provider and second largest SOE in China;itcurrentlysupplies88%ofChina’s power

• ConcessionisalsolargestcontractawardedbyPhilippinegovernmentunder its privatisation plan to date

NEWS | deals >>

7www.legalbusinessonline.com

youR montH at a GlanCe ►Firm Jurisdiction Deal name Value (US$m) Deal type

Allen & Gledhill China/Hong Kong/us/singapore/bermuda

nine dragons Paper cash tender offer 284 m&a

Baker & McKenzie China/Philippines/Hong Kong state Grid Corp of China consortium Philippines electricity system bid

3,950 m&a

Bird & Bird China li & Fung – liz Claiborne asset acquisition 83 m&a

Clifford Chance Hong Kong/singapore united overseas land – united industrial share offer 1,090 equity

Concord & Partners China acorn international – yiyang yukang acquisition 9 m&a

Conyers Dill & Pearman

China/Hong Kong RCG Holdings Hong Kong iPo – equity

China/us the Carlyle Group – Hao yue education Group transaction

50 m&a

China/Hong Kong/us/singapore/bermuda


Fairbairn Catley Low & Kong

China/us the Carlyle Group – Hao yue education Group transaction

50 m&a

Fried Frank China/Hong Kong/us/singapore/bermuda


Gide Loyrette Nouel

China/France France’s new beijing embassy and diplomatic campus construction

33 Construction

Global China/Hong Kong RCG Holdings Hong Kong iPo – equity

China China southern Power Grid (CsPG) bond issue 117 debt

Goncalves Pereira, Rato, Ling


Hawkhigh China/us the Carlyle Group – Hao yue education Group transaction

50 m&a

Herbert Smith China/Hong Kong China agri – CoFCo acquisition 141 m&a

Hogan & Hartson China/australia China m and sharp Point – telstra acquisition 198 m&a

JC Master China nanjing iron & steel union Co corporate bond issue

37 debt

Jeff Leong, Poon & Wong


JSM China li & Fung – liz Claiborne asset acquisition 83 m&a

China/Hong Kong at&t – shell outsourcing deal 30,000 m&a

Hong Kong swire Properties’ Castle steps development plan approval

n/a Construction

Jun He China/Hong Kong/us/singapore/bermuda


King & Wood China/us the Carlyle Group – Hao yue education Group transaction

50 m&a

Latham & Watkins China/Hong Kong Franshion Properties rights issuance 349 debt

Mallesons Stephen Jaques

China/australia China m and sharp Point – telstra acquisition 198 m&a

O’Melveny & Myers China acorn international – yiyang yukang acquisition 9 m&a

Picazo Buyco Tan Fider and Santos

China/Philippines/Hong Kong state Grid Corp of China consortium Philippines electricity system bid

3,950 m&a

Reed Smith Richards Butler


Shearman & Sterling

China/Hong Kong/Papua new Guinea

iPiC bond purchase 1,100 debt

Sidley Austin China/Hong Kong/us/singapore/bermuda


Simmons & Simmons


Slaughter and May China/Hong Kong China national building material H-share funding raising

302 equity

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

China/Philippines/Hong Kong state Grid Corp of China consortium Philippines electricity system bid

3,950 m&a

| CHINA |

li & FunG – liz ClaiboRne ►asset aCquisitionus$83m

Firm: Bird & BirdClient: Liz Claiborne

Firm: JSMlead lawyers:MarkStevens,MartinRobertsonClient: Li & Fung

• Li&FungLtdacquiredsourcing operations of Liz ClaiborneIncandits affiliates in AsiaforUS$83m

Mark Stevens, JSM

Martin Robertson, JSM

| CHINA / US |

tHe CaRlyle GRouP – Hao ►yue eduCation GRouP tRansaCtionus$50m

Firm: Troutman Sanderslead lawyers: Olivia Lee, Coburn BeckClient: The Carlyle Group

Firm: King & Wood Client: The Carlyle Group

Firm: Hawkhigh lead lawyer:Changjian(Kent)ShaoClient: Hao Yue Education Group

Firm: Conyers Dill & PearmanClient: Hao Yue Education Group

Firm: Fairbairn Catley Low & KongClient: Hao Yue Education Group

• GlobalprivateequityfirmTheCarlyle Group has invested in Beijing-basedHaoYueEducationGroup, one of China’s most prominent private higher education service providers

• DealwasshowcasedbyBeijingMunicipalGovernmentastestamenttoBeijing’scontinuedattractivenessas an investment destination

• TroutmanSandershasrepresentedTheCarlyleGroupinitsUS$50m

Changjian ( Kent ) Shao, Hawkhigh

8

NEWS | deals >>

ISSUE 6.3

| CHINA/HONG KONG |

CHina national buildinG ►mateRial H-sHaRe FundinG RaisinGus$302m

Firm: Slaughter & Maylead lawyer: Benita YuClient: China National Building Material

• ChinaNationalBuildingMaterialCoLtdtoraiseapproximatelyUS$302mthroughanaggregateof298,555,032H-shares,pursuantto special mandate granted by its shareholders last year

investment in Hao Yue and also represented Carlyle in respect of subsequentUS$50minvestmentmade by another global private equityfirminHaoYue

| CHINA/SINGAPORE/ HONG KONG |

dbs PRivate equity onsHoRe ►Rmb Fund FoRmationus$100m

Firm: Yuan Tailead lawyer: Hubert TseClient:DBSPrivateEquity

• DBSPrivateEquityhassucceeded in formation of US$100monshoreRMBfundbasedinShanghai,namedDBSPrivateEquityEnterprise

• Fund,100%ownedbyDBSBank,willprovidecapitaltomid-to-latestage Chinese companies in growth industries, with a view to eventually listing them on domestic Chinese A-sharemarket

• FundwillinvestUS$10m–20m,onaverage, for a minority stake in each promising Chinese companies over nexttwotothreeyears

• DBSPrivateEquityEnterpriseisoneoffirstfewforeignprivateequityfirms to establish domestic onshore investmentvehicleinPRC

Hubert Tse, yuan Tai

| CHINA/HONG KONG |

at&t – sHell outsouRCinG ►dealus$300bn

Firm: JSM lead lawyers: DavidEllis,WinnieLamClient: AT&T (Asia PacificAspects)

• AT&Ttobeservice provider to Shell in multiplejurisdictionsglobally.ThisismajorsourcinginitiativewherebyShell outsources a significant part of its global technology capability to AT&T,EDSandT-Systems

• Overallvalueofinitiativeestimated

David Ellis, JSM

WS Winnie Lam, JSM

tobeUS$6bn,ofwhichAT&T-related aspects (in relation to whichMayerBrown has acted) estimated atUS$3bn

• JSM,inassociationwithMayerBrown,coordinating implementation of transactioninAsia-Pacificregionthrough its Hong Kong office

Benita yu, Slaughter and May

| CHINA/FRANCE |

FRanCe’s new beijinG ►embassy and diPlomatiC CamPus ConstRuCtionus$33m

Firm: Gide Loyrette Nouel lead lawyer: GuillaumeRougier-BrierreClient: French Foreign Affairs Ministry

• GideLoyretteNouel has advised French State on preparing bidding procedure and drafting construction agreement according to Chinese law and French ProcurementCoderequirements

• Embassywillformpartofnewcampus having all French diplomatic servicesinBeijinginsinglelocation

• Projectworth €€25m(US$32.6m)

guillaume Rougier-Brierre, gide Loyrette

Nouel

| CHINA |

FaCoRn inteRnational – ►yiyanG yuKanG aCquisitionus$9m

Firm: O’Melveny & MyersClient: Acorn

Firm: Concord & PartnersClient: Yiyang Yukang

• AcornInternationalhasacquiredYiyang Yukang Communication Equipment,givingAcornaccessto new mobile products and strengthening its distribution capabilities

• AwhollyownedsubsidiaryofAcornmadetheacquisitionforUS$6.7mincashandmorethanUS$2.5minordinary shares

| CHINA/AUSTRALIA |

CHina m and sHaRP Point – ►telstRa aCquisitionus$198m

Firm: Hogan & Hartsonlead lawyer:RogerPengClient:ChinaMandSharpPoint

Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaqueslead lawyer: Simon MilneClient: Telstra

• ChinaMandSharpPointsold67%interest in both companies to Telstra forA$302m(US$198m)incash

Simon Milne, Mallesons Stephen

Jaques

| HONG KONG/SINGAPORE |

united oveRseas land ►– united industRial CoRPoRation limited sHaRe oFFeRus$10.9bn

Firm: Clifford Chancelead lawyers: LeeTaylor,MarkShipman,MatthiasFeldmannClient:MorganStanley

Firm: WongPartnershiplead lawyers: Adeline Ong, Andrew Ang, DilhanPillaySandrasegara,LindaWee

Lee Taylor, Clifford Chance

Client:UOLGroup

• UnitedOverseasLandshareofferforUnitedIndustrial

• DealalsoinvolvespossiblesalebyMorganStanleyofsharestoUnitedOverseas Land

| CHINA/HONG KONG/PNG |

iPiC bond PuRCHase ►us$1.1bn

Firm: Shearman & Sterlinglead lawyer: AndrewRuffClient:IPIC

• IPICpurchasedfive-yearUS$1.1bnexchangeablebond issued by governmentofPapuaNewGuinea(PNG)throughitsinvestmentvehicle,IndependentPublicBusinessCorporation

• IPICwillacquireIPBC’sentire17.6%equitystakeinOilSearchLimited,becoming largest shareholder

• DealensuresIPIC’sparticipationinPNGLNGproject,operatedbyExxonMobil,inwhichOilSearchhasa34%stake

• ProjectanticipatedtotransformPNGeconomy,asmajordriverofAsia-Pacificenergyfuturemarket

Andrew Ruff, Shearman &

Sterling

| CHINA |

XCmG asset RestRuCtuRinG ►徐工集团资产重组us$775m

Firm: Zhong Lun 中伦lead lawyers: Zhang Zhong, Fang Lu 张忠、方路Client:XCMG徐工集团

• XCMG,biggestconstruction machinery company in China, has finished restructuring its assets in order to list whole group and getapprovalfromCSRCfor listing proposal

• WholerestructuringvaluedatRMB5.3bn(US$774.5m),accordingtoCSRC

Zhang Zhong, Zhong Lun

NEWS | deals >>


• USprivateequityfund Century Bridge Capital has invested US$19minamiddle-incomeresidential estate projectinXi’an

• TotaldealsizeisUS$41.4m

| HONG KONG |

swiRe PRoPeRties’ Castle ►stePs develoPment Plan aPPRoval

Firm: JSMlead lawyers: FK Au, Alan YipClient: Swire PropertiesLimited

• AsubsidiaryofSwirePropertiesLimited (“Swire”) has succeeded in Court of Appeal in planning case involving Castle Steps Site

• Caseinvolvesapplication to TownPlanningBoard(“TPB”)forrelaxationofheight and plot ratio restrictions on and, hence, an increase in permitted grossfloorareaofCastleStepsSite

• AsaresultofdecisionbytheCourtofAppeal, Swire permitted to develop 54-storeyresidentialbuildingwithaplot ratio of nine on site

• CourtofAppeal’sdecisiononeof most significant planning law decisions in recent years

youR montH at a GlanCe (Cont) ►Firm Jurisdiction Deal name Value (US$m) Deal type

Travers Smith China/Hong Kong RCG Holdings Hong Kong iPo – equity

Troutman Sanders China/us the Carlyle Group – Hao yue education Group transaction

50 m&a

Vinson & Elkins China/us Century bridge Capital Xi’an residential estate investment

41 Construction

WongPartnership Hong Kong/singapore united overseas land – united industrial share offer

1,090 equity

Yuan Tai China/singapore/Hong Kong dbs Private equity onshore Rmb fund formation 100 equity

Zhong Lun China XCmG asset restructuring 775 Restructuring

Does your firm’s deal information appear in this table?Please contact [email protected] 61 2 8437 4700

“过去中国国企以分割上市为主，即将一部分业务和资产重组后上市，该模式造成中国资本市场的若干基础性问题，如大股东和上市公司利益不一致造成的同业竞争、不公平关联交易、侵占上市公司资产等问题。目前，大型国企通过对旗下资产和上市公司重组，实现整体上市，不仅有利于解决上述独立性问题，也有利于增强上市公司核心竞争力，保持上市公司的成长性，有利于保护中小股东利益，从长远来讲，也有利于国有资产的保值增值，因而是监管部门所鼓励，也是市场所偏好的”

张忠，中伦合伙人

| CHINA |

CHina soutHeRn PoweR ►GRid (CsPG) bond issueus$117m

Firm: Globallead lawyers: Chen Huanzhong,LiWen,Zhang XinClient:CSPG

• CSPGhasissuedunsecured RMB8bn(US$117m)corporatebondissue(comprisingRMB7bnfive-yearandRMB1bnseven-yeartranches)

• IssuewaslargestissueofunsecuredcorporatebondsinPRCin2008

Chen Huanzhong, global

| CHINA /US |

CentuRy bRidGe CaPital ►Xi’an Residential estate investmentus$41m

Firm: Vinson & Elkinslead lawyers:DavidBlumental,AlanBogdanow,JayHebertClient: Century Bridge Capital

David Blumental, Vinson & Elkins

| CHINA |

nanjinG iRon & steel union ►Co CoRPoRate bond issueus$37m

Firm: JC Masterlead lawyer:MaQunClient:NanjingIron&SteelUnionCo

• NanjingIron&SteelUnionCoLtdhasissuedseven-yeartermcorporatebondsworthRMB25bn(US$36.5m)

• Interestratefixedbonds,supplemented with issuer’s option to increase coupon rate at end of fourth year and investors’ option to repurchase, with annual interest rate of6.13%

| CHINA/HONG KONG/US/SINGAPORE/BERMUDA |

nine dRaGons PaPeR CasH ►tendeR oFFeRus$284m

Firm: Fried Franklead lawyers: JoshuaWechsler,VictoriaLloydClient:MerrillLynch

Firm: Sidley Austin

Joshua Wechsler, Fried Frank

Client:NineDragonsPaper

Firm: Jun HeClient:NineDragonsPaper

Firm: ConyersClient:NineDragonsPaper

Firm: Allen & GledhillClient:NineDragonsPaper

• MerrillLynch&Co,asdealermanager,involvedinfixedpricecashtenderofferbyNineDragonsPaperforitsoutstandingUS$283.75m

• 7.875%SeniorNotesdue2013

• US$165.18mofSeniorNotes,representingapproximately58%of Senior Notes outstanding, were validly tendered and accepted for purchaseasatexpirationofoffer

• HongKong-listedNineDragonslargest producer in Asia, and one of largest producers in world, of packaging paperboard products in terms of design production capacity

| CHINA/HONG KONG |

CHina aGRi – CoFCo ►aCquisitionus$141m

Firm: Herbert Smithlead lawyer: MichaelFoshClient: China Agri-IndustriesHoldings (China Agri)

• ChinaAgrihasacquiredHongKong-listedCOFCO’soilseeds and corn processing businesses and related assets for a totalconsiderationofapproximatelyHK$11bn(US$141m)

Michael Fosh, Herbert Smith

• Thiswillbesatisfiedbyissuanceofapproximately264millionsharesinChina Agri and balance in cash

• ChinaAgriisoneofChina’slargestoilseed and wheat processors

FK Au, JSM

Alan yip, JSM

10

NEWS | analysis >>

ISSUE 6.3

Chinese SOEs promote general counsel… and external counsel

ANALySIS

SASAC’s continued efforts to implement a “general counsel system” in state-owned enterprises sends a positive message to law firms

16 GeneRal Counsel aPPointed tHRouGH sasaC’s PubliC ReCRuitment PRoGRam ►通过国务院国资委组织的海内外公开招聘任命的16位企业总法律顾问

Year 年度

State-owned enterprise 国有企业

General counsel 企业总法律顾问

2006 China Eastern Air Holding Company 中国东方航空集团公司 GuoJunxiu郭俊秀ChinaNationalRealEstateDevelopmentGroup中国房地产开发集团公司 XuYongjian徐永建ChinaRailwayCommunicationGroup中国铁通集团有限公司 Sun Yonggang 孙永刚ChinaNationalAgriculturalDevelopmentGroup中国农业发展集团总公司 WuGang吴刚China TravelSky Holding Company 中国民航信息集团公司 LiJinsong李劲松ChinaChangjiangNationalShippingGroup中国长江航运（集团）总公司 Zhao Yufu 赵玉阜

2007 China Chengtong Group 中国诚通控股集团有限公司 TangMingyi唐明毅China National Arts & Crafts Group 中国工艺（集团）公司 ShiYuquan石宇权Sinohydro Corporation 中国水利水电建设集团公司 WangShubao王书宝China National Gold Group 中国黄金集团公司 Su Chaohui 苏朝晖

2008 China Coal Technology Engineering Group 中国煤炭科工集团有限公司 Zhang Zhong 张忠ChinaNationalMachineryIndustryCorporation中国机械工业集团公司 WangQiang王强ChinaIron&SteelResearchInstituteGroup中国钢研科技集团公司 TangJianxin汤建新ChinaP&TAppliances中国邮电器材集团公司 Sun Guangcheng 孙光成ChinatexCorporation中国中纺集团公司 Zhang Hongfei 张鸿飞China New Era Group Corporation 中国新时代控股（集团）公司 Xu Genghong 许耕红

Six years after the government initiated a campaign to implement a “general counsel system” in state-owned enterprises (SOEs),

the majority of the large SOEs have now established an in-house legal function and appointed general counsel.

Many of these in-house departments have thrived and proven their value to senior management in a remarkably short space of time. Legal managers and general counsel in these departments have also earned good reputations in the legal community. The in-house legal teams of CNOOC, Bao Steel and Sinopec, for example, have excelled in providing strategic and innovative legal solutions to enable their companies to achieve business and strategic objectives not only in the domestic market, but also in key markets around the globe.

As part of the campaign, and in an effort to find the most competent candidates for general counsel positions, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) started an annual public recruitment program to help appoint general counsel for enterprises under its supervision since 2006. So far, 16 central-level SOEs have appointed general counsel through three public recruitment programs.

Last May, a plan to promote general counsel roles in subsidiary companies announced by SASAC marked the beginning of the campaign’s second phase. According to the plan, all important subsidiaries of the central-level SOEs should have appointed general counsel and set up an in-house legal function by 2010.

China Chengtong Group, a large logistics conglomerate which is a central SOE, is one of the first to respond to the new agenda set by the SASAC. Under the leadership of the

group’s general counsel, Tang Mingyi, who was appointed through SASAC’s 2007 public recruitment program, the group recently named Wang Yonghai as the general counsel of its important subsidiary, China Asset Management Corporation (CAMC), which manages more than RMB10bn worth of assets.

Wang has been and will remain a vice-president of CAMC while he serves as general counsel. With 17 years’ legal experience, in-house and in private practice, he is responsible for the management and direction of the company’s legal team and affairs. He reports directly to the president.

As the SOEs are becoming increasingly commercially oriented, international and market-driven, the development of a solid in-house legal function is a good strategy. However, this raises an important question: does the growth of the in-house role translate into reduced business opportunities for external firms?

Three years ago, domestic law firms’ perceptions of this issue would have been very different from now, but in today’s more mature and diverse legal

marketplace the majority answers “no”. According to Dacheng’s senior partner,

Tuo Zhongming, the promotion of in-house legal teams in SOEs will improve the legal service industry. “We see the rise of in-house teams led by a general counsel as a positive and necessary development. As large sophisticated organisations, they do need professional legal management,” he said.

Tuo has extensive experience working with SOEs, particularly on restructuring projects. He has been the main outside advisor for China Asset Management Corporation since 2000. After the appointment of the general counsel, he continues to provide legal support and advice regarding the company’s business operations and strategic planning.

“General counsel and in-house counsel don’t handle all legal matters directly; they are responsible for leading and managing the process,” Tuo said. “The

NEWS | analysis >>


volume of legal work outsourced to us won’t be lower than before the general counsel was named. But we have to offer more specialised legal services in certain practice areas and improve the quality of our services.”

He explained further that the rising role of general counsel in SOEs is a reflection of where the decision-makers’ priorities lie. Their focus has shifted from litigation to legal risk management. This change in priorities enables law firms to be more involved in SOEs’ strategic planning, business transactions and compliance. In addition, having an in-house legal team in place – in effect formalising the work relationship between clients and external legal advisors – will improve the quality and standards of legal services provided by external counsel.

In the past, due to the absence of an in-house legal team, communication between external counsel and board members and senior management has been problematic and prone to misunderstandings. Having an in-house legal team that can give advice on technical and business issues and can function as an external resource coordinator will help external counsel work more efficiently.

“In-house teams can help law firms to better understand companies’ business needs, and at the same time they can ensure that external advisers are able to provide the best value and legal solutions for businesses,” said Liu Yuming, a partner of Zhong Lun.

Liu and his team recently advised COFCO, a leading grain, oils and foodstuffs import and export group in China, and one of its largest food manufacturers, on its takeover of Wu Gu Dao Chang. Although the firm was instructed by a strategic business development unit, it worked closely with the group’s in-house department during the course of the whole transaction.

“The COFCO in-house counsel has played an important role in interpreting instructions from the business units and transmitting them to the external advisers, ensuring that everyone knows what will be delivered and ensuring matters can be moved along more quickly,” Liu said.

The practices of in-house legal teams and general counsel in SOEs vary, but they are all still in the initial stage of development. However, the campaign, now in its sixth year, is having encouraging results – both for the companies and the law firms they instruct. ALB

NEW FOREIGN LEGAL COUNSEL FOR LONGANAmerican criminal defence lawyer AlanEllishasjoinedLonganasa foreign legal counsel. Ellis, a former president of the National AssociationofCriminalDefenseLawyers(US),hashadalongworkingrelationshipwiththePRClegalcommunity.BeforejoiningLongan, he had taught law at ShanghaiJiaotongUniversity’sSchoolofLaw.

Longanisexpandingitscorporatecriminaldefencepractice and Ellis will assist the firm in advising client companiesexpandingtheirbusinessintotheUSonissues ranging from consumer product safety violation totaxdelinquencyandsecuritieslawviolation.

隆安聘请外籍顾问上海工作多年后，美国知名刑事诉讼辩护律师Alan Ellis以外国法律顾问的身份加入隆安律师事务所。Alan Ellis为美国律师协会前会长，拥有40年以上法律领域工作经验，和中国法律界颇有渊源。加入隆安前，他曾在上海交通大学任教。

news in brief >>

国有企业深入推进总法律顾问制度建设六年前，中国政府开始在国有企业推行“总法律

顾问制度”，目前，多数国有企业已经建立内部法律部门，并任命总法律顾问。

诸多企业的内部法律部门在较短时间内快速发展，向企业高级管理层证明自身价值。在法律服务业界，企业内部的法务经理和总法律顾问亦赢得良好声誉。例如，中海油、宝钢和中石油的法务部门表现尤为突出，不断为企业高层提供具有战略意义的创新法律解决方案，帮助企业在国内外重要市场实现业务发展和战略目标。

为挑选最优秀人才担任总法律顾问，自2006年起，国有资产监督管理委员会（国资委）启动年度公开招聘计划，帮助央企任命总法律顾问。

去年五月，国资委明确了今后三年中央企业法制工作的总体目标：力争到2010年在中央企业及其重要子企业全部建立总法律顾问制度。

中国诚通集团是率先响应国资委提出的新目标的央企之一。该集团的总法律顾问唐明毅是通过国资委组织的2007年公开招聘被选聘。在其领导下，集团近期任命王永海担任中国资产经营管理公司（中资公司）总法律顾问，该公司是诚通集团的下属的重要子公司，管理超过100亿人民币的资产。

王永海是中资公司副总裁，成为总法律顾问后，他仍将兼任副总裁职务。他拥有17年法律工作经验，曾在企业法律部和律师事务所工作。

随着国有企业经营日趋商业化并以市场为导向，发展实力雄厚的内部法律部门是明智之举。但另一重要问题随之而生：企业内部律师的增加是否会减少外部律师事务所的业务机会？

如果在三年前，国内律所对该问题的认识一定与现今大不相同，在当前更为成熟且多元化的法律服务市场环境下，多数人的答案应该为“否”。

大成律师事务所高级合伙人脱明忠表示，促进国有企业内部律师团队发展可推动法律服务行业发展。他表示：“在总法律顾问的领导下，企业内部法律团队的壮大是具有积极意义的必要发展。对机构庞杂的大型企业而言，的确需要专业的企业法务管理。”

在与国有企业合作方面，脱先生拥有丰富经验，尤其擅长国企重组项目。自2000年开始，他便担任中国资产经营管理公司的常年外部法律顾问。中资公司任命总法律顾问后，他将继续在公司业务经营和战略决策方面提供法律支持和顾问服务。

脱明忠表示：“总法律顾问的主要工作是从宏观的角度把握全局，一些具体的法律事务还是会由外部律师处理。王永海先生担任总法律顾问之后，我们作为常年法律顾问的工作不会减少，但专业化要求会更高、更细。”

脱明忠认为，企业总法律顾问制度的实施使得企业法律风险管理完成了由救济型、参与型、封闭型向预防型、管理型及开放型的转变，这一重大转变将律师的服务定位从“后方”转向了“前卫”，律师服务将不再局限于诉讼，而是由传统的诉讼业务向大量的非诉业务发展。此外，企业总法律顾问作为一项规范的制度建立起来，必将要求律师服务走向规范化。这对律师服务业职业化发展意义重大。

中伦律师事务所合伙人刘玉明表示：“内部律师团队可帮助律师事务所更好的了解企业业务需求，同时可确保外部顾问为企业提供最有价值的服务和法律解决方案。”

国有企业内部法律团队和总法律顾问的工作方式多种多样，但都处在发展的初级阶段。在该计划推行的第六年，已经取得令人鼓舞的成绩，各国有企业和外部律师事务所均从中获益。

GALAxY GC JOINS PROSKAUER IN HONG KONG ProskauerRosehasannouncedthatJimChapmanwilljointhefirmasapartnerinitslodgingandgamingpractice group.

BeforejoiningProskauer,ChapmanwasthegeneralcounselofGalaxyEntertainmentGroup,one of Asia’s leading gaming and entertainment companies. He has been involved in some of themosthigh-profilegaming,hotelandresortdevelopment transactions in the region.

ProskaueropeneditsHongKongofficeinSeptember2008,gainingprivateequityandfundsformationpartnerYingLiandChinesebusinessexpertJosephChaafterthecollapseofHellerEhrman.Chapmanjoinsthreeotherpartners,includingYuvalTal, and one associate in Hong Kong.

银河集团总法律顾问加盟普士高普士高律师事务所宣布，Jim Chapman 将加入事务所的酒店和博彩业务团队担任合伙人。

加入普士高之前，Chapman 曾担任银河娱乐集团总顾问律师，该集团为亚洲领先的博彩和娱乐公司。Chapman 曾参与该地区最受瞩目的博彩和酒店度假开发项目，包括澳门路氹城在建的44公顷混合用途场所 Galaxy Macau 项目。Chapman 此前还曾担任孖士打律师行合伙人。

2008年9月，普士高成立香港办事处，在海陆律师事务所倒闭后，吸引私募股权和基金设立业务合伙人 Ying Li 和中国业务专家 Joseph Cha 加盟。Chapman 在香港团队的同事有三位合伙人，其中包括Yuval Tal和另外一位律师。

Alan Ellis, Longan

12

NEWS | analysis >>

ISSUE 6.3

Today Hong Kong, tomorrow the world ANALySIS

HonG KonG oFFiCes oF PRC FiRms ►Firm Year opened Associated firmChen & Co(瑛明) 2006 n/a

China Law Office n/a n/a

Duan&Duan(段和段) 2006 ChanJ&Lai

Grandall(国浩) 2008 Woo,Kwan,Lee&Lo*

Guangdong Hua Fa(广东华法) 2007 Ng & Shum

Guangdong Xin Yang (广东信扬) 2006 n/a

Guantao(观韬) 2009 JacksonWoo&Associates*

JunHe(君合) 2006 Wang&Co,XJ

JinMao(金茂) 2007 WangandChan

King&Wood(金杜) 2006 Arculli Fong & Ng*Alliance firms

A senior Herbert Smith partner in Hong Kong recently pointed out that in the past decade most of the corporate work

international firms have done in Hong Kong has had a China element in one way or another. Few would disagree.

Of more interest, however, is that today many PRC firms are using Hong Kong in the opposite direction. In the past few years, they have advised their clients on an increasing number of transactions that involve a Hong Kong element. And Hong Kong has become an important bridge linking them with international markets.

The most recent example is the opening of Beijing Guantao’s Hong Kong office, the firm’s first international base. The firm has been involved in a number of IPOs and listings of PRC companies overseas and a growing number of outbound investments by Chinese clients.

“While Hong Kong remains an important gateway for foreign investment into China, its role as China’s bridge to the world has been increasing significantly,” said Yan

Pengpeng, partner in charge of Guantao Hong Kong office. “Chinese companies increasingly use Hong Kong as a springboard to go overseas.”

Guantao’s arrival has pushed the total number of PRC firms with a Hong Kong branch office to 10. Half of them are operating in association with a local Hong Kong firm, while the rest have formed formal or non-formal alliances with local Hong Kong firms.

Two further reasons that Hong Kong is considered to be a strategic location are that it provides a common ground for law firms from different jurisdictions to closely cooperate with each other; and it offers an attractive international talent pool for PRC firms.

Before opening its Hong Kong office, Guantao had formed an alliance with local Hong Kong firm Jackson Woo & Associates (JWA). Last November, when UK firm Ashurst was opening its Hong Kong office and forging a formal

association with JWA, Guantao was also entering into a non-exclusive alliance with Ashurst. Yan revealed that the Hong Kong office will be a platform for strengthening the firm’s alliance with Ashurst and Jackson Woo & Associates. “It provides a common ground enabling the three firms to collaborate closely and share resources with each other for the clients’ benefit,” she said.

Currently, all PRC firms are registered in Hong Kong as foreign law firms, a status which prohibits them from practising in that jurisdiction. However, a PRC or foreign law firm registered in Hong Kong may elect to convert and change its status in order to be able to practise as a Hong Kong law firm. To do this, it needs to comply with all the same conditions as a local practice, including exclusively appointing Hong Kong solicitors as partners in a locally compliant law firm partnership.

Industry observers anticipate that the integration of King & Wood, the first PRC firm to establish an operation in Hong Kong, with its Hong Kong associate firm Arculli Fong & Ng will be completed this year – the final step in a process that began in early 2006.

In anticipation of the intended integration, King & Wood strengthened its Hong Kong offering by appointing Serge Fafalen, the Swiss founder and managing partner of Hong Kong-registered foreign firm SG Fafalen & Co, as a partner in its Hong Kong office. “PRC laws are following their clients everywhere in the world and expanding to meet client needs,” Fafalen said.

Shanghai-headquartered Duan & Duan is another PRC firm with ambitions to gain a foothold in Hong Kong’s legal market. Even before its Hong

yan Pengpeng, guantao

NEWS | analysis >>


CHIOMENTI NEARING SHANGHAI LICENCE AsaconsequenceofthemergerwithBirindelli&Associatilastyear,ItaliangiantChiomentiStudioLegale is only a few months away from gaining a licencetooperateinShanghai.Itwillbethefirm’ssecondmainlandventure,havingsecuredaPRClicenceinBeijingin2007.

The firm has filed an application with the Bureau of JusticeinShanghaiandtheMinistryofJusticeinordertochangethenameoftheBirindelliRepresentativeofficein Shanghai to Chiomenti Studio Legale. At the same time,itisproceedingwiththeliquidationoftheexistingBirindelliofficeinBeijing.

意大利凯明迪将获上海执照意大利凯明迪律师事务所离获上海代表处正式执照只有数月之遥。这意味着这家意大利最大的律师事务所将获在2007年的北京代表处执照后第二张中国大陆执照。凯明迪上海代表处的执照受益于其去年五月与另一家意大利律师事务所彼林德立律师事务所（Birindelli & Associati）的合并。该所已向上海司法局和国家司法部提出申请，将原来彼林德立的上海代表处变更到凯明迪名下。除了凯明迪，另外还有2家意大利律所在中国设有代表处：Picozzi & Morigi 上海代表处和Lega Colucci E Associati北京代表处。

news in brief >>Kong branch was set up in September 2006, 30% of its annual revenue was generated by advising on Hong Kong-related transactions and investments.

Since the establishment of its Hong Kong office, the firm has experienced an increase in the instructions received from both inbound and outbound clients. As part of its long-term plans, it has formed a strategic alliance with Hong Kong local firm Chan J & Lai and will be converting its Hong Kong office to a local practice after it satisfies regulatory requirements. Thereafter, it will hire local lawyers and partners and advise on Hong Kong law, aiming to increase the contribution of total revenue of its Hong Kong-related practice from the current 30% to more than 50%.

“In the next 10 years, I hope to see the main role of our Hong Kong office as assisting Chinese clients to invest into Hong Kong and set up companies in Hong Kong. Chinese clients are

increasingly regarding Hong Kong as a gateway to enable them to invest globally,” said Gong Xiaohang, the chief director of Duan & Duan, who divides his time between Hong Kong and Shanghai.

However, not all PRC firms share the Hong Kong ambitions of Duan & Duan and King & Wood. Most are content to have a presence in Hong Kong that plays more of a liaison and marketing role for the mainland offices.

“We don’t want to develop our Hong Kong set-up into a full-blown office. We don't plan to advise on Hong Kong and international law in cross-border transactions, and don't intend to compete with well-established players in Hong Kong,” said Kirk Tong, partner at Jun He.

Any apparent lack of Hong Kong ambition aside, firms as sophisticated as Jun He will doubtless have very solid plans in place for expanding outbound lines of fee income. ALB

中国律所：今日立足香港，明日放眼世界史密夫律师事务所香港办公室的一位高级合伙人

曾经指出，过去十年中，在香港开展业务的跨国律师事务所中，绝大部分业务都有不同形式的中国因素。这种观点得到业内多数人士的赞同。

如今，时隔境迁，一些领先的中国律师事务所已开始利用香港市场实施自己的国际化战略。过去数年内，在中国律师事务所参与的交易项目中，涉及香港因素的项目不断增加。香港正成为连接中国律师事务所与国际市场的重要桥梁。

北京观韬律师事务上月在香港开设了其首个国际分支机构，可谓该趋势的最新印证。观韬曾参与诸多中国公司的海外首次公开募股和上市项目，其国际业务，特别是帮助中国客户在境外投资的业务，亦与日俱增。

观韬香港分所主管合伙人闫芃芃表示：“一直以来香港被公认为境外投资进入中国的重要门户，但近年来，香港作为中国与世界沟通的桥梁作用也在日渐强化。越来越多的中国企业将香港作为通向海外市场的跳板。”

随着观韬香港分所的开业，在香港设有正式分支机构的中国律所达到10家。其中半数与香港本地律师事务所展开联营，其它所亦与香港本地律所建立了不同形式的合作伙伴关系。

中国律师事务所将香港视为战略市场的另外两个深层原因包括：香港可为不同司法管辖地的律师事务所提供相互密切合作的平台；还可为中国律师事务所提供丰富的跨国律师人才储备。

观韬香港分所成立前，该事务所已与香港胡家骠律师事务所达成联盟。去年十一月，英国 Ashurst 律师事务所在香港成立代表处，并与胡家骠律师事务所建立联营关系，由此观韬亦与Ashurst 建立非排他性联盟。

闫芃芃指出，香港办公室将作为业务平台，巩固观韬与 Ashurst 和胡家骠律师事务所的三方合作。她表示：“香港分所可提供一个共同平台，促使三家律师事务所更密切的合作，相互共享资源，从而为客户提供更全面更深入的法律服务。”

目前，所有在香港注册的中国律师事务所均以境外律师事务所名义经营，因而无法就香港法律提供法律意见。但在香港注册的中国或境外律师事务所在达到一系列法规要求后可选择转变成以香港律师事务所身份开展业务。

部分行业观察人士预计，率先进入香港市场的金杜律师事务所与其香港联营所夏佳理方和吴正和律师事务所的合并将于今年内完成，标志着双方自2006年初开始的业务整合进入最后阶段。

总部位于上海的段和段律师事务所亦在积极准备开拓香港本地法律市场。早在2006年9月段和段香港分所成立之前，其香港相关交易和投资业务创造的收入比重已达到该所年收入的30％。

自香港分所成立以来，段和段为境内外客户提供的法律服务不断增加。作为长期发展计划的组成部分，段和段已与香港本地的陈锦全，黎永康律师事务所建立联营。在满足监管要求后，段和段香港分所将从事香港本地业务。此后，段和段将能够聘用本地律师和合伙人，提供与香港法律相关的顾问服务。该所希望将香港相关业务占总收入的比例由目前的30％提高至50％以上。

现任段和段主任合伙人龚晓航，主要在香港和上海两地工作，他表示：“未来10年，我希望帮助中国客户赴港投资以及在香港成立公司能成为我们香港分所的主要业务。目前，越来越多的中国客户将香港视为国际投资的门户。”

不过，并非所有中国事务所都像段和段与金杜这样对香港市场雄心勃勃。多数事务所对目前的香港业务表示满足，这些香港分所主要为大陆业务发挥联络和市场推广的作用。例如，君合律师事务所合伙人佟珂表示：“我们并不希望将香港办事处发展为大规模的独立分支机构。目前，我们尚无针对跨镜交易提供香港和国际法律顾问服务的计划，也无意同香港市场的大型律师事务所开展竞争。”

尽管如此，象君合这样的顶尖律师事务所无疑将推进其他战略计划以加强其代理跨境业务的能力和业务收入比重。

OBAMA PUTS A LOCKE ON HIS CABINET GaryLocke,whowasco-chair oftheChinapracticeatUSfirmDavisWrightTremaine,hasleftthefirmtobecometheUSSecretary of Commerce.

Locke accepted his nomination byUSPresidentBarackObamaandreturned to public service upon confirmationbytheSenate.HejoinedDavisWrightTremaine in 2005 after two successful terms as the GovernoroftheStateofWashington.

“Gary’s leadership of our China practice has been instrumental to its growth and success,” said Norm Page,partnerandco-chairofthefirm’sChinapracticegroup in Shanghai. “He has successfully helped American companies sell their products and services internationally, particularly in China, and we are sure that he will bring the same level of commitment and dedicationtohisimportantnewrolehelpingallUScompaniesgrowandcreatejobs.”

戴维斯合伙人骆家辉被提名为美国商务部部长美国戴维斯律师事务所中国业务联席主管合伙人骆家辉近日被美国总统奥巴马提名为美国商务部部长。骆家辉于2005年加入戴维斯成为合伙人并主管该所的中国业务。此前他曾连续两次出任华盛顿州州长。

gary Locke

14

NEWS | analysis >>

ISSUE 6.3

Inland navigators: all go on the western frontANALySIS

West China is the next hot market, with investors attracted by preferential economic policies, a cheap workforce and abundant natural resources. The region’s legal services market is also maturing rapidly

domestiC law FiRms witH bRanCHes ►in west CHina

Firm Headquarters BranchesDacheng Beijing Chengdu

ChongqingXining

Zhong Yin Beijing ChengduNanning

Huatai Beijing ChengduZhonglunW&D Beijing Chengdu

JT&N Beijing ChengduGuantao Beijing ChengduUnitalen Beijing Chengdu

ChongqingTianping Beijing ChengduKaiwen Beijing ChongqingKing&Wood Beijing Chengdu

ChongqingXi’an

west CHina: tHe numbeRs ►Asaresultofgovernmentincentivesforprojectsdevelopedinthewesternregion,Chongqingiscontinuing to open up, especially after becoming directly controlled by the central government, says Song Gang,anofficialfromChongqingForeignTradeandEconomicRelationsCommissioninchargeofFDI.“Thespeedofdevelopmentisquickerthanever,”headded.

InChongqing,reckonedtobethefastest-growingurban centre on the planet, there were more than 4,500foreignorjointcompanies,providingmorethan170,000positions,bytheendof2008.OfFortune500companies,102havesetupshopinChongqing,halfofwhichhaveaddedmorethan86subsidiaries and the other half have set up branches or representative offices. The total value of contract reachedUS$15.6bn,withUS$8.7bnalreadyfunded.In2008alone,thecity’sFDIhitahistoricalhighofatotalvalueofUS$2.73bn,a151%increasecompared to the year before.

Chengdu has also achieved similar investment advances in the past year. According to the Chengdu IndustrialandCommercialAdministrationBureau,therewere246newforeigncompaniesregisteredinthecity,withatotalinvestmentvalueofUS$4.74bnfunded,a47.44%increasefrom2007.

Chengduisthefourthcity–afterBeijing,Shanghai and Guangzhou – in terms of the number ofconsulatesithosts.Eightcountries–theUS,France, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, PakistanandPhilippines–havesetupconsulatesthereandothercountries,suchastheUK,theCzechRepublicandAustralia,plantolaunchanofficialpresence there soon.

The world’s largest microchip maker, Intel, recently announced it will move its Shanghai factory to Chengdu in order to improve

its cash flow during the financial crisis. Intel is not the only company moving its focus from the developed east coast to the country’s cheaper west region. Many other Fortune 500 companies have plans in place to increase their investment and operations in the western region.

In a changed economic climate, the region’s preferential policies, cheaper workforce, and sufficient raw materials and natural resources are even more attractive to investors looking for opportunities in both the short and long term.

As an encouraging sign to the business and legal community, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission launched its Southwest Sub-Commission in Chongqing in January to facilitate the region’s strong economic development and active business sector. The new branch will significantly cut down the cost of arbitration for enterprises in the region and boost the arbitration practices in local law firms.

Riding the new wave created by multinationals’ adopting the strategy of moving inland, law firms in the region are geared to reap the benefits.

Currently, there are than 30,000 lawyers practising in about 3,000 firms in the region, with an annual income of approximately RMB2.1bn (US$306.8m). A number of local firms have stood out and become noticeable players on a national scale.

Chengdu-based Tahota, for example, was recently admitted to the membership of Sino-Global Legal Alliance, a network that combines the global resources and international legal expertise of Lovells with the local law capability of specially selected, market-leading local law firms across the country’s key economic regions.

According to Cheng Shoutai, the founder and director of Tahota, more local firms have been growing strongly over recent years.

“With the increase of foreign-related business, the demand for quality lawyers is higher than ever. Our international business group has been one of the many beneficiaries of this western development and has experienced strong growth in the past few years,” Cheng said.

Currently, Tahota has more than

Cheng Shoutai, Tahota

NEWS | analysis >>


leadinG loCal FiRms in west CHina ►Firm Headquarters Number of offices Year establishedExceedon&Partners Chongqing 1 1998Dingli Chengdu 1 1995Sifangda Chengdu 1 1993Solton&Partners Chongqing 1 1995Tahota Chengdu 4 2000Zhonghao Chongqi 5 2006

30 lawyers and can undertake work in five foreign languages. With the firm’s international ambition, Cheng revealed that his firm has expanded business to overseas jurisdictions and has plans to open a branch office in Hong Kong.

Solton & Partners, one of the leading firms in Chongqing, is also a Sino-Global Legal Alliance member. The firm’s managing partner, Han Deyun, is attuned to the potential of the regional legal market. “West China has 30% of the country’s whole population, but only around 10% of the overall income of the whole legal market. We have more potential for growth compared to the mature markets in the coastal regions,” he said.

However, while local legal firms are embracing new opportunities, they also

FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI PROMOTES TWO PARTNERS IN HONG KONG Fulbright&JaworskihaselevatednineseniorassociatesandfourseniorcounselacrossitsUS,DubaiandHongKongofficestojointhefirm’sglobalpartnership.Twoofthenewpartners,ZhangJieofthecorporategroupandBenMcQuhaeoftheenergy& real property group, are based in Hong Kong.

Bothhaveexperienceinadvisingmultinationalclientsinoil&gas-relatedtransactionsandprojects.ZhanghandlesM&Atransactions,jointventures,cross-borderinvestmentsandstructuredfinance,primarilyinvolvingChina,whileMcQuhae’spracticehasaclearfocusonoil&gas,coalandotherenergy-related transactions in Asia.

富布莱特•贾沃斯基香港晋升两位合伙人美国富布莱特•贾沃斯基律师事务所于近日在其美国，迪拜和香港办公室一共晋升了13位新合伙人，新合伙人均来自于核心业务团队。其中两位在该所的香港办公室执业，他们是公司业务团队的张杰以及能源项目团队的Ben McQuhae。

两位合伙人均有过代理跨国公司进行石油和天然气相关交易项目的经验。但张律师更多参与到与中国相关的并购，合资和跨境投融资项目，而McQuhae则侧重于为能源和自然资源类交易项目提供法律服务。

news in brief >>

Han Deyun, Solton & Partners

need to respond to an increased level of competition.

Beijing law firms have been at the forefront of domestic firms establishing a presence in the west. Leading firms, including King & Wood, Kaiwen, Dacheng, Zhonglun W&D and Guantao, have set up branches in cities including Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an, and have made an instant impact in the local market with their solid track record of advising large national and international clients.

International and Hong Kong firms are also eyeing the West China market’s potential. Some have forged alliances with local firms, the Lovells-backed Sino-Global Legal Alliance being a good example. Many have been working with local firms on a referral basis for a long time. A number of Hong Kong firms have even established a presence there, such as P C Woo & Co, one of the earliest Hong Kong firms to establish an office in Chengdu. ALB

内陆领航员：把握西部新机遇全球最大芯片厂商英特尔近期宣布，将上海工厂迁至成都，以便在金融危机时期改善企业现金流。将业

务重点由发达的东海岸转向成本低廉的西部地区是目前诸多企业的选择，英特尔并非唯一。其它很多财富500强企业也计划在西部增加投资，扩大经营规模。

在新的经济形式下，西部地区拥有更优惠的投资政策、更廉价的劳动力、更充足的原材料和自然资源，无论对于寻求短期还是长期机遇的投资人，都更具吸引力。

2009年1月，中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会在重庆成立西南分会，服务于为该地区经济的快速发展和日渐活跃的商业活动。该分会的成立同时为商界和法律业界带来市场发展的信心。西南分会将为该地区企业大幅削减仲裁成本，并推动本地律师事务所仲裁业务的发展。

在跨国公司向内陆转移浪潮的推动下，该地区律师事务所正积极地把握全新市场机遇。目前，该地区约有3,000家律师事务所，执业律师超过30,000人，年收入约21亿人民币（3.068亿美元）。

多家本地律师事务所正脱颖而出，成为全国知名的法律服务机构。总部位于成都的泰和泰律师事务所近期加入中世律师联盟，该组织充分发挥路伟国际律师事务所的全球资

源和国际律师人才优势，将其与中国主要经济地区领先律师事务所的本地法律服务实力相结合。泰和泰创始人兼主任程守太认为，近年来，本地律师事务所业务增长势头强劲。他表示：“随着境外相关业务的增加，市场对高水准律师的需求日益增加。西部开发令事务所国际业务团队

获益匪浅，过去数年内业务增长强劲。”目前，泰和泰拥有30多位律师，可使用五种外语工作。泰和泰对国际业务亦是雄心勃勃，程守太透露，事

务所已通过不同方式开始向海外市场拓展业务，并计划在香港成立分支机构。索通律师事务所是重庆知名律师事务所之一，也是中世律师联盟的成员。事务所管理合伙人韩德云对该地

区法律市场的发展潜力表示乐观。他认为：“中国西部人口占全国的30％，但法律服务市场的收入仅占全国的10％。与沿海地区的成熟市场相比，我们还有很大的增长潜力。”

不过，在本地律师事务所积极把握全新机遇的同时，还需要应对法律服务市场日趋激烈的竞争。在开拓西部市场方面，北京律师事务所走在国内事务所的前列。金杜、凯文、大成、中伦文德和观韬等领

先事务所已经在成都、重庆、西安等城市建立分支机构，凭借为大型国内和国际客户提供顾问的卓越资历，为西部本地市场带来较大冲击。

跨国律师事务所和香港律师事务所亦看重西部市场的发展潜力。部分事务所与本地事务所建立业务联合，路伟提供支持的中世律师联盟即是例证。其中诸多事务所通过推荐长期与本地事务所合作。多家香港律师事务所已经在西部成立办事处，例如，胡百全律师行是最早在成都开设办事处的香港律师事务所之一。

VINSON & ELKINS BOOSTS ENERGY ExPERTISEAnswering to strong client demands, Vinson&Elkinshasrelocatedseasonedenergyandprojectspartner Gary Kotara from the firm’s DubaiofficetoHongKong.Kotarahasbroadexperienceintheareaof energy business transactions in important markets across the globe.Inaddition,hehasextensiveexperienceinenergyregulationandadministrativelitigation.“Wearecontinuingtoseesignificantlevelsof investment activity in the Asian energy sector, particularlyinvolvinginternationalacquisitionsbyChinese and other Asian companies in the oil & gas and naturalresourcessectors,aswellasanumberofLNG-related transactions across Asia,” Kotara said.

文森•艾尔斯律师事务所提升能源业务服务实力为满足客户需求，文森•艾尔斯律所将资深能源和项目合伙人 Gary Kotara 由迪拜办事处调至香港任职。Kotara 在全球重要市场的能源业务交易领域拥有丰富经验。此外，他在能源监管和行政诉讼方面还拥有深厚经验。Gary Kotara 表示：“我们认为，亚洲能源领域将继续保持旺盛的投资势头，中国和其它亚洲公司在石油、燃气和自然资源领域进行国际收购的项目将尤其突出，整个亚洲地区与液化天然气相关的交易亦会不断增加。”

他认为：“尽管全球经济低迷，为满足发展需求，中国和部分其它亚洲国家仍需要大量进口能源。此外，由于近期国际原油和燃气价格下降，导致上游石油和燃气资产贬值，提供更具吸引力的投资机会，对部分资金雄厚的亚洲能源公司而言，投资机会尤其诱人。”

gary Kotara, Vinson & Elkins

16

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.3

areas of international arbitration, litigation, anti-trust, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations and auditing, and risk management in the area of anti-commercial bribery. Zhou, previously a member of Heller Ehrman’s IP litigation practice group based in Shanghai, will focus his practice on patent prosecution and litigation at MWE China.

The six newly elected partners are Jacqueline Cai, David Dai, Ken Huang, Leon Liu, Jack Ma and Molly Qin. Their practices focus on various areas including M&A, IP, international and domestic dispute resolution, labour and banking & securities law.

SHANGHAI

MWE China partner hires signal expansion plans Shanghai-based MWE China Law

Offices has taken a major step towards expanding its partnership. The firm has appointed nine new partners through its first partner intake since it was established in 2007. Of the new partners, three are external hires and six are internal promotions.

The new lateral hire partners are Helen Zhang, Henry Chen and Joseph Zhou. They had all worked with leading international firms for many years before joining MWE China.

Zhang joined from Singapore firm WongPartnership’s Shanghai office, where she was a partner. Her practice focuses on insolvency, intellectual property, M&A, real estate and renewable energy. Chen joins from Baker & McKenzie’s Shanghai office and has extensive experience in the

Helen Zhang, MWE China

REGIONAL

New Asia head for Freshfields after three-year gap Freshfields has appointed partner

Simon Marchant as its new Asia managing partner, a position which has been vacant for three years.

Marchant, a London-based M&A specialist, will transfer to the Hong Kong office later this year. He will take over the role that was vacated when partner Perry Noble stepped down in 2006. Marchant said the appointment was made because the position had gained more relevance over the years.

“Recently, the emphasis for us in Asia has been on building the business on a country-by-country basis, focusing on the dynamics of

the local markets,” Marchant said. “That has been hugely successful. But our clients are increasingly looking to us to help them across the region and, indeed, inter-regionally. That, combined with the increasing size of our business in Asia, has led us to conclude that now was the right time to reinstate the regional role.” ALB

news in brief >>KOREA TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARDS LEGAL MARKET LIBERALISATION The Korean government will allow foreign law firms from some Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signatory countries to set up local consultancy offices as early asSeptemberthisyear.Ithasindicatedthatfullmarketliberalisationcouldoccurby2016.

The move comes in anticipation of a full legal market liberalisation pursuant to free trade agreements signed withtheUSandASEAN,andnegotiationsarecurrentlyunderwaywithAustralia,theUAEandEUnations.

AspokesmanfromKorea’sMinistryofLawsaidthattheintentionofthebillwasnottoprovidejobopportunities for foreign lawyers but to upgrade the local legal industry.

韩国法律市场迈出首步开放步伐今年九月，韩国政府将允许自由贸易协定（FTA）签约国的外国律师事务所在韩国建立顾问办事处，预计韩国最早于2016年实现法律服务市场全面开放。

此政策出台正逢美国与东盟之间展开自由贸易协定的谈判，韩国与澳大利亚、欧盟和阿联酋之间的自由贸易协定谈判正在进行中。

韩国司法部发言人表示，该协议的主要目的并不在于为外国律师提供更多工作机会，而是为了促进韩国本地法律服务行业的升级。

SJ BERWIN GETS READY FOR ASIA MOVESJBerwinispreparingtolaunchitsfirstAsianofficeafterhavingappointedDanielLiew,formerDewey&LeBoeufHongKongco-head,asitsAsiamanaging partner.

The firm is currently waiting for permission to set upanofficeinHongKongasaforeignlawfirm.ItsHong Kong office will focus on fund formation, private equity,infrastructure,corporateM&A,litigationandreal estate law.

WhenhejoinedDeweyin2007,Liewhelpedestablishthefirm’sHongKongoffice.Ex-DeweycounselPeterTsewillalsojoinSJBerwininHongKong.

SJBerwincurrentlyhasnineofficesintheUKandthroughout continental Europe.

SJ Berwin进军亚洲市场欧洲 SJ Berwin 律师事务所正积极筹备首个亚洲办事处，任命杜威路博国际律师事务所（Dewey & LeBoeuf）香港办事处前联合主管 Daniel Liew 担任亚洲主管合伙人。

SJ Berwin 目前正等待香港政府批准其以外国律师事务所身份在港成立办事处。其香港办事处的业务重点将包括基金设立、私募股权、基础设施、公司并购、诉讼和房地产法律。

Liew 于2007年加入 Dewey ，协助筹建该事务所香港办事处。加入Dewey之前，Liew 曾在西盟斯香港办事处担任合伙人。Dewey 前顾问律师 Peter Tse 亦将加入 SJ Berwin 香港办事处。

目前SJ Berwin在英国和欧洲大陆共有九家办事处。

富而德任命亚洲区主管合伙人

富而德律师事务所任命Simon Marchant担任亚洲区业务主管合伙人。此前，该职位已

九位律师加盟元达合伙人团队近日，上海元达律师事务所，McDermott

Will & Emery在中国的战略合作伙伴，吸引陈立彤、张海晓与周孜冶三位律师以合伙人身份加盟。同时，该所还晋升六位资深律师才卓、戴俊达、黄剑、刘晨光、马骏和秦佳骏为合伙人。此次合伙人团队的扩充为该所07年成立以来的首次。

三位新加入的合伙人此前均已在国际律所执业多年。张海晓在加入元达前曾为新加坡王律师事务所上海代表处的合伙人，业务领域涵盖破产清算、知识产权、兼并和收购、房地产以及可再生能源等。

陈立彤和周孜冶分别从贝克•麦坚时和美国海陆律师事务所上海办公室加入。陈立彤曾为国内外客户处理过许多重要案件和项目，涉及国际仲裁、国内诉讼、反垄断法合规、反垄断申报、海外腐败行为法调查及审计、反商业贿赂风险管理及其他公司法律服务。周孜冶的业务特长集中在知识产权法包括专利诉讼和代理。

其他六位内部提拔的合伙人亦拥有深厚的中外法律执业经验，业务领域涵盖知识产权、兼并和收购，国内外纠纷解决，劳动雇用法以及银行和证券法。

元达创始人兼合伙人黄仲兰表示：“在当前经济危

NEWS >>


uk report

ROUNDUPNortonRose’sincomingchairman,StephenParish,recentlyrevealedplanstosteerthefirmtowardsa•USmerger,sayingthataNewYorkofficeisessentialforanyinternationallawfirmSimmons&SimmonshasdecidedtosplititstwoPortugueseoffices.Simmons&SimmonsRebelode•Sousa, a firm of five partners and about 70 fee earners, is no longer part of the firm, although it will continue as an alliance partnerIanMcDonaldhasbeenchosentoheadMayerBrown’seight-partnerinsolvencyteaminLondon,taking•overfromLondonlitigationheadDavidAllenandfinancepartnerIanColesCliffordChancehasdecidedtoleasepartofitsCanaryWharfofficestoKPMGin2009–10for£4m.The•accountancyfirmhasalreadymovedaround1,000stafffromitstaxandpeopleservicespracticeinto93,000sqftonthe16th–19thfloorsof10UpperBankStreet.Fullrelocationissetforautumn2010

Linklaters tops renewable deals tally MagicCirclefirmLinklatersrecentlymadeitsmarkin the renewable energy sector, coming in at the number one spot on the InfrastructureJournal deals listafteradvisingon13dealsworthUS$5.87bn.

Top Spanish firm Garrigues came in second on the value rankings, but took first place on the largest volume of deals in the sector overall with 33transactions.USfirmMilbanktookthirdplace,advisingon15dealsworthUS$3.8bn.

NortonRoseandAllen&Overywerethehighest-placedUKfirmsinthemarketbyvolume,with17renewablesdealseach,worthUS$2.78bnandjustoverUS$3bnrespectively.

Slaughters slashes rates SlaughterandMayhasswitchedtoa‘valuebilling’system and abandoned hourly rates in an effort to provideclientswithafixedfee.Thenewfixedratemethod sees the client and firm agreeing on fees in advance, whereby an estimate is agreed upon based on “realistic assumptions”.

The Silver Circle firm, which won a place on ITV’sfixedfee-onlypanel(thefirsttobemadeup of firms that do not charge by the hour) last October, is also trialling a discount policy, whereby lower rates are offered for deals that fail to complete.

DLA set to cut again DLAPiperinitiatedaredundancyconsultationinFebruarythatissettoslash30lawyersand110supportstafffromthefirm’sUKoffices.

Although no trainees will be affected, the firm hasrequestedanumberofthoseduetostartin2009todefertheirstartdatesuntil2010.

Lovells launches redundancy program Lovell’shasjoinedthelistofUKfirmsmakingredundanciesinearly2009,despiteasteadyfinancial performance going into the recession.

The firm recently launched a redundancy consultationwhichwillseeupto94Londonstafflosetheirjobs:thesecouldbe18lawyers,43supportstaff,27secretariesandsixprofessionalsupport lawyers.

Those lawyers in the dispute resolution, business restructuringandinsolvency,IPandpensionspractices escape the cut, but support staff across the board will be affected and the firm is said to be retaining78%traineesfromthespringqualifiers.

Freeze hits White & Case London Followinga4.8%dropinglobalprofitperequitypartner(PEP)duringthe2008calendaryear,White& Case’s London arm recently implemented a hiring and salary freeze in a bid to reduce costs.

The firm has decided to keep associate salaries at current levels – even associates moving from one year’spostqualificationexperience(PQE)totwowillnotreceiveapayrise.White&Case’sLondonofficeactuallysawa4%hikeinrevenueearlyFebruary–uptoUS$245.9m.

Second redundancy consultation hits Simmons Simmons & Simmons recently began a second round of redundancy consultations, putting 20 associatesandupto49secretarialandsupportstaffatriskoflosingtheirjobs.

The practices most affected are capital markets, banking,projectsandrealestate;35secretariesand12–14professionalsupportstaffrolesarealsounder threat of redundancy.

SHANGHAI

MWE China partner hires signal expansion plans

REGIONAL

New Asia head for Freshfields after three-year gap

“Given the current economic crisis, many law firms have had to lay off people due to a slow down in business. Fortunately, we have been able to buck that trend and – although the pace may have slowed – we are still hiring people,” said John Huang, MWE China’s founding and managing partner.

Huang attributes his firm’s growth to its unique practice platform, which attempts to seamlessly integrate MWE China’s local knowledge and expertise with the global network and resources of its strategic alliance partner, US firm McDermott Will & Emery.

Due to the economic crisis, many local firms have also found more candidates from foreign law firms’ representative offices in China knocking on their doors. ALB

机的背景下，诸多事务所因业务减少被迫裁员。幸运的是，元达的业务逆市发展，尽管增速放缓，但仍有招聘人才的需求。”

黄仲兰在总结业务增长的原因时认为，元达拥有独特的业务平台，与美国 McDermott Will & Emery 律师事务所建立的战略联盟将元达的本地市场经验和专业实力与McDermott Will & Emery的全球业务网络和资源完美结合。

此外，在经济危机的影响下，诸多中国本地律师事务所发现，吸引有境外律师事务所中国办事处工作经验的律师愈加容易。

空缺长达三年。Marchant 是在伦敦工作的并

购业务专家，今年晚些时候将转赴香港办事处任职。2006年合伙人 Perry Noble 辞职后，该职位便一直空缺，Marchant 将在香港接替 Perry Noble 的工作。Marchant 表示，历经过去几年的业务发展，填补该职位的必要性亦随之凸现。

他表示：“近期，我们重点在亚洲地区逐国建立业务基础，注重发展本地市场。该策略取得巨大成功。但越来越多的客户要求我们在整个亚洲范围内提供跨区域服务，提供真正覆盖整个地区的服务。加之亚洲地区业务不断增加，我们认为，现在是重新任命亚洲区负责人的绝佳时机。”

18

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.3

news in brief >>DLA PIPER CUTS 54 IN ASIA RESTRUCTURINGDLAPiperisrestructuringitsAsiaofficesinamovethatsaw20ofitsAsia-basedlawyersmaderedundantbytheendofMarch.

Thefirmannouncedthat54staffmembers–20feeearnersand34supportstaff–acrossitsAsiabusinesseswillbecut.Mostofthecutsarebelievedto affect the Hong Kong office, in the aftermath of several partner departures.

TheannouncementmakesDLAPiperthesecondmajorinternationalfirmtodeclarecutsspecificallyaffecting its Asia offices. A similar move was made by Allen & Overy, which is restructuring its Hong Kong office following partner defections.

欧华宣布亚洲裁员计划，香港员工受影响最大欧华近期宣布准备于三月底在亚洲范围内裁减54位员工，其中包括20位律师。受影响的员工大部分位于该所在香港的办公室。欧华为亚洲区内第二家宣布裁员计划的大型国际律师事务所。此前，安理在七位合伙人离职后宣布将重组其香港办公室

PRIVATE COMPANIES LOSE ENTHUSIASM FOR GROWTH THROUGH M&A AND IPOSA recent survey by Grant Thornton revealed that privately held businesses are less interested in growingthroughacquisitionsandpubliclistingsdueto the current market conditions.

According to the Grant Thornton International Business Report 2009, the number of private businessesinthePRCintendingtomakeacquisitionsfellby26%comparedto2008,andbusinessesplanningtoundertakepubliclistinginthenextthreeyearsfellby40%.

The findings of the report match the current feelingsofthelegalprofession.ManylawyerswhospecialiseinM&AandcapitalmarketshaveexperiencedaslowdowninM&Atransactionsandlistingplans,andnotedthatnewprojectsareharderto come by than in previous years.

民企并购上市热情降低由国际会计公司均富发布的2008/2009年度市场调查报告显示，由于金融危机的影响，中国民营企业的并购和上市欲望大幅下降。

2009年均富国际会计师事务所商业报告显示，较之2008年，有意收购的中国私营企业数量下降26％，计划在未来三年公开上市的私营企业下降40％。

报告结论与法律业内人士目前的感受相符。并购和资本市场领域诸多专业律师切身感受到并购交易和上市计划的增速放缓，他们指出，较之以往年份，今年获

得新项目的难度更大。

NATIONAL

Litigation rising rapidlyCouRt Cases: 2008 ►

Case type Number of cases Compared to 2007Cases handled by all Chinese courts 10,710,000 up11%

Criminal cases 768,130 –

Labour dispute cases 286,221 up94%

Cases involving medical services, housing and protection of consumers’ rights

576,013 up45%

Intellectualpropertyrightinfringementcases 27,876 up32%

Cases involving financial disputes, real estate disputes, company share-holdingreform,transferofstockownership,foreign-relatedand maritime disputes

1,140,000 up15%

Marketdisruptioncases 21,674 up13%

L itigation levels are rising rapidly – this was the message recently delivered by the country’s top judge Wang Shengjun in a report to the National People’s

Congress. In 2008 alone, Chinese courts handled 10.71 million cases, around 11% more than in 2007. This is due partly to legal reforms facilitating litigation and partly to more legal cases occurring independently of the changes brought by the legal reforms.

In the civil sector, the fastest growth is occurring in labour disputes, followed by cases involving health care, housing and consumer rights.

Due to the economic downturn and the adoption of the new Labour Contract Law, labour dispute cases exceeded 286,000 last year, which is almost double the 2007 figure.

Financial disputes, which account for around 10% of the total cases completed, have seen a 15% increase, exceeding one million.

Intellectual property right infringement cases are also in the top five, with a one-third increase. Between 2003 and 2008, China launched a number of special campaigns to rectify and standardise intellectual property protection. Wang has also stated that Chinese courts will severely penalise IPR infringement. ALB

诉讼业务领域机遇丰富中国的诉讼水平正在迅速提高——最高人民法院院长王胜俊在十一届全国人大二次会议作最高人

民法院工作报告时传达了这样一个讯息。这是因为法治改革的结果，这也意味着律师事务所更多的市场机遇。

BEIJING

Herbert Smith re-hires partner Herbert Smith has announced that former partner Jeremy

Xiao has returned as a consultant to the firm. Xiao will work out of the firm’s Beijing office on a part-time basis.

Xiao previously left the firm to take up the role of managing director with Credit Suisse in 2007. Before joining Credit Suisse, he had worked in Herbert Smith for more than 10 years as a partner, including five years as managing partner of the firm’s Beijing office. Landmark deals he has advised on include the multi-billion-dollar IPOs of Sinopec, China Construction Bank and ICBC.

He will retain his role at Credit Suisse in addition to his new appointment with Herbert Smith. A source at the firm said that Xiao would focus on supporting the development of the firm’s 20-partner Greater China practice, including helping to further strengthen the top-tier practice’s relationships with a number of China’s leading multinationals. ALB

Jeremy Xiao, Herbert Smith

NEWS >>


us report

ROUNDUPDewey&LeBoeufhasshutdownitsSanFranciscoofficeandissettocombineitsBayArealegalandsupport•staff following the shutdown BakerBottshasdefiedtheoddsandposteda6.16%increaseinglobalrevenueforthepastfinancialyearfrom•US$577min2007uptoUS$613min2008.PEPatthefirmisalsoup4.6%fromUS$1.3mtoUS$1.36min2008USfirmDebevoise&PlimptonrecentlyrecruitedGeorgeWBush’sfinalattorneygeneralMichaelMukaseyand•alsoformerUKattorney-generalLordGoldsmithNewYorkfirmKramerLevinNaftalis&Frankelhasannounceditwillbemaking18lawyersand21support•staff redundant due to the impact of current economic conditionsSimpson Thacher & Bartlett is ready to launch in Brazil following the find of a permanent office space for lead •partnersToddCriderandJaimeMercado,withroomforafurtherfiveassociatesandonemorepartnerDechertlost10stafflawyerstoredundancylastmonth,inthefirm’ssecondroundoflayoffs,givinginsufficient•workflowasthecauseMorrison&Foersterrecentlyputafreezeonassociatesalariesandcutitsassociatediscretionarybonusestoas•lowasUS$6,000for2008

Dewey revels in revenue increase WhileaverageprofitperequitypartneratDewey& LeBoeuf has remained relatively steady at US$1.57m,thefirmrecentlyrevealedaminorrevenue increase for the 2008 financial year.

GrossrevenuefortheUSfirmgrew2.1%fromUS$1.008bnin2007uptoUS$1.03bndespiteoffice closures in Austin, Charlotte, Hartford andJacksonville.

Ashurst enters the US Ashursthasrevealedplanstolaunchfee-earningofficesinWashingtonDCandNewYork,followingthehireofa11-partnerstructuredfinanceteamfromlong-timeUSnicheallyMcKeeNelson.

ThiswillbeafirstfortheUKfirmwhichuntilrecentlyhadanon-feeearningpresencein New York.

Orrick set to slash jobs Justafewmonthsafterslashing75associates,counselandsupportstaffacrossitsUS,AsiaandEurope networks, Orrick has revealed plans for another redundancy program that could see up to 12%ofthefirm’sassociatesandofcounsellaidoff.

Itisreportedthatabout300peopleacrossthefirm’sUS,AsiaandEuropeofficesareinthefiringline, with the firm citing the world economic crisis, its impact on clients and levels of activity in the world market as catalysts for the cut.

McDermott slashes staff McDermottWill&Emeryrecentlyletgoofassociatesand89supportstaffacrossitsUSoffices as the credit crunch continues to make its mark.

The layoffs follow reports of static profit per equitypartnerfiguresatUS$1.52m,anda1.2%dropinrevenuefromUS$978min2007toUS$966mlastyear.

PEP falls among US firmsUSfirmsarefeelingtheeffectsoftheeconomicdownturn,withprofitperequitypartner(PEP)figuresatanumberoffirmsbelowpar.AveragePEPatLatham&WatkinslastyearstoodatUS$1.8mcomparedwithUS$2.27min2007andthefirmposteda21%dropinaveragePEPforthe2008financial year.

ThecollapseofDavisPolk&Wardwell’scorefinancial services markets has hit hard, with averageprofitperequitypartnerfalling15%toUS$2.05min2008,despiterevenuegrowthforthesameperiodremainingatUS$767m.Similarly,whilerevenueatPaulHastingsincreasedby1%toUS$986m,thefirm’s2008financialresultsrevealedprofitsperpartnerfellby1%toUS$1.9m.

ProfitperequitypartneratSullivan&CromwellremainedataroundtheUS$3mmark,cementingthe firm’s position as the current most profitable full-serviceUSlawfirm.

2008年，全国各级法院受理案件1071万件，比2007年同比上升约11%。

在民事类案件板块，增长最快的是劳动争议类案件，以及涉及医疗、住房、消费者权益保护等案件。

由于金融危机的影响，以及新的劳动合同法的实施，劳动争议类案件去年达到18。6万件，几乎比2007年翻倍。

涉及经济纠纷的案件，几乎占了所有案件的10%，比上年增加15%，达到100万件。

知识产权侵权案件也名列前5位，增加了1/3。从2003年至2008年，中国颁布了一系列新的法规，规范市场秩序和知识产权保护。王胜俊也曾经指出中国将严惩知识产权侵犯行为。

史密夫前合伙人回归肖志岳近日作为法律顾问重新加入史密夫律师

事务所北京代表处。肖律师曾在史密夫做了十年的合伙人，其中在北

京做了五年的管理合伙人。2007年末，他离开史密夫，加入瑞士信贷集团担任中国投行业务联席董事长。据悉，他这次重回史密夫任职以兼职形式，主要帮助该所接洽中国的一些顶级跨国公司。同时，他将保留在瑞信的职位。

20

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.3

toP 10 PRC FiRms: by numbeR oF Follow-on oFFeRinGs ►Firms Volume RankJingtian&Gongcheng 13 1

Grandall 12 2

King&Wood 11 3

Grandfield =9 4

Jiayuan =9 4

BeijingDeheng 8 6

Tianyin =7 7

Haiwen =7 7

Hylands =6 9

JunHe =6 9

KangDa =6 9

HONG KONG

Mercantile Exchange addresses China-focused commodities markets

BEIJING

Capital’s firms taking lead in securities workFor the first time, the China Securities Regulatory

Commission (CSRC) has ranked law firms by the volume of securities work they have undertaken. CSRC recently released the 2007 capital markets legal advisor league tables as part of its report on the development of the domestic legal services market for securities matters in 2007.

The clear trend was the dominance of Beijing firms, as only a few Shanghai firms and one Fujian firm made the rankings. King & Wood, for example, dominates in two of the three tables, namely the number of IPOs advised upon and by advice on offshore offerings. Jingtian & Gongcheng, another Beijing-headquartered firm, leads in the ranking of top advisers on follow-on offerings. ALB

On the back of China’s growing appetite for energy and resources,

the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) has been established to bridge the gap between the international commodities markets and China.

It provides an efficient and transparent pricing platform for end-users and the global trading community to trade tailor-made contracts, hedge pricing risks in China and across the region, lower transactions costs and increase participation by Chinese and international commodities traders.

To ensure its smooth and efficient operation and the implementation of its future growth strategy, the new exchange has appointed Ann Cresce as general counsel and head of compliance.

“Ann’s appointment adds more depth to our team as we continue building Hong Kong’s commodities exchange,”

said HKMEx chairman Barry Cheung. “Compliance is a critical element for ensuring the integrity of the exchange and we are extremely pleased to have someone of Ann’s calibre join us.”

Cresce is responsible for managing all legal and regulatory functions for HKMEx. Cresce joined from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) where she was senior vice-president and general counsel, overseeing all legal affairs pertaining to domestic and foreign business development, corporate matters, regulatory issues, intellectual property, and human resource issues related to CCX and the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange.

“Nothing better anticipates the future in the exchange industry than the establishment of a commodities marketplace in Hong Kong. I am very excited about the prospects for

HKMEx,” Cresce said. Before her time at CCX, she was director of compliance and assistant general counsel at IntercontinentalExchange, Inc, where she was responsible for the development of regulatory compliance programs under US and UK regulatory regimes. ALB

toP 10 PRC FiRms: by numbeR oF domestiC iPos and listinGs ►Firms Volume RankKing&Wood 30 1

Grandall 21 2

Tianyin 11 3

Zhong Lun 11 3

BeijingDeheng 11 3

AllBright 10 6

Jiayuan 9 7

KangDa 7 8

FujianZhili 7 8

Grandfield 7 8

香港商品交易所新添法律保障在中国对能源和资源的需求不断增长的背景

下，香港商品交易所发挥桥梁作用，紧密连接国际商品市场和中国。

该交易所为最终用户和全球交易业界提供高效透明的定价平台，可交易定制合约，规避中国市场和整个地区的价格风险，降低交易成本，提高中国和国际商品交易商的参与度。

为确保交易所平稳高效运营，充分贯彻未来发展策略，新交易所任命 Ann Cresce 担任总法律顾问和合规主管。

NEWS >>


HONG KONG

Mercantile Exchange addresses China-focused commodities markets

toP 10 PRC FiRms: by numbeR oF oFFsHoRe iPos and listinGs ►Firms Volume RankKing&Wood 5 1

Jiayuan 4 2

Jingtian&Gongcheng 3 3

Commerce & Finance 3 3

Grandfield 2 5

Zhong Lun 2 5

JunZeJun 2 5

KangDa 2 5

S&P 1 9

JunHe 1 9

北京律所领携证监会律所证券法律业务排名近日，证监会首度根据《中国资本市场法制发展报告(2007年)》而发布

《2007年度证券法律服务业务发展报告》(以下简称《证券法律服务报告》)中的业务量，对中国从事证券法律业务的律师事务所进行了排名。

该报告是自证监会取消证券从业资格审批制度以来，首次比较系统、全面地介绍了2007年律师事务所从事证券法律执业的基本情况，也是首次由证券监管部门根据其接收的法律意见书对律师事务所证券法律业务量进行专项排名和综合排名，是对建立律师事务所及律师从事证券法律业务激励机制的探索和尝试。

北京律师事务所无可争议地统治者整个排名，在整个前十名排名中，除了上海的锦天城和福建至理，还有国浩律师集团外，没有一家总部非北京的律所挤入前十名。北京金杜占据了3个表格中的两个第一位，即股票首次公开发行法律业务量最多和境外发行法律业务出具的法律文书数最多的律所。北京竞天公诚则是再融资法律业务量最多的律所。

上海锦天城律师事务所管理合伙人朱林海表示，北京律所离监管部门较近，在大型国企的上市和跨境并购交易中有明显优势，而上海律所相对规模小，业务侧重点也不同，因为上海市是私企外企较多的区域。

香港商品交易所主席张震远表示：“在建设香港商品交易所的过程中，任命 Ann 担任总法律顾问使我们的工作团队更具深度。在确保交易所顺利发展过程中，合规是重要因素，对于 Ann 这样资深专业人士的加入，我们深感荣幸。”

Cresce 主要负责为香港商品交易所管理各种法律和监管职能。进入香港商品交易所之前，Cresce 曾在芝加哥气候交易所工作，担任高级副总裁兼总法律顾问，负责与芝加哥气候交易所和芝加哥气候期货交易所相关的所有法律事务，包括国内外业务开发、公司事务、监管事务、知识产权和人力资源事务。

uPdate >>

insurance

aviation Passenger accident insurance in China: History, Change and administration. a Continuing quest for Perfection

Aviation Passenger Accident Insurance (APAI) in China originated in the Interim Provisions on the Compensation for the Personal Injury of Domestic Aviation Transport Passengers in 1998. In reviewing

the supervision and management of APAI by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), we may divide the history into three stages.

During the first stage (1998–2002), APAI applied uniform provisions issued by the People’s Bank of China. At this time, the CIRC was required to focus on organising spot inspections and the strengthening of punishments concerning the violation of laws and regulations effecting control and regulation of APAI market order. The focus was a product of troubling issues, such as: the compulsive sale of APAI with tickets or other relevant insurance; counterfeit policies; and the embezzlement of premiums by agents or staff of insurance companies.

The second stage was from 2003 to 2006, during which time the CIRC issued several specific notices on the reformation of APAI. The notices required insurance companies to issue their policies by computer, establish system networks and separately perform accounting practices. Meanwhile, the CIRC issued timely new APAI guiding clauses for the reference of insurance companies. The clauses differed from the former clauses as they were not deemed compulsory.

Upon the issue of the Notice of Issues Concerning Strengthening the Management of APAI (hereafter referred to as the “Notice”) by the CIRC in 2007, the guiding clauses of APAI were abolished. Abolishing the clauses indicated the coming of the third stage of the CIRC’s administration of APAI. Although the previous uniform provisions and guiding clauses brought positive effects for the steadiness of the APAI market, expectations were not met as these limited the independent business operation and the creativity of insurance companies. Additionally, the extremely low probability of an APAI accident encouraged negligent views of catastrophic hazards resulting in the impairment of insured parties’ benefits. Dealing with the abovementioned issues, the newly issued Notice made the adjustments below.

First, returning the right of APAI product development and pricing to insurance companies, allowing the adjusting function of the market system to be exerted adequately.

Secondly, requiring insurance companies to establish inner networks, issue policies by computer and perform real-time management. This ensures clients’ information is completely recorded and in a timely manner.

Thirdly, requiring insurance companies to arrange reinsurance for their APAI.

Finally, encouraging insurance companies to develop and improve their APAI and relevant products to satisfy societal needs.

With the enforcement of the latest regulation, each insurance company actively creates and provides integrative vehicle accident insurance with a more extensive scope of protection and lower prices. New products provide consumers with additional choice and help perfect a number of inherent defects in traditional APAI products, including the narrow protection scope and short duration.

Zhan Hao

Dr Zhan Hao, Managing Partner Grandall Legal Group Beijing Office Tel: 010-65890699 Fax: 010-65176801 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.grandall.com.cn

22

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.3

While the possibilities of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation

Agreement (CECA) between the mainland and Taiwan are still being widely debated, Beijing-headquartered Dacheng has already taken steps to assist clients in cross-Strait trade, investment and business development.

Three months after the firm established The Cross-Strait Legal Service Center in Shanghai, a joint initiative of the firm and the Taiwan All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Dacheng has masterminded a new approach for expansion.

A firm named Taiwan Dacheng Law Firm has been established in Taiwan, managed by Dr Lai Laikun, dean of the Institute of Law at Hsuan Chuang University. This local partnership is a separate legal entity from Dacheng but will serve as the Taiwan branch of the firm. The two will share resources, branding and IT infrastructure, and will have the same standards for client service and quality control.

“The two sides will work seamlessly as one firm to

uPdate >>

international tax

mPFa quarterly statistics as at 31 december 2008

The Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund Authority (MPFA) publish regular quarterly statistics on MPF and Occupational Retirement Schemes, and the latest figures to 31 December 2008 are set out below and are

contrasted with the figures to 31 December 2007.The number of employers in Hong Kong for both MPF and

ORSO schemes declined during 2008; and the value of MPF accounts on average declined by 23%.

The MPF scheme in Hong Kong was introduced in 2000; and after nine years of performance it is time the Hong Kong government initiated a formal review; especially as there has been some suggestion that the MPF framework will be used for funding health care in Hong Kong in future.

Debbie Annells

ORSO SchemeSSummary 31 December

2008 2007Registeredschemes

No.

-MPF employers 6,748 6,965

employees 417,000 436,000 -Non-MPF

employers 1,276 1,347 employees 45,000 48,000

Exemptedschemes 4,298 4,460

av. Value 2008 av. Value 2007Registered HK$

-MPF employers 38.7m 32.7memployees 594,513 523,553

-Non-MPF

employers 9.2m 7.9memployees 261,156 222,250 total value 247,912m 228,269m

Exempted schemes no values known

mPF SchemeSSummary 31 December 31 December

2008 2007MPF scheme

No.employers 238,000 239,000 employees 2,175,000 2,130,000 average of no. employees per scheme

9.1 8.9

MPF scheme

av. Value 2008 av. Value 2007HK$

Per employer 880,185 1.1mPer employee 96,314 124,313 Total value all schemes 209,484m 264,786m

By Debbie Annells, Managing Director, AzureTax Ltd, Chartered Tax Advisers Suite 1010, 10/F Lippo Centre, Tower Two, 89 Queensway, Hong Kong www.azuretax.com, a member of AzureTax Group (Tel) +852 2123 9339 (direct line), (Main Line) +852 2123 9370, (Fax) +852 2122 9209 Registered with the Chartered Institute of Taxation for purposes of anti money laundering legislation.

TAIWAN

Dacheng activates innovative cross-Strait partner scheme

Wang guangming, Dacheng

NATIONAL

Companies get tough on IP infringementsAs companies respond to the tough market conditions

by cutting budgets, law firms have seen a significant reduction in demand for patent filings and prosecutions. However, firms still expect growth in IP litigation, enforcement and licensing work.

“In boom times, some companies didn’t pay enough attention to some infringement problems, and didn’t have time to realise the commercial potential of their IPRs. Now, the quiet time gives them an opportunity to adjust their IP strategy and planning and reap more economic benefits from their existing IP portfolios,” said Jay Sha, a partner of Liu Shen & Partners.

Another noticeable trend is that judicial damage awards for IPR violations are increasing.

“The volume of IP litigation has increased in recent years… the damage awards in infringement cases are rising and increasingly punitive,” said Gordon Gao, a partner of

NEWS >>


TAIWAN

Dacheng activates innovative cross-Strait partner schemeprovide a one-stop service for clients in cross-Strait trade, investment and business development,” said Wang Guangming, Dacheng’s managing partner in Shanghai and the vice-director of the The Cross-Strait Legal Service Center. ALB

大成(台湾)律师事务所在台获批成立为加强两岸律师的合作与交流，促进两岸经贸发展，积极开拓两岸合作

新路径，总部位于北京的大成律师事务所近日与台湾法律界合作建立了大成（台湾）律师事务所。大成（台湾）所是两岸律师界以独特，创新的合作方式在台湾建立的法律服务机构。

目前，由台湾玄奘大学法学院院长赖来昆领导的大成（台湾）律师事务所已通过台湾地区行政部门的审批。大成（台湾）所依照台湾地区法律设立，是大成全球化法律服务网络的成员单位，参照大成分所的模式运行，执行统一的客户服务标准，使用统一的标识，其合伙人可以参加大成所高级合伙人会议。大成（台湾）所可进入大成全球化法律服务网络综合信息管理系统，共享大成资源。

2008年11月11日，大成与台湾中华工商企业联合会（TAFIC）共同设立的两岸法律服务中心（ATS Legal Service Center）在上海正式揭牌成立。该中心属大成的内设机构。

NATIONAL

Companies get tough on IP infringements

知识产权诉讼将持续增长为应对艰难的市场条件，国内外企业大幅削减预算，在专利申请和审查

领域，律师事务所正面临市场需求锐减的窘境。不过，对于知识产权诉讼、执行和商业化等业务领域，律所预计未来仍有增长可能。柳沈律师事务所合伙人沙捷认为：“在经济繁荣时期，很多公司对一些侵权问题关注不足，且无暇充分实现知识产权的潜在商业价值。在目前的经济低迷时期，这些公司有机会调整知识产权策略，可制定合理计划，争取利用现有的知识产权获得更多经济利益。” 随着企业对向侵权者索要专利支出或版权费的前景看好，企业会更加积极的向侵权者发起法律诉讼。另一个值得注意的趋势是，知识产权侵权案的司法损害赔偿正不断增加。方达合伙人高国征表示：“近年来，知识产权诉讼的业务量不断增加。更重要的是，侵权案件中的损害赔偿不断提高，且更具惩罚性。”

Fangda Partners and a member of the firm’s IP practice group. ALB

uPdate >>

新交所发布新措施，为上市公司筹资提供便利

2009年2月19日，新交所与新加坡金管局经磋商后决定，推出新一轮措施放宽上市公司私下配售新股的相关限制。具体包括：

一、放宽配售新股的额度限制新交所允许上市公司发售按持股比例分配的可弃权股票，最高配售额可达100%，但要求：（1）在所集资金有重大支出时，公司须对所得收益的用途作阶段性公告，并在年度财务报告中提供所得收益的状态报告；（2）公司、商业信托组织和不动产投资信托公司在运用该举措时，仍须遵守相关法律或者信托契约之规定，符合股东授权委托书中所列之限制。

二、放松配售新股的折扣限制为增强上市公司私下配售新股的可行性和吸引力，新交所放松了私下配股的折扣限制，从原有的市价九折调整至最低以市价八折的价格配股，但须满足以下两个条件：（1）召开股东大会并通过决议，批准不按持股比列、以低于市价九折但不低于市价八折的价格私下配售新股；（2）为不按持股比例配售新股之事宜而寻求股东授权的决议，非前款所述股东大会决议的必备条件。

三、允许上市公司向特定大股东私下配股，而无需股东大会批准

即使未经股东批准，上市公司也可将股票私下卖给特定大股东。须满足的要求有：（1）该大股东在董事会上无代表之席位（无论直接或间接代表），且不能控制或影响公司日常运营和配售新股之条款；（2）该新股配售是通过独立程序进行，如“询价圈购”；（3）该新股配售要向一个以上承配人做出；（4）新股配售后该大股东所持上市公司已发行股本的比例不得高于新股配售前该大股东所持已发行股本的比例。

四、允许上市公司非主要股东作为二级承销人继2009年1月12日有关“允许上市公司大股东成为二级承销人”的公告发布后，新交所进一步决定将公司非主要股东也纳入此措施适用范围——允许公司非主要股东在募股要约发布后至少五天内，可作为二级承销人实现其权益，但公司须在公告售卖新股的同时向中央托收有限公司(CDP)告知有关事项。

此外，为缩短上市公司在公开市场配股集资的期限，新交所还引进了“预期交易”概念和“以股代息计划”。上述六项措施已于2009年2月20日生效。

賈文怡企業融资部法律顧問 Ph: (65) 6322-2230 Fax: (65) 6534-0833 E-mail: [email protected] 吳艷娟企業事務部法律顧問 Ph: (86) 15901669188 Fax: (65) 6534-0833 E-mail: [email protected] 俊昭法律事務所 88 Amoy Street, Level Three, Singapore 069907

singapore

吳艷娟

賈文怡

24

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.3

In preparation for the flourishing of cross-border trade, Xinjiang Gonglian, a law firm based in Urumqi, is now

busy preparing to open a branch office in Bishkek, the capital city of neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. The new office is expected to open in May. Gonglian will be the first PRC law firm to establish an office in Kyrgyzstan.

In the past few years, the legal market has been growing steadily in Urumqi. By the end of 2008, Urumqi had more than 600 lawyers in 57 firms.“In recent years, we’ve seen many opportunities in the legal sector stimulated by the cross-border trade between China and central Asia,” said Zhang Jianwu, director of Xinjiang Gonglian. “Moving forward, the potential is huge, with more and more disputes arising in business activities.”

In 2008 alone, Xinjiang’s total import and export levels hit a historical high, exceeding US$22bn. Regarded as the bridgehead for trade ties with Central Asia, Xinjiang’s trade dominates the mid- and west China regions, and ranks number 11 in trade of China’s provinces.

The autonomous region has borders with eight countries – Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – and trade ties are already well established with more than 100 different countries and regions. There are approximately 6,000 trading companies in Xinjiang, most of which are based in Urumqi.

Various governments are committed to boosting this region’s economy. For example, China and Kazakhstan have set up an international trade cooperation area, with both assigning 14.3 square kilometres for development and use by joint ventures.

uPdate >>

Regulatory

China’s new Guidelines on m&a loans

To facilitate Chinese companies in their domestic and international expansions through merger and acquisition (“M&A”) activities in light of the global financial crisis, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (“CBRC”)

promulgated the Guidelines on Risk Management for Loans Extended by Commercial Banks for Mergers and Acquisitions (the “Guidelines”) on December 6, 2008.

The Guidelines lifted the prohibition on the provision of acquisition loans by commercial banks in a M&A transaction set out in the PRC General Lending Rules issued in 1996. Qualified PRC incorporated commercial banks are now permitted to conduct M&A loan business and provide acquisition financing to PRC incorporated purchasers, whether such purchasers are purely domestic or foreign-invested.

An “M&A transaction” means a transaction in which a Chinese incorporated company acquires or obtains actual control of a “going concern”, whether through purchases of existing equity interests, subscription of newly issued capital, acquisitions of assets or assumption of debt. Thus banks are continued to be prohibited from extending financing to greenfield investments or non-control type acquisition.

Before extending an M&A loan, the lending bank must meet, among others, a number of risk management requirements such as the following: (1) the outstanding amount of M&A loans should not (a) exceed 50% of the lending bank’s core net capital, or (b) 5% of the bank’s core net capital for any single borrower; (2) the loan should not account for more than 50% of the total funding for any M&A transaction; (3) the term of any M&A loan should not exceed five years; (4) adequate security has been obtained from the borrower and (5) internal review procedures have been instituted to monitor the performance of the M&A loans. In addition, the lending banks must analyze the industrial or strategic correlations between the acquirer and the target to the proposed transaction before extending such loan. Thus it is questionable whether M&A financing is available to non-strategic investors, such as private equity or venture capital funds.

It is expected that the Guidelines, which came out at a critical time, will encourage business consolidations in China by strengthening financial support for M&A transactions. While the Guidelines seemingly open the door for leverage buy-outs in China, there are still many practical questions left unanswered. Doubts and concerns remain on the immediate effects of the Guidelines on China’s M&A market, as most Chinese banks lack the sophisticated risk evaluation, pricing and management system to take up the M&A lending business.

Written by Qi Xu and Iris Wang Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Unit 3601, Fortune Plaza Office Tower A No. 7 Dong Sanhuan Zhonglu Chao Yang District, Beijing 100020, PRC Email: [email protected] [email protected] Beijing Ph: 8610-5828-6300 Hong Kong Ph: 852-2536-9933

Iris Wong

qi Xu

XINJIANG

Foreign trade helps Urumqui market evolve

NEWS >>


lawyeRs and law FiRms in uRumqi: 2008 ►Number of lawyers Number of law firmsMorethan30 221–30 511–20 13Fewerthan10 37596 57

toP Five uRumqi FiRms by numbeR oF ►lawyeRs: 2008

Name of law firm Number of lawyersXinjiangXinghe 47XinjiangGonglian 40Tian Yuan Shuang Yi 29XinjiangDingXinXuYe 28Baifeng 27

“International companies are starting to show their interest in Xinjiang, and many companies from Japan, Germany, Italy, South Korea and the US hope to use Xinjiang as a springboard for entering central Asia,” said Zhang Jianwu.

“But, as a local inland firm, we will try to use our geographic and language advantages to shine in the regional market, rather than trying to expand to south or east China where the legal market is more competitive.” ALB

跨境贸易促进乌鲁木齐法律服务市场成型

为准备应对跨境贸易的繁荣，新疆公廉律师事务所正在筹备在吉尔吉斯斯坦设立境外

法律服务分支机构，新分支机构有望在2009年5月正式开张。

该所有望成为新疆首家在境外设立分支机构的律师事务所和中国首家在吉尔吉斯斯坦设立分支机构的律师事务所。

在过去几年，乌鲁木齐市法律服务市场迅速发展。截至2008年底，乌鲁木齐市市属执业律师达到600多人，各类律师事务所５７家。在1980年代，该市只有20名律师。

“近几年，我们在中国和中亚的跨境贸易中的法律服务领域看到了很多机会，”新疆公廉律师事务所主任张建武说，“今后，随着商业活动引起的纠纷增多，这一块的市场潜力更是巨大。”

新疆地处欧亚大陆心脏地带，北部和蒙古、俄罗斯接壤；西北部和哈萨克斯坦接壤；西部和吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦接壤；西南部和阿富汗、巴基斯坦、印度接壤，边境线长5600公里。目前，新疆已经和100多个国家拥有贸易往来，边境贸易尤其活跃，现有6000多家贸易公司。

对于一个内陆律所来说，发挥地区优势是律所的生存之道之一，律所的公廉的吉尔吉斯斯坦战略正是发挥其地区优势的有效策略。

news in brief >>LAWYERS LEND HAND ON PRO BONO PROJECT Volunteersfrom13internationallawfirmsrecentlyspent a day at Crossroads Foundation’s premises inTuenMun,HongKong,participatinginsomeprobono work of a different kind.

The130volunteersformedteamstoworkontasks such as painting containers and walls, laying interiorflooring,loadingacontainerwithhouseholdfurnitureforthoseinneedinIsrael,andhelpingwithadministrative office work.

Allen & Overy initiated and participated in the event. The other participating firms were Baker &McKenzie;Clyde&Co;DavisPolk;Freshfields;Mallesons;MinterEllison;Morrison&Foerster;Orrick;PinsentMasons;Skadden;Weil,Gotshal&Manges;andWhite&Case.

13家国际律所合力参与香港志愿者活动来自13家跨国律师事务所的130位律师志愿者在香港屯门中亚十字路口基金会所在地参加与众不同的公益活动。

志愿者分成多个小组，参与不同的工作，包括粉刷集装箱和墙壁、铺设内部地面、将捐赠的家具和货物装载至集装箱内，运往以色列帮助有需要的人士，同时一部分志愿者为该基金提供行政管理方面的支持。

安理律师事务所发起并参与该活动。参与活动的其它事务所包括：贝克•麦坚时律师事务所、其礼律师行、达维律师事务所、富而德律师事务所、万盛律师事务所、铭德律师事务所、美富律师事务所、奥睿律师事务所、品诚梅森国际律师事务所、世达律师事务所、威嘉律师事务所和伟凯律师事务所。

GAOPENG ADDS PARTNER IN SHANGHAI Gaopeng&PartnershaspromotedanotherpartnerinitsShanghaioffice.JiangJianjunisaforeignlegalbusinesslawyerwithextensiveexperienceininternationaltrade,corporate,M&Aandrealestate.

BeforejoiningGaopeng,JiangworkedforanotherShanghaifirm,ZhenDan,afterhegraduatedfromShanghaiInstituteofForeignTrade.Hisclientscoverawiderangeofindustries–IT,construction,bankingandinternationaltrade–andincludeIntel(China),3M,51job,Dior,Flex,BankofChinaandPJR.

高朋上海分所提升新合伙人江建军近日，北京高朋律师事务所上海分所内部提拔江建军律师为合伙人。江律师主要从事国际贸易、公司法律事务、企业并购、私募股权及建筑房产等涉外法律事务。

在加入高朋前，江律师曾先后在上海市震旦律师事务所担任专职涉外律师。江曾为英特尔中国有限公司、美国3M公司、美国佩里约翰逊质量认证(上海)有限公司、前程无忧网(51job)、法国索尔曼公司、法国DIOR公司、香港全通国际实业有限公司、丹麦Flex公司、中国银行、中化建设总公司等诸多知名进出口公司及外资企业提供过涉及诉讼、企业法律顾问、投资并购、知识产权、劳动人事、公司事务等方面的法律服务。

XINJIANG

Foreign trade helps Urumqui market evolve

26

NEWS >>

ISSUE 6.326 ISSUE 6.2

Firm Profile Lifang & Partners

26 ISSUE 6.3

New Patent Law Improves Compulsory Licence Regime

On 27 December 2008, the sixth plenary of the 11th NPC Standing Committee passed the Decision to Amend the Patent Law of the

People’s Republic of China. The amended law will take effect on 1 October 2009. One significant area of progress is the improvement made to the compulsory licence regime for the exploitation of patents. It will be instrumental in balancing the interests of patentees and the public, and in allowing for the effective implementation of the Anti-monopoly Law.

Currently, Article 48 of the Patent Law provides, “where any entity qualified to exploit an invention or utility model patent has made requests for authorization from the patentee of an invention or utility model to exploit its or his patent on reasonable terms, and such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time, the patent administration department of the State Council may, upon the application of that entity, grant a compulsory license to exploit the invention or utility model patent”. It means a compulsory licence can be granted just because a patentee refuses a request

for authorisation or does not authorise exploitation within a reasonable period. It is inconsistent with the general principles of the patent law and most countries’ patent laws do not contain such provisions. Due to its lack of operability, no compulsory licence has ever been granted under this article.

The amended Article 48 runs, “the patent administration department under the State Council may, upon the application of an entity or individual qualified to exploit a patent, grant a compulsory license to exploit an invention or utility model patent in any of the following cases: (1) the patentee, without reasonable cause, has not exploited or fully exploited its patent for three full years after the granting date or four full years after the application date; (2) the patentee has executed its patent right in a way which is legally determined as a monopoly, and the negative impact on competition has to be removed or reduced”. It becomes evidently more reasonable. A compulsory license may only be granted where a patentee abuses its exclusive rights (no implementation, no authorisation or monopolisation of the market).

In addition, the provision becomes easier to

operate after the amendment because it: (1) defines “reasonable period of time” as “three full years after the granting date or four full years after the application date; (2) provides that for public health purposes, the patent administration department under the State Council may grant a compulsory licence to produce patented pharmaceuticals and export them to countries or regions in accordance with relevant international treaties to which the People’s Republic of China is a party; (3) provides that where a compulsory licence is granted to an invention patent for semi-conductor technology, the exploitation of the patent is limited to purposes benefiting public interests or reducing monopoly; and (4) stipulates that compulsory licences shall be exploited mainly for supplying the domestic market.

Guanbin Xie, managing partner E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 86-10-64096099 Fax: 86-10-64096260 | 64096261

26 ISSUE 6.2

PEARL RIVER DELTA

Pinsent Masons builds bridges with tender triumphAfter a two-month tender process, the

Pinsent Masons consortium of law firms has been appointed to provide legal services for the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge project.

The other members of the Pinsent Consortium are Jun He, TeamWin Law Firm (Guangdong), and DSL Lawyers (Macau).

Large infrastructure projects inevitably attract great attention from law firms. When this bridge project launched a public tender for legal counsel in October last year, the response was overwhelming, with eight consortia consisting of 23 law firms bidding for the project.

The bridge will span 36 kilometres, combining tunnels and bridges, and a number of facilities on artificial islands, at an estimated overall cost of about US$5.6bn. It is also extremely complex from a legal perspective, as it will cover three legal jurisdictions governed by

three different legal systems – the PRC, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR.

In the initial stage, the Pinsent Consortium’s main role is to prepare the inter-governmental agreement between the three governments. The firms will also design the legal framework for the organisation that will form the employer party.

The main team members of the Pinsent Masons team working for this project will be Dean Lewis, Lynia Lau and John Bishop. The Jun He team will be led by partner Audrey Chen. ALB

26 ISSUE 6.3

品诚梅森法律顾问团中标港珠澳大桥项目历经两个月的投标工作之后，由品诚梅森牵

头的法律顾问团从众多竞争对手中脱颖而出，成功中标港珠澳大桥项目。

品诚梅森团队的其它律所成员包括：君合、圣和胜（广东）和DSL Lawyers（澳门）。

大规模基础设施项目无疑对律师事务所有巨大吸引力。去年十月，该桥梁项目启动法律顾问公开招标，业内反响强烈。共有23家律师事务所组成8个顾问团参与此次项目竞标。

港珠澳大桥全长36公里，包括隧道、桥梁和人工岛上的部分设施，预计总造价约为56亿美元。从法律角度出发，由于涉及中国、香港特区和澳门特区，需要整合三个司法管辖地的三套不同的法律体系，因而极为复杂。

在工程最初阶段，品诚梅森顾问团主要负责编写三地政府之间的合作协议，还要为形成雇佣方的组织设计法律框架。

品诚梅森团队负责该项目的主要团队成员包括Dean Lewis、Lynia Lau 和 John Bishop。君合团队由资深合伙人陈子若负责。

NEWS | deals update >>


mergermarket M&A deals update

28

NEWS | appointments >>

ISSUE 6.2

includingLinklaters,WeilGotshaland Clifford Chance before joiningLlinks.Hispracticefocuseson banking & finance andM&A.

三位新成员加盟通力被ALB评选为2009年最佳雇主之一的通力律师事务所近日又吸引了三位资深律师加盟。三位新成员当中黄艳律师和吕红律师被任命为合伙人，夏旭律师则作为顾问加入。

具有超过10年资本市场法律服务经验的黄艳律师加入该所资本市场法律服务团队；在基金法律服务市场中具有良好声誉的吕红律师及其团队的核心成员从上海源泰律师事务所加入通力；夏旭律师曾在年利达、威嘉国际、高伟绅等国际律师事务所长期工作，他的业务领域主要是银行融资和收购兼并。

Deheng King & Wood

King & Wood snares Sino-Korean practice expert FormerDehengseniorpartnerXuChangrong has made the move toKing&Wood.Xu,whoheadedtheKoreateamatDeheng,will continue his Korea focus in theareasofFDI,M&A,projectfinance,andtheacquisitionanddisposalofnon-performingloans.

various Llinks

Llinks welcomes trio of new members Llinks, one of the ALB China “Employer of Choice” firms, has attracted three senior lawyers to its fold.

The firm has announced the addition of Calista Huang and Sandra Lv to its partnership, and theappointmentofRobertXiaasa counsel.

lateRal HiRes ►name leaving Going to Practice location

Xu Changrong Deheng King&Wood Sino-Koreanpractice Beijing

LiuJiqing Butzel Long Deheng Corporate,M&A Beijing

Calista Huang Undisclosed Llinks Capital markets Shanghai

Sandra Lv Yuan Tai Llinks Funds Shanghai

Xia Xu Clifford Chance Llinks Banking&finance,M&A Shanghai

ZhuWeijiang JinDingPartners JCMaster Litigation Nanjing

Huang, who has more than 10years’practiceexperienceincapitalmarkets,hasjoinedthecapital markets practice group. Lv, promoted to partner at ShanghaiYuantaisixmonthsago,hasleftthatfirmtojoinLlinks,bringing her core team members. Lv and her team specialise in providingfunds-andassetsmanagement-relatedlegal services. Newly appointed counsel RobertXiahasworkedwithinternationalfirms,

Calista Huang

Sandra Lv

Robert Xia

Xu Changrong

28 ISSUE 6.3

Firm Profile Longan Law Firm

28 ISSUE 6.3

律师申请软件著作权代理业务之心得

笔者此次以北京建龙重工集团有限公司软件著作权代理人的身份，针对软件申请业务总结出心得体会：

• 熟悉申请流程，完善报送资料首先，受托人预填表格。其次，准备受托人

身份证明、源程序代码、用户手册（操作说明等）及授权委托书。材料备齐后，进行报送。待初审合格后，进入登记受理阶段并缴纳费用即可收到受理通知书。经30个工作日的审查期，如无异议受托人可领取著作权证。

• 切实履行代理人的尽职义务为使报送材料符合登记规定，我们要辅助

客户完成报送材料。审查员将会对报送材料逐一审查，包括申请主体的适格、填写的信息、递送鉴别材料的形式要件与实质要件是否符合规范要求等。

• 申请软件著作权的意义国家出台了一系列关于申请软件著作权的优

惠政策。如：对有软件著作权认证的高新企业免增值税等。这同时也符合我国知识产权整体的战略趋势。

律师介入软件著作权申请业务可以为软件著作权的保护建立法律屏障，并为国家发展高新技术产业发挥巨大作用。

Jiali Xu Managing Partner Email: [email protected] Longan law Firm | www.longanlaw.com Room188, Beijing International Club, 21 Jianguomenwai Street, Beijing 100020 Tel: 8610 65325588 Fax: 8610 65323768 Mob: 86 13601011122

Jiali Xu

NEWS | appointments >>


Jin Ding Partners JC Master

JC Master builds up litigation muscleNanjing-basedJCMasterhasre-hiredformerassociateZhuWeijiangasapartnerfromitslocalrivalJinDingPartners.BeforejoiningJinDingin2007 as a partner, Zhu had been anassociateatJCMaster since 2000.

Zhu, who started his legal career working in courts, is now apartnerinJCMaster’slitigationpracticegroup.He specialises in labour disputes, construction, enforcement and intellectual property protection. Hehasbeenalegaladvisorformorethan10companies,includingSuzhouGenjoetradingcompanyandNanjingInternationalHotel.

江苏泰和新增一位合伙人朱卫江律师近日再次加入江苏泰和律师事务所，这次他以合伙人的身份加入。２０００年３月起他曾是泰和所的专职律师，此前在法院从事审判工作。他于2007年3月加盟江苏金鼎英杰律师事务所并成为合伙人。

朱律师主要从事公司业务、建设工程、劳动争议、执行案件等诉讼和非诉讼业务，尤其在诉讼领域具有丰富的实践经验。

WhytheswitchtoKing&Wood?“AcompetentfirmhandlinghighlevelKorea-relatedworkshouldbeheadquarteredinBeijingorShanghai,haveabusinessnetwork under unified management and be highly specialised.ButthereareonlyafewPRCfirmsthatmeettheseconditions,”saidXu.“It’sparticularlyanachievementforKing&Woodtohavethislevelofmanagement system in the current China market where most firms are of a very loose partnership.”

金杜获中韩贸易专家加盟前德衡韩国业务牵头人及高级合伙人徐昌荣近日作为合伙人加入金杜。徐昌荣的主要执业领域为外商投资、并购、项目融资及不良债权收购与处置，尤其是涉韩业务。

徐在韩国对华投资及贸易领域具有丰富的实践经验，曾承办和参与了百余个韩国企业对华直接投资、并购、项目融资及不良债权的收购项目。行业涉及钢铁、石油化工、工程机械、生物工程、电力、造船、金融、房地产、流通及服务业等。

徐精通韩语，在加入德衡前，曾在君合律师事务所、观韬律师事务所执业。他还曾在国有企业、韩国企业及在华韩资企业工作多年，曾担任多家韩国大型集团公司的法律顾问，为其直接投资、并购、重组、融资、贸易业务的整体规划及日常运营等提供法律服务。

Butzel Long Deheng

Deheng lures US lawyer to head international teamDehenghasluredLiuJiqing,formerresidentpartner

and chief representative of Baker&Daniels’Beijingrepresentative office, to lead its international team.

Since starting his legal career intheUSin1992,LiuJiqinghasmainlyfocusedonChina-relatedcross-borderinvestment,M&Aandinternationaltrade.Inasign of the increasingly global nature of the firm’s operations and the Chinese legal market, Liu is the firstforeignlawyertobehiredbyDeheng.

Liu,whoislicensedtopractiseinWashington,MichiganandIndiana,hadbeeninChinaformorethan10yearsbeforejoiningDeheng.Hewillbebasedinthefirm’sBeijingofficeandplanstostartanewIPteamconsistingoftwoassociatelawyers.

德衡聘用美籍律师执掌国际业务总部位于山东青岛的德衡律师集团聘任美籍律师刘吉庆律师以高级顾问的头衔担任国际业务总监。

刘吉庆曾任美国贝克•丹尼尔斯律师事务所北京代表处的首席代表。他于2008年6月离开该所加入另一家美国所柏隆法律事务所在中国的代表处。

刘律师从一九九二年起在美国执业，同时拥有美国华盛顿特区、密歇根州、印第安纳州律师执照，擅长跨境投资并购、国际贸易等。

Liu Jiqing

Zhu Weijiang

Firm Profile Guantao Law Firm

Despite the current economic climate, funds in China have experienced significant growth as a result of a series of new regulations and policies

coming into effect. After the issuance of guidelines to be

followed by each “fund of venture capital funds” in late 2008, it has been estimated that such a fund may raise funds of RMB100bn and consequently enable RMB1trn to be invested in the venture capital market. Instead of making venture capital investments directly, the mission of a fund of funds is to support the development of venture capital funds.

Of all the available structures for onshore Sino-foreign RMB funds, the cooperative joint venture structure that has a non-legal-person status is preferred by investors, since it has many attributes similar to those of an offshore limited partnership structure. However, only a limited number of funds had adopted this structure by late 2008 when the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) speeded up the approving process. Furthermore, in March 2009 MOFOCM delegated the power of approval for funds with total capital not

exceeding US$100m to its local branches and shortened the approval period to no more than 30 days. This is expected to encourage increased onshore RMB fund investment.

Financial institutions have become key fund market players through the opportunities presented by a range of new rules and policies. These include:•TheChinaSecuritiesRegulatoryCommission

has approved, on a case-by-case basis, the making of direct equity investments by more than 10 securities companies, provided that certain requirements are met, including net capital in principle not less than RMB2bn; at least 10 underwriting projects or a total underwritten value of at least RMB15bn in the last three years. Once approval is received, a separate subsidiary needs to be established to conduct and operate the direct equity investment.

•TheChinaInsuranceRegulatoryCommissionhas permitted insurance companies to invest in unlisted enterprises since November 2008. Many insurance companies have already shown great interest in this area and plan to set up private equity subsidiaries. However,

they may need to wait until the implementing rules are issued before they can proceed.

•InDecember2008,theChinaBankingRegulatory Commission permitted qualified commercial banks to provide loans for merger and acquisition transactions as long as the banks meet certain requirements. In March 2009, MOFCOM issued a new rule

which greatly simplifies the approval procedure for most overseas investment activities and shortens the approval period to three days. Consequently, more Chinese companies are expected to get involved in fund formation as a sponsor or limited partner.

Finally, it is important to note that the China economic stimulus plan launched in late 2008, which will encourage an increase of investment in many areas, will also generate significant opportunities for fund participation.

Fund Investment Seeing Significant Growth in China

Pengpeng (Grace) Yan,Partner Guantao Law Firm Suite 1002, 10/F, 3 Garden Road, ICBC Tower, Central, Hong Kong T: +852 2878 1130 (HK) / +8610 6657 8066 (Beijing) Email: [email protected]


30 ISSUE 6.3

Guantao presses ahead with strategic plan in turbulent economic times

If the year 2008 is to be remembered, it will surely be as the year Beijing successfully hosted the Olympic Games. For Guantao Law Firm, 2008 was also a significant year

for the firm’s development, as it established branches in Xiamen and Hong Kong, took on eight new partners, and strengthened its expertise and skills in its core practice areas.

The global financial crisis has become a major challenge to sustaining growth for many firms, but Guantao has gone from strength to strength regardless of the changed business climate.

Guantao now has nine offices across major economically developed regions in China, and a staff of over 250, including 40 partners and more than 100 attorneys. It is highly regarded by clients and peers, and enjoys a particularly strong reputation in the areas of capital markets, M&A and corporate finance. The firm has also emerged as a new heavyweight in the private equity sector.

“Having full-service capabilities, a close-knit team of partners and a focused and integrated management of resources, we are in a better place during the current economic slowdown,” said partner Xiao Hongming. “And we are strengthening our offerings in core practice areas and expanding our geographical presence with the aim of better assisting our clients to achieve their business goals in this challenging time.”

A team-oriented practiceGuantao’s unique management approach encourages and allows efficient collaboration across different offices and practice groups. A special Business Development Committee, consisting of executive committee members and managing partners of branch offices and practice group heads, has been set up to ensure each client’s instruction is taken care of by a team of partners and lawyers drawn from all offices who have the most appropriate knowledge and experience.

Guantao’s role in Datang Telecom Technology’s US$171.8m investment in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), a company listed on both HKSE and NYSE, is a good demonstration of the firm’s inter-office cooperation and the teamwork performed by practice groups.

In this transaction, Guantao acted for the investor using a team of its best lawyers selected from several practice groups including capital markets, M&A, international investment and intellectual property in its Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu offices.

“As transactions today are increasingly complex and involve operations across a growing number of regions, it’s essential for us to be able to provide seamless services across practice groups and regions,” said Cui Liguo, Guantao’s managing partner.

Having this approach, Guantao has been praised by many of its clients for its cost-effective, result-driven and high-quality services.

going internationalDriven by growing client demand for cross-border advice and services, Guantao has opened its first international location in Hong Kong. The new office is headed by partner Yan Pengpeng.

“While Hong Kong remains an important gateway for foreign investment into China, its role as China’s bridge to the world has been increasing significantly. Chinese companies increasingly use Hong Kong as a springboard to go overseas,” said Yan.

As Guantao’s domestic clients are increasingly participating in overseas capital markets and making investments into foreign countries, the new office provides Guantao and its clients greater access to and connection with the global markets, particularly in Europe.

It also provides a platform for close cooperation between Guantao and other leading international service providers of the region, particularly collaboration with its strategic alliance - Hong Kong firm Jackson Woo & Associates and UK firm Ashurst.

“The Hong Kong office will strengthen our alliance with Jackson Woo & Associates in association with Ashurst. It provides a common ground, enabling the three firms to collaborate closely and share resources with each other for our clients’ benefit,” said Yan.

Xiamen, another new addition to Guantao’s national network, is also a strategic location for the firm’s international practice. Located in one of the country’s most important port cities, the Xiamen office will play an important role in developing the firm’s shipping and international trade practices.

The close proximity between Xiamen and Taiwan also provides Guantao with opportunities to facilitate the increasingly strong economic ties between the mainland and Taiwan.

Development of expertiseIn addition to its geographical expansion and headcount increase, Guantao continues to carve its position as a leader in the


Firm Profile Guantao Law Firm

Guantao presses ahead with strategic plan in turbulent economic timescorporate legal market. It achieved yet another fruitful year in 2008, despite the market in general suffering from a significant drop in transaction volumes.

The firm has been involved in a number of major deals, highlights of which include: advising the Financial Street Holding on its issuance of the 5.6 billion corporate bonds on 22 November 2008; acting as the legal counsel for the underwriter in the restructuring of Shannxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, in which the Shaanxi Coal & Industry was set up with high-value assets to prepare for its future listing; and advising

on Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group’s restructuring and Jinduichen Molybdenum’s IPO and listing, which raised RMB8,914.66m.

As the private equity sector in China remains the most active in Asia, Guantao has built up its private equity practice and enjoys a growing reputation in this niche market.

A competitive edge of its private equity practice lies in the firm’s capabilities on the fund formation side. It is one of the first PRC firms to offer fund formation legal services to domestic and international private equity houses. The firm has been actively involved in a number of fund formations,

including setting up different types of onshore RMB funds and offshore funds for China investment.

“Leveraging our solid experience in advising IPOs and M&A transactions, combined with our expertise in tax and regulatory issues, our private equity group can handle all aspects of the private equity business, a true one-stop shop,” said Cui.

Owing to its outstanding performance in 2008, the firm has been nominated for five awards at the 2009 ALB China Law Awards, including Beijing Law Firm of the Year and China Law Firm of the Year.

Cui Liguo, managing partner

32

FEaturE | employer of choice >>

ISSUE 6.3

The message from many experienced legal professionals is loud and clear: “We are having our first ‘winter’ ever in

the legal service market”. Law firms in the more developed

jurisdictions – such as the US, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore – have experienced a number of business cycles. But firms in China, which were enjoying the country’s fast economic growth for foreign inbound investment until six months ago, are having, for the first time, to face the hard truth about declining client demand and business activity.

One of the main challenges over the last few months has been maintaining a healthy bottom line without damaging staff morale in a changed business climate.

Many firms are actively responding to the first downturn, readjusting business models and reassessing staffing needs. But at the same time they are trying to ensure employees’ needs are satisfied to keep them motivated and producing quality work.

Tightening the firm budget has become very difficult to do at the same time as keeping staff assured and keeping business structures stable. As a consequence, the ALB Employer of Choice Survey 2009 has particular relevance.

The firms that led the pack this year as the country’s top employers have come to the forefront for several reasons but, as the data clearly

CHINA

In challenging times like the present, firms need to keep a close eye on resourcing levels and expenditure. It’s harder than ever for firms to balance the books while ensuring their staff are happy. The huge number of responses to this year’s ALB Employer of Choice Survey has revealed which firms are meeting this challenge most effectively

METHODOLOgy ►ThisonlinesurveywasconductedbetweenDecember2008andFebruary2009.Itwassenttomorethan20,000lawyersintheAsia-PacificandGulfregions,including over 5,000 in mainland China.

EMPLOyERS OF CHOICE:WHAT LAWyERS SAy“Fit is all important. meshing into the culture of a firm can make your life a misery or a delight, given the number of hours you spend at work”

“the support and independence available to me in managing my work and assignments and developing client relationships is also very important”

“quality of work is the most important factor; however, my personal growth as a professional would be the other thing that i would consider...”

“Firm culture is indicated by the type of people firms take in. so if you know a few people working at the firm already, and they seem to be your type of people, that’s a great sign”

INTERNATIONAL FIRMS1. skadden 世达2. jones day 众达3. Paul Hastings 普衡4. allen & overy 安理5. white & Case 伟凯

PRC FIRMS1. King & wood 金杜2. jun He 君合3. allbright 锦天城4. wang jing & Co 敬海=5. llinks 通力=5. deheng 德衡

ALB EMPLOyER OF CHOICE 2009



demonstrates, compensation (at least in the current environment) may not be as important as it once was.

Firms’ culture and management, the quality of work they can guarantee lawyers, the partners and senior lawyers who will train junior lawyers and the programs firms provide to ensure lawyers’ professional development have all become very important for attracting and retaining top talent.

Still room for growthIn an economy which is still growing, although at a slower rate, domestic firms are facing difficulties that differ from their international counterparts.

One of the main difficulties for partners in leading firms is a work culture that is becoming more clinical. So what is a firm to do? Gong Jun, managing partner of Jun He, one of this year’s Employers of Choice, provided some insight.

“In the past, when the firm had a lower number of staff we behaved very much like a family. We ate together, worked together, had fun together,” he said. “Now that we are becoming much bigger it’s difficult to behave like before. Now we pay more attention to the strategy, to make sure our employees are happy to work here. We pay the maximum social welfare, and when we have a good year we make sure we share the profits by increasing salaries and benefits. We make sure they grow with the firm.”

But as 2009 isn’t looking as though it will be a “good year”, how does a firm maintain morale? “We realised this at the beginning of the year, so we held a meeting to give all employees’ representatives a promise to ensure that we will not cut their benefits first; rather, partners will take losses in the beginning, unless it threatens the survival of the firm. You want to make sure the people want to work here. They won’t produce quality unless they’re happy,” said Gong.

Llinks partner Michael Mei said that another effect of the crisis is lawyers from international firms are knocking on domestic firms’ doors. “As the downturn in the economy has affected every sector, we have had more candidates from foreign law firms’ representative offices in China approach us, especially the

AllBright

Deheng

Jun He

Wang Jing & Co

34


ISSUE 6.3

mid to senior level associates,” he said. Bucking the layoff trend, the firm has added three senior members to the firm, two joining as partner and one as counsel.

With competition between domestic firms still heated, why should lawyers choose Llinks over another? “Llinks offers a better picture for our employees to be promoted,” said Mei. “Everybody working at Llinks has a very clear picture of their professional training – what level they are at and will be in the next year.” An attractive salary package doesn’t hurt either, it seems. “We provide an above average generous salary package, I believe, at the high end of the domestic firms. Also, only a few domestic firms have regular training. We believe in a very good training system, weekly, relevant and updated.”

Although the talent pool is larger than before, the demand for top talent still outstrips the supply. “There is still a shortage of high-calibre candidates with the right skills and expertise to meet high-end clients’ demand,” says Zhu Linhai, managing partner of AllBright, another EOC firm. Although AllBright has slowed its recruitment, the firm endeavours to keep its staff intact and to avoid layoffs. To do that, it has shifted resources from some quieter practice groups into ones that are currently active, such as dispute resolution, restructuring, M&A and debt market. While the average salary level stays roughly the same as it was last year, some outstanding associates in the firm have even been given a pay rise.

Zhu also believes that AllBright’s focus on providing lawyers with a clear career development plan and a transparent career path, coupled with its effort to continuously improve office environment, make the firm a more desirable employer.

Deheng Law Firm is the only regional firm – ie, not originating from the three major commercial centres of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – voted as an Employer of Choice. Founding and managing partner Luan Shaohu attributes the firm’s success to its strategic plan that will see Deheng relocate its headquarters from Qingdao to Beijing.

In the past year, the firm has increased the headcount in its Beijing office significantly by adding a number of senior lawyers with international

Allen & Overy

King & Wood

Llinks

Skadden



experience and by expanding its practice groups.

International firms take pride in quality of workAs a reflection of the market conditions, recruitment in international firms has nearly come to a halt. News about international firms’ layoffs and salary freezes continue to make global headlines. It could be a more challenging time for international than for domestic firms, particularly those that have expanded their China offices aggressively in the past two years.

However, many international firms that have experienced many business cycles regard being flexible and able to align revenue with expenses as critical strategies for surviving a downturn. “Cost cutting and contingency planning are naturally among the methods that successful firms use during difficult times,” says Simon Black, Allen &Overy’s Shanghai managing partner.

To keep business buoyant in the current economic climate, Black suggests that firms need to look at their practice

focus and business models and shift resources into active areas such as restructuring and dispute resolution, and outbound investment. “We are not immune from these challenges, but we have benefited from investments in such counter-cyclical areas during the good times,” says Black.

One of the top five international firms to work for in China according to this year’s survey, Allen &Overy gives its views on what makes for a good

employer in a downturn: “We provide our lawyers meaningful work opportunities, one of the reasons they join a firm like ours. People may change their jobs for attractive packages, but will stay because of interesting work, a professional work environment, personal relationships and career opportunities. If the firm is not successful in all aspects, compensation alone cannot be the saviour,” says Black.

All five EOC international firms agree that the primary criterion for a

White & Case

Llinks Law Offices is a leading PRC firm specializing in banking and financial services, corporate and commercial, M&A and capital markets. Llinks provides local expertise and international services, helping clients achieve their business objectives in China and abroad.

Llinks Law Offices is proud to be named ALB Employer of Choice in China

Clients choose Llinks because we: • regularlyhandlecross-bordertransactions,including“first-in-class”and“best-in-class”

transactions; • useacreative,business-orientedapproachtoproblem-solving;• workcooperativelywithclientsandtheirconsultants;• cooperatecloselywithgovernmentagencies,providingclientswithinformationonthe

latest legal and regulatory developments; • fosteracooperativeandcollegialworkenvironment;and• rankedfirstamongPRClawfirmsforour“supervisionandguidance”.

Llinks’ practice areas include: • BankingandFinance• CapitalMarkets/CorporateFinance• CorporateandCommercial• DisputeResolution• FinancialInstitutions• M&A/Restructuring• MutualFundsandTrusts• PrivateEquity/VentureCapital• ProjectFinance• RealEstate

SHANgHAI19F, ONE LUJIAZUI68 Yin Cheng Road MiddleShanghai 200120 P.R. ChinaTel: (86 21) 3135 8666Fax: (86 21) 3135 8600

上海上海市银城中路68号时代金融中心19楼邮政编码： 200120电话：（86 21）3135 8666 传真：（86 21）3135 8600

www.llinkslaw.com

BEIJINgUnits 902-903Winland International Finance CentreNo.7 Finance Street, Xicheng DistrictBeijing 100140 P.R.ChinaTel: (86 10) 6655 5050 Fax: (86 10) 6655 5060

北京北京市西城区金融大街7号英蓝国际金融中心9楼02-03单元邮政编码： 100140电话：（86 10）6655 5050传真：（86 10）6655 5060

[email protected]

http://www.llinkslaw.com

36

Feature | employer of choice >>

ISSUE 6.3

中国司法部命名“部级文明律师事务所” NationalExcellentLawFirmAwardedbyMinistryofJusticeP.R.C.中华全国律协授予“全国优秀律师事务所” NationalExcellentLawFirmAwardedbyAllChinaLawyersAssociation

德衡律师集团（北京）事务所（简称“德衡北京所”以便与“北京德恒所”等同音友邻区别）成立于二OOO年，目前有执业律师、外国法律顾问等从业人员近30位。现因德衡律师集团总部迁京后业务发展需求，诚聘：涉外律师2名；劳动法律师2名；知识产权律师1名；公司证券律师1名；诉讼仲裁律师3名；外国法高级顾问1名；公关总监1名。

DehengLawFirmBeijingOffice(hereinafterreferredtoas“DehengBejing”soastodistinguishfromBeijingDehengLawOffice)wasfoundedin2000,whichhasalmost30feeearnersincludingassociatesandforeignlegalcounsel.ForthebusinessrequirementaftertheHeadquarterofDehengLawFirmmovedtoBeijing,wearegoingtorecruitlawyersandexpertsinfollowingpracticeareas:ForeignRelatedAffairs(2persons);Labor&Employment(2persons);IntellectualProperty(1person);Corporate&Security(1person);Litigation&Arbitration(3persons);SeniorForeignCounsel(1person);ChiefPublicRelationOfficer(1person).

应聘者请登陆德衡商法网（www.deheng.com.cn）“网上招聘”负责人：邱榆霞

北京BEJING 青岛QINGDAO 济南JINAN 上海SHANGHAI

房立棠Mr.FangLitang公司证券业务团队主管合伙人毕业于西安交通大学法学硕士ManagingParnterofCorporate&SecuritiesTeamGraduatedfromXi’anJiaotongUniversityLLMEmail:[email protected]

刘吉庆MrJi-QingLiu美国执业律师国际业务总监美国印第安纳大学法律博士美国哥伦比亚大学法学硕士Attorney-at-Law,licensedinIndianaandWashington,D.C.J.D.,IndiannaUniversitySchoolofLawLL.M,ColumbiaUniversitySchoolofLawEmail:[email protected]

鞠维军Mr.JuWeijun金融保险团队主管合伙人毕业于南开大学法学学士ManagingPartnerofFinance&InsuranceteamGraduatedfromNankaiUniversity,P.R.China,LLBEmail:[email protected]

德衡律师集团（北京）事务所喜迁CBD国际大厦诚聘英才

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good employer today is a firm’s ability to provide its associates with the opportunity to work on high-quality transactions and cutting-edge issues. All have demonstrated that ability in the past year. Skadden Arps, for example, represented Coca-Cola Company in its proposed US$2.5bn acquisition of Huiyuan Juice Group.

“The associates we want to hire are the ones who want to be involved in the most challenging and complex transactions out there. So for us

partners, it is essential to bring in these good and interesting deals and have them available for our associates to work on,” says Jon Christianson, a partner at Skadden in Beijing.

White & Case’s Beijing managing partner Li Xiaoming shares this view, and adds that associates have higher job satisfaction levels if given an opportunity to work closely with clients.

“Our emphasis is on providing our lawyers with the opportunity to

work on high-quality transactions, where the associates work directly with the partners, get regular feedback, and assume a large amount of responsibility,” says Li. “We also provide our associates with the opportunity to work closely with clients, giving them a unique perspective of the decision-making processes undertaken by these clients in transactions. This close involvement with senior lawyers and clients enables associates to feel a sense of ownership

http://www.deheng.com.cn/



movinG in CuRRent job maRKet ►

Not sure

Likely

Unlikely75%

8%

17%

ResPondents by lenGtH oF seRviCe ►

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6+ years

1 year

33%

23%12%

5%

6%

21%

ResPondents by Position ►

Associate

Senior associate

Partner

In-house

Other

Lawyer

Counsel/ consultant

Junior lawyer

29%

24%17%

14%

8%

3%

2%

in the transactions that they work on, and enables them to develop business opportunities for the firm and develop their own careers.”

A few years ago, training and development programs provided by international firms had been a main reason for young talent to join them. Although firms’ commitment in formal training programs still helps improve their reputation as employers of choice, associates are demanding more on-the-job training for career development.

“The best way to learn is by working closely with experienced colleagues. On-the-job training is what associates like the best … ” says Christianson. “We are not only providing them with interesting work but also strong support from partners and other colleagues.”

Christianson adds that a team approach is another important feature of an employer of choice and is valued by a firm’s associates. “Younger lawyers tend to be increasingly team oriented. To suit the way they

like to work, firms need to be more collaborative and foster a team approach across different offices and practice groups.”

Today, it is an employer’s market, but many firms find they have to compete even harder for the best and brightest talent. The key trends that emerged from the ALB Employer of Choice Survey may help law firms, lawyers and recruiters better understand the current legal recruitment market and make good and wise decisions. ALB

AllBright Law Offices are delighted to be named the Employer of Choice

in China By ALB.

Special thanks to our clients and staff for their continuing support.

ShanghaiAddress: Hong Kong Plaza 28th Floor, No. 283 Huaihai Middle Road Shanghai, P.R.China 200021 Tel: (8621) 2326-1888 | Fax:(8621) 2326-1999 Please send your CV to [email protected]

Address: Citigroup Tower, 14/F, 33 Hua Yuan Shi Qiao Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200120, P.R.ChinaTel: (8621) 6105-9000 | Fax: (8621) 6105-9100 Please send your CV to [email protected]

Shanghai•Beijing•Shenzhen•Hangzhouwww.allbrightlaw.com

http://www.allbright.com

The Westin Bund Center Shanghai – 24 April 2009

CHINA

SE ASIA

AUSTRALASIA

JAPAN

HoNg KoNg

Deal CategoriesDebt Market Deal of the Year

energy & resources Deal of the Year

equity Market Deal of the Year

M&a Deal of the Year

Project Finance Deal of the Year

real estate & Construction Deal of the Year

international Dealmaker of the Year

China Dealmaker of the Year

China Deal of the Year

law FirM CategoriesBanking law Firm of the Year

Dispute resolution law Firm of the Year

grant thornton award insolvency & restructuring law Firm of the Year

insurance law Firm of the Year

CCH award iP law Firm of the Year

shipping law Firm of the Year

tax & trusts law Firm of the Year

CHINA’s LEADING LEGAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

the 6th annual alB China law awards will be held on 24th april 2009 in shanghai. this extravagant, black-tie gala event is the most highly regarded platform for recognizing success and achievement in the legal industry. the awards will deliver the most comprehensive view of players in Chinese legal services. and submissions for Deal of the Year, Firm of the Year and in-house legal categories are now open.

Contact our dedicated alB awards team for more information about making a submission or to join in celebrating the excellence of China’s legal industry.

law FirM Categories (Cont)rising law Firm of the Year

offshore law Firm of the Year

west China law Firm of the Year

north east China law Firm of the Year

Zhejiang law Firm of the Year

Jiangsu law Firm of the Year

tianjin law Firm of the Year

shenzhen law Firm of the Year

Hong Kong law Firm, PrC office of the Year

guangzhou law Firm of the Year

Porsche Centre shanghai award shanghai law Firm of the Year

lexisnexis award Beijing law Firm of the Year

gieves & Hawkes award Managing Partner of the Year

international law Firm of the Year

China law Firm of the Year

http://cn.albawards.legalbusinessonline.com/

in-House teaM CategoriesBanking & Financial services in-House team of the Year

investment Bank in-House team of the Year

China legal Career award Foreign Company in-House team of the Year

Chinese Company in-House team of the Year

Mwe China law offices award China in-House team of the Year

For information about submission:Iris Ma Email: [email protected]: +852 2815 5988

For sponsorship opportunities: Amanda Ho Email: [email protected]: +852 3520 1359

For general inquiries:Dara Yam Email: [email protected]: +852 2815 5988

Event organised byOfficial publication

ALBASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS

ALB enjoys alliances with the following organisations

Awards Sponsors

http://cn.albawards.legalbusinessonline.com/

40

SpECial rEport | Shanghai 09 >>

ISSUE 6.3

Shanghai 09:ALB AUSTRALASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS


challenges and opportunities

Phot

o m

onta

ge: S

teve

Mok



The booms and busts of Shanghai’s economy have been undeniably affected by the weight of the sinking global

financial markets. That does not mean, however, that law firms have been discouraged from exploring more opportunities in Shanghai, a magnetic city that attracts people from throughout China and the rest of the world. Indeed, more domestic and international legal players continue to arrive in the mainland’s most exciting city with each passing month.

Each challenge provides an opportunity to stand out above their rivals. In the legal profession, the situation is the same. For highly qualified, well-experienced lawyers, making a move to Shanghai is always a choice worth considering, regardless of the global economic situation.

Even so, the legal market of Shanghai is not yet mature enough to be an international financial hub, after only about 20 years of development. It faces the double-edged sword of competing with a market as free as that of Hong Kong while remaining close to the authority of Beijing. In succeeding in this, Shanghai displays its unique advantage in dealing with numerous privately owned entities and foreign investments in the region. The future still looks bright for Shanghai, even in a world of economic gloom.

International firms remain adventurous Despite the ongoing economic downturn that is impacting the region, international firms have continued to expand in China, where the effects have been relatively smaller. That remains especially true in Shanghai. By the end of 2007, there were 103 foreign law firms that had representative offices in Shanghai – some 60% of the total 177 in China. (There were also 67 in Beijing, three in Guangzhou, two in Shenyang, and one each in Dalian and Chongqing.)

Hong Kong firms also endeavoured to boost their presence in the Yangtze Delta region. By the end of 2007, 66

The global financial crisis has not diminished law firms’ passion for the country’s most cosmopolitan and fast-paced city. Rather, it provides a timely opportunity for ambitious firms in this up-and-coming financial centre to prepare for a new wave of competition. ALB China investigates

inteRnational FiRms witH liCensed RePResentative oFFiCes in sHanGHai ►Year A – H I – P Q – Z2009 Chiomenti(IT)(expectedtogain) Loeb&Loeb(US)(planstoopen) WilmerHale(hasapplied)

2008 Bird&Bird(UK)Cuatrecasas (ES)

K&LGates(US)MillerCanfield(US)

2007 Benesch(US)BignonLebray(FR)Bonnard Lawson (SZ)CallahanMcCune&Willis(US)CVML(FR)DeWolf&Partners(BE)Foley(US)Fredrikson&Byron(US)FriedFrank(US)GreenbergTraurig(US)HellerEhrman(US)Horizon(KR)

MallesonsStephenJaques(AU)MannheimerSwartling(SE)NixonPeabody(US)

Schindhelm(DE)Shearman&Sterling(US)Skadden(US)Troutman&Sanders(US)

2006 ClausenMiller(US)CMSHascheSigle(DE)Eversheds(UK)Garrigues (ES)Godfrey&Kahn(US)Herrero-Advocats(ES)

NortonRose(UK)Orrick(US)PerkinsCoie(US)Picozzi&Morigi(IT)Pillsbury(US)

SheppardMullin(US)SteinShostakShostakPollack &O’Hara(US)Thelen(US)WilsonSonsiniGoodrich&Rosati(US)

2005 Ausino(AU)CastItoga(JP)Fullerene(JP)

Yamasaki(JP)

2004 Adamas(FR)Hogan&Hartson(US)HIL(NL)

Keller&Heckman(US)KelvinChiaPartnership(SG)Kuroda(JP)Latham&Watkins(US)MoriHamada&Matsumoto(JP)MichaelSYu(US)

PeltzerSuhrenMeinecke(DE)Salans(FR)SquireSanders(US)Wang&Wang(US)WeilGotshal(US)WongPartnership(SG)

2003 BeitenBurkhardt(DE)DeRyook(KR)

KhattarWong(SG)Lovells(UK)

PaulHastings(US)Rajah&Tann(SG)TaylorWessing(DE)WikborgRein(NO)

2002 Allen&Overy(UK)Baker&McKenzie(US)BarlowLyde&Gilbert(UK)Debevoise(US)DLAPiper(UK)Drew&Napier(SG)DSAvocats(FR)Faegre&Benson(US)Gide(FR)HerbertSmith(UK)

Morrison&Foerster(US)PinsentMasons(UK)

Rodl&Partner(DE)TMI(JP)

2001 Afridi&Angell(UAE)CMSBFL(FR)Dorsey(US)

NoronhaAdvogados(BR)

Before 2001

AllensArthurRobinson(AU)AmstrongTeasdale(US)BlakeDawson(AU)BryanCave(US)CliffordChance(UK)DWT(US)Freshfields(UK)HFW(UK)Hunt&Hunt(AU)

Ince(UK)JonesDay(US)KayeScholer(US)Linklaters(UK)MinterEllison(AU)NobuoTakai(JP)Oh-Ebashi(JP)O’Melveny&Myers(US)

Rodyk&Davidson(SG)SidleyAustin(US)SNB(DE)Thieffry&Associes(FR)Vinge(SE)Vinson&Elkins(US)White&Case(US)

Note: 1. Year of international firms’ licence approved by the end of 2007, according to www.moj.gov.cn Notice No. 78 released on 25 January 20092. ALB China counts 2008 until the date published

42


ISSUE 6.3

at this stage. Some even anticipate encouraging growth in team size in the near future. They have made internal transfers from other regional offices and hired laterally from international law firms and leading local law firms in the region. However, there is little hope for any salary increase for employees.

Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, for example, transferred partner Martyn Huckerby from Sydney to Shanghai to head the region. Now Mallesons’ Shanghai office has seven lawyers under Huckerby’s leadership, with five assistant staff – a relatively condensed team.

“Our growth in mainland Shanghai has been very significant compared to three years ago,” Huckerby says. “We have also planned for continuing growth in terms of accommodation of staff in our current premises in Shanghai, but now we may take it a bit slower. For those that expanded too aggressively in size in the past three years, now would be a difficult time.”

International firms are experiencing more pressure in competing with both overseas counterparts and local firms, especially faced with the current market sentiment. Many multinationals are cutting their budgets for legal services and taking a slower approach to M&A. “People are more cautious about investment now and new projects take more time to come out,” says David Boitout,

Hong Kong firms had representative offices in 13 cities in China, Shanghai dominating with 18 of those offices. The remaining 48 were in 12 different mainland cities.

In 2008 alone, four well-known foreign firms – Bird & Bird, Cuatrecasas, K&L Gates and Miller Canfield – gained government approval to open an office in Shanghai.

This year, more firms are planning to enter the Shanghai market. Italian firm Chiomenti Studio Legale, for example, is only a few months away from gaining a licence to operate. It will be the firm’s second mainland venture, having secured a PRC licence in Beijing in 2007. (PRC regulations stipulate that foreign firms need to have operated in China for at least three years before opening an additional office. Chiomenti is eligible for a licence by virtue of its strategic merger with Sino-Italian firm Birindelli & Associati last May.)

US firm Wilmer Hale has applied for a licence to open a new office in Shanghai; it opened its Beijing office in 2004. In addition, other main international firms without an office in Shanghai, such as Loeb & Loeb, have also expressed interest in showing a presence. They will be more cautious in moving to the next step, though. The pace of future expansion will not be as quick as it has been in the past. However, Shanghai is still the key market in Asia-Pacific, according to Luigi Bendi, Chiomenti partner in charge of the firm’s Asia team.

Many firms that ALB China spoke to said their Shanghai offices at least are not cutting staff

HonG KonG FiRms witH liCensed RePResentative oFFiCes in sHanGHai ►Year A – H I – P Q – Z

2007–09 Simmons & Simmons VivienChan&Co

2004–06 ChristineMKoo&IPClyde & CoDeaconsFrankRocco&Associates

Oldham Li & Nie Stephenson Harwood & LoTannerDeWittWeir&AssociatesWongandChan

2001–03 AngelaWang&CoCharltonsFairbairn Catley Low & Kong

JohnsonStokes&Master VincentTKCheungYap&Co

Before2001 AlanLam,Yam&Pe PhilipKHWong,KennedyYHWong&Co

Note: Year of Hong Kong firms’ licence approved by the end of 2007, according to www.moj.gov.cn Notice No. 79 released on 25 January 2009.

partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel in Shanghai, who specialises in acquisitions and corporate restructuring matters. “However, thanks to our traditional business and existing clients, we have managed to keep our staff without redundancy until now. Some of our team in Shanghai, like the taxation team and labour team, are quite busy now, because of the adoption recently of new regulations of contracts, and M&A and corporate lawyers focus on liquidation and restructuring matters, due to the economic downturn.”

The global financial crisis does influence clients’ choice of firms as they are increasingly cost conscious. For low-risk work, they are more willing to consider local PRC firms whose fees are more competitive than those of their international counterparts. But when it comes to high-risk work, international firms are still used more often.

Shanghai-based Julie Zhu, general counsel of AkzoNobel in charge of North Asia, recently told ALB China that the company’s budget for legal services was cut by 10% in China. However, this was still the lowest percentage of cuts when compared to other regions.

“Price is definitely an element that we consider when choosing legal advisors but, more importantly, it depends on jurisdiction and what kind of service we need,” Zhu says. “For global transactions, we have a list of international firms that we traditionally use. For domestic asset transfer or paper preparation, we usually choose local top-tier firms such as AllBright in Shanghai and Jun He in Beijing.”

Martyn Huckerby, Mallesons

Luigi Bendi, Chiomenti

Studio Legale

David Boitout, gide Loyrette

Nouel

alb CHina’s toP 10 sHanGHai loCal ►law FiRms (by numbeR oF lawyeRs)

Rank Firm Managing partner

Total lawyers

1 AllBright Shi Huanzhang 2062 Grandall

(Shanghai)GuanJianjun 110

3 XinMin JiangJing 854 Haihua Yongtai Yan Xuehai 755 Brilliance YuJianguo 626 Zhenghan WuYugang 607 TrustJustice Zheng Xingfu 588 United Zhu Hongchao 579 JunYue Liu Zhengdong 5610 Shenda

PartnersTaoWuping 53


HaoLiWen casts leadership in a new light

It has been just one-and-a-half years since ALB China first reported on the rise of HaoLiWen PRC Attorneys (HaoLiWen) for its fast growth from 2003 to 2007, but this

Shanghai-based firm brings new surprises. The firm has been prepared for the global financial crisis and ready for sustainable growth. “Our goal has been to strive to maintain sustainable growth, not just to survive the global financial crisis,” said Deming Zhao, partner of HaoLiWen. This competitive edge of HaoLiWen is due to its early adoption of strategic planning and integration.

Diversity and specialisationAs a leading legal business firm, HaoLiWen has been providing corporate, commercial and litigation services to multinationals. With its core business being corporate practice, HaoLiWen has been supporting the China operations of multinationals on a daily basis, acting essentially as in-house counsel for most of its clients. John Huang, a Yale graduate, and Ni Jianlin, an ex-official from the foreign investment approval authority in Shanghai, co-lead the corporate practice group, the largest team in HaoLiWen. This corporate business still functions well in the global crisis.

From its general corporate services, HaoLiWen started to consolidate and integrate special expertise in 2006, and has established specialist practices in customs practice, intellectual property, dispute resolution and employment. The customs practice group, led by Deming Zhao, advises clients regarding import and export duty matters, customs regulatory compliance and company defence in customs investigations. This practice is somewhat unique in the China legal market where very few law firms have such a sizable customs practice.

HaoLiWen’s intellectual property (IP) practice group is headed by Zhang Yan, an ex-judge of Shanghai immediate court who is experienced in IP and commercial adjudication practice. With Zhang Yan on board in early 2008, HaoLiWen’s IP practice has been greatly boosted. Zhang has been also a leader of the dispute resolution group. With the blend of IP and litigation skills, clients have been rewarded with good administrative and legal remedies with respect to IP protection and litigation. HaoLiWen

recently successfully helped a multinational in its brand protection measures in China.

HaoLiWen also has a number of attorneys who have impressive expertise in daily employment services and labour arbitration and litigation. Deming Zhao, with both in-house experience with Kodak and domestic and international firms, supervises this practice group. “Currently, our IP and litigation groups are the busiest ones in this firm. We acted early enough to develop and establish these special practices, which ensures sustainable growth and helps us in navigating through the downturn stream of the global economy.”

A tale of three citiesHeadquartered in Shanghai, HaoLiWen also has offices in Dublin and Chicago. John Huang is the resident partner of the Chicago office, and Shelly Xiong the resident partner in Dublin. Shelly and John have been responsible for giving legal support to Chinese companies who are interested in cross-border transactions in Europe and the US. Ireland has been functioning as the investment hub for business operations in Europe. “The placements in Europe and America are ready to honour their mission at the time when Chinese companies tend to be more eager to invest abroad than before,” says Huang.

HaoLiWen’s concept of qualityQuality means providing client’s satisfaction and ensuring regulatory compliance. HaoLiWen has achieved client satisfaction through “employing litigation skills in consulting services and consulting skills in litigation”. When providing consulting advice, we are able to identify REAL legal risk, given our rich dispute resolution experience and familiarity with the possible legal treatment and outcome of these issues should litigation occur in the future. We would ask what arguments may be available to our client and the counterpart if the matter were litigated or arbitrated. Consequently, we are able to offer practical solutions to real risks.

In representing clients in arbitration or litigation proceedings, we also take a commercial approach to legal issues, making pre- and post-hearing business exposure

assessments and enabling clients to make necessary commercial decisions either pre- or post-hearing. Such a distinctive combination of litigation and consulting skills and practical problem solving approach explains our clients’ satisfaction. “If a firm has the capability to identify and solve real legal risk and enable clients to make commercial decisions on legal issues, the firm can be said to provide value-added service.”

A transparent culture“We cherish attorneys as the most important assets of the firm and therefore we are trying to implement a system that can make attorneys happy.” As we understand the nature of a lawyer’s work, there is no obligatory attendance for all lawyers and work hours in HaoLiWen are flexible as long as the annual working hours can be achieved. HaoLiWen has an “open door” policy, which means all partners are obligated to maintain open communications with the firm’s other lawyers, and management and operation issues can be smoothly communicated between lawyers including partners. “Lawyers can feel they belong to the firm rather than a certain partner.” In addition, HaoLiWen transactions and market position analysis are communicated to all members of HaoLiWen on a monthly basis. And the firm’s financials have been transparent to and accessible by all partners; the firm releases financial reports on a monthly basis. “Transparency facilitates mutual trust and the concept of a united firm, and in turn benefits promotion of the HaoLiWen brand.”

However, the firm does not plan to increase the size of its practice significantly in the near future. “It’s about quality over quantity,” said Zhao Deming. “The most important thing is to have a quality team providing quality service. That’s what we are always pursuing.”

HaoLiWen has a number of domestic and international clients across a wide range of industries covering pharmaceutical, clean energy, steel, shipping & aviation, real estate, chemical, retail, motor and insurance, to name a few.

Contact details: HaoLiWen Partners E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +86 21 5840 6188 | Fax: +86 21 5840 6288 www.haoliwen.com

Firm Profile HaoLiWen

44

special report | Shanghai 09 >>

ISSUE 6.3

Local firms on the move: quality not quantity countsWhen talking about surviving redundancy, Li Zhiqiang, from local firm Jin Mao Partners, says: “There is still a shortage of good candidates with enough skills that may meet high-end clients’ demand. In Shanghai, I would say that there are not many local lawyers who can really be called high-level legal professionals.”

Li’s opinion concurs with that of a number of other lawyers interviewed by ALB China. Zhu Linhai, managing

partner of AllBright, says: “Local firms may feel pressure when providing services in the high-end market due to a lack of high-end local legal professionals who may be able to deal with the high-end corporate work, arbitration, and cross-border merger and acquisition.”

In a market that is still evolving and growing, legal practice is quite different from that in mature jurisdictions. Local lawyers usually work individually by keeping close connections to clients, rather than by building contacts on a team basis. It often depends on the reputation of individual lead lawyers, rather than firm brands. Thus, in practice, a firm’s size is not always a primary consideration.

Some small and medium-sized firms have ambitions to expand rapidly. Other firms do not. “Our staff size [about 40 in total] hasn’t changed much in the past two years. I believe that this staff level is enough to weather the market storm in Shanghai,” says Zhao Deming, managing partner of HaoLiWen. “We are not pursuing

expansion in quantity, but paying more attention to the quality of our team by hiring a few specialist level partners.”

Jin Mao Partners, which has around 55 legal practitioners, seven of whom are partners, is considered to be one of the fastest growing local firms in Shanghai. Other fast-growing firms are HaoLiWen, Han Yi, Martin Hu & Partners, MWE China, Sloma & Co and Zuo Quan. All are of a similar size but each focuses on maintaining a quality team.

Some of these firms were founded by ex-partners of larger local firms. For example, Jin Mao Partners was founded by ex-partners of Jinmao; Martin Hu & Partners by an ex-partner of Boss & Young; and Zuo Quan by an ex-partner of Co-effort.

Jin Mao Partners’ Li believes that a new firm with a condensed size and selectively picked members has a greater possibility of earning a higher margin. “The financial crisis means a reshuffle of the legal market. Establishing a new firm means a

Firm Profile Blancpain

44 ISSUE 6.3

始于1735的卓越传统 ˿ 永远力臻完美

宝珀表匠沿袭创办人Jehan-Jacques Blancpain于18世纪初始创的传统，把精湛的制表工艺不断升华。自1735年至今，表匠们矢志

追求创新与完美，不断接受新的挑战。他们构思的腕表在表坛奠立崭新典范，作品蕴藏着澎湃创意，彰显他们一贯的热忱，亦见证着他们对钟表技术的伟大贡献。进270年来，宝珀表匠凭着努力创出佳绩，他们的辉煌成就源于一份对制表技术的尊重和坚持。

Blancpain宝珀考尽心思研创高级圆形腕表，在品牌的完美系列中，并没有任何石英型号。对今日的宝珀表匠来说，机械腕表和它精密复

杂的结构，最能突显品牌悠久的制表工艺和精湛技术。这个全球历史最悠久的钟表世家一直悉心维护它的文化传统，为爱表人士献上「六大经典杰作」。这6款经典时计是钟表艺术的巅峰典范，深邃奥妙的技术正是宝珀表的精髓所在。

今天的宝珀表匠依然因循世代相传的工艺技术，但却不会与时代脱节。他们矢志秉承创办人的精神和崇高的标准，勇于创新和开拓，令计时技术更精密准确。Blancpain宝珀拥有数百年的高超技术与工艺，品牌历久不衰。宝珀表匠继续凭着敏锐的眼睛和双手，创造闪烁璀璨的时计，让鉴赏家隽永留存。

Top five Beijing law firms ►in shanghai (By numBer of lawyers)

Rank Firm Managing partner

Total lawyers

1 King & Wood Zhang Yi 104

2 Zhong Lun Qiao Wenjun 81

3 Dacheng Ji Jianqing 79

4 Jun He Li Qi 62

5 Longan Peng Xigen 31Note: Tables 3 and 4 do not purport to be exhaustive. Firms are ranked by total number of lawyers. Number of total lawyers is according to www.lawyer.org.cn as of 23 March 2009.



胡光律师事务所

19th Floor, Yongda International Tower2277 Longyang Road, Shanghai 201204Tel: +86 21 5010 1666Fax: +86 21 5010 1222E-mail: [email protected]

Martin Hu & PartnersContact UsAttorneys at Martin Hu & Partners (MHP Law Firm)

have long been retained by well-known multinational companies and recognized by legal communities for their professional, efficient and often innovative services for clients since 1999.

Corporate and Commercial Mergers & AcquisitionsEmployment and Labor

EducationTaxReal Estate

Intellectual PropertyLitigation and ArbitrationInternational Trade

artin Hu & Partners maintains both the international level of professional disciplines and the on-the-ground understanding of Chinese markets and extensive knowledge of industry-specific issues needed to handle complex cross-border transactions involving China.

M

MHP Ad.pdf 4/1/2009 12:04:12 PM

chance to build a new team with the right expertise and adopting the right management,” he explains.

Taking on the big two: Shanghai vs Beijing and Hong KongThe maturity of Shanghai’s legal market is not quite yet commensurate with its position as the next major financial and commercial centre in Asia. It is not yet a market as free as that

a ComPaRison oF lawyeRs (2009) ►City Total population Number of lawyers Number of

law firmsLawyers as % of the population

Beijing 17million 15,234 1,072 0.9%

Hong Kong 7 million 7,200 – 1.03%

Shanghai 19million 9,741 890 0.5%Note: Number of lawyers and number of law firms are according to www.bmla.org.cn, www.lawyer.org.cn and www.hklawsoc.org.hk as of 20 March 2009.

of Hong Kong, nor is it as close to the authorities as that of Beijing. However, in its own way, Shanghai is pioneering a new model of legal services in the Greater China region and the space to grow is seemingly boundless.

In Shanghai, firms are focusing more on financial institutions and private corporations as the city has attracted the most foreign investment and hosts the most privately owned entities. In Beijing,

the focus is on cross-border deals and projects which need central government regulatory approval. The Hong Kong offices of international law firms, in this hub of capital market and finance, usually function as bridges between mainland China and the rest of the firms’ worldwide networks.

Now, with investment increasingly extending across China, many foreign companies have established nationwide operations and require support for legal problems that arise in all regions of China. Shanghai is the next hub where law firms that are practising in inbound and outbound investment, corporate advisory and M&A, banking & finance, bonds, derivatives and outbound Chinese investments can make their home. ALB


http://www.mhplawyer.com

46

EVENtS | China Law Awards >>

ISSUE 6.3

China Law Awards 2009CHINA Finalists Announced!

inteRnational FiRms – leadinG Finalists ►Firm No of

categoriesLaw firm awards Deal awards

Baker&McKenzie 3 •Energy&resources•Projectfinance•Equity

Cleary Gottlieb 3 •Debt•Energy&resources•M&A

Clifford Chance 5 •International•Internationaldealmaker(RupertLi)

•Energy&resources•Projectfinance•M&A

ConyersDill&Pearman 4 •Offshore •Debt•Equity•Realestate

DavisPolk&Wardwell 3 •International •Debt•Equity

Deacons 3 •HongKong •Realestate•M&A

Freshfields 6 •International•Internationaldealmaker(TeresaKo)

•Energy&resources•Equity•Projectfinance•M&A

Fried Frank 3 •Debt•Energy&resources•M&A

Linklaters 6 •International•Internationaldealmaker(PaulChow)

•Debt•Energy&resources•M&A•Realestate

Lovells 3 •International •Projectfinance•M&A

Herbert Smith 3 •Equity•M&A•Projectfinance

MaplesandCalder 3 •Offshore •Realestate•Debt

Walkers 3 •Offshore •Realestate•M&A

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

3 •Equity•Projectfinance•Realestate

Sullivan & Cromwell 4 •Internationaldealmaker(ChunWei) •Energy&resources•M&A•Projectfinance

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

3 •International •Energy&resources•M&A

CHinese FiRms – leadinG Finalists ►Firm No of

categoriesLaw firm awards Deal awards

AllBright 4 •DisputeResolution•Insurance•Shanghai•ManagingPartner(ZhuLinhai)

Commerce & Finance

4 •Banking •M&A•Debt•Realestate

Dacheng 5 •DisputeResolution•Insolvency&Restructuring•Beijing•ManagingPartner(WangZhongde)•China

FangdaPartners 3 •Disputeresolution•IP•Shanghai

Grandall Legal Group

7 •Insurance•Shanghai•China•Chinadealmaker(WangWeidong,Beijing)

•Energy&resources•Equity•Projectfinance

Guantao 5 •Insolvency&restructuring•Beijing•China•Chinadealmaker(CuiLiguo)

•Equity

Haiwen&Partners 5 •Banking•Beijing

•M&A•Projectfinance•Energy&resources

JiaYuan 4 •Rising•Chinadealmaker(YanYu)

•Energy&resources•Equity

Jingtian&Gongcheng

7 •Banking•Chinadealmaker(ShuaiTianlong)

•M&A•Energy&resources•Debt•Equity•Realestate

JunHe 11 •Banking•Disputeresolution•Tax&trusts•Beijing•Managingpartner(XiaoWei)•China•Chinadealmaker(DavidLiuDali)

•M&A•Debt•Equity•Realestate

King&Wood 15 •Banking•Disputeresolution•Insolvency&restructuring•Insurance•IP•Tax&trusts•Beijing•Managingpartner(WangLing)•China•Chinadealmaker(GuoGuiying)

•Energy&resources•Projectfinance•Equity•M&A•Debt

WangJing&Co 3 •Insurance•Shipping•Guangzhou

Zhong Lun 4 •Beijing•China

•Realestate•Debt



Here it is! The complete list of finalists across the 36 categories of the biggest legal event in China – the ALB China Law Awards. See www.albawards.com for full details of the night itself on 24 April in Shanghai

deals of the yearDEBT MARKET DEAL OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

CHina meRCHants HoldinGs senioR notes oFFeRinG ►Firms: Fried Frank; Linklaters; Maples and Calderbanks:BNPParibas;ING;MerrillLynch

Why: •DualtrancheofferingofUS$500mofseniornotes(US$300m

6.125%GuaranteedNotesdue2013andUS$200m7.125%GuaranteedNotesdue2018)

•LargestAsiannon-financialcorporatebondlaunchedandsecondtriple-BratedbondissuedfromAsiain12months

CountRy GaRden ConveRtible bond oFFeRinG ►Firms: Commerce & Finance; Conyers Dill & Pearman; Jingtian & Gongcheng; Linklaters; Sidley Austinbanks:MerrillLynchaccountants:PwC

Why:•Firsteversimultaneousconvertiblebondofferingandsynthetic

sharebuybackstructureforAsian-listedcompany•Re-openedmarketwindowforChinesepropertycompanies

tosecurefinancinginpubliccapitalmarkets;against-market11%stockpriceincreasedayafterissuance

•AtUS$600m,largestrealestateRMB-denominatedconvertiblebondofferinginAsia-Pacific

jianGXi CoPPeR bond issuanCe ►Firms: Beijing xin He; King & Woodbanks:CICC

Why:•JiangxiCopperissuedconvertiblecorporatebondswith

detachablewarrantsonShanghaiStockExchange•RaisedapproximatelyUS$935m•Issuerthelargestcopperproducerinthecountry

ministRy oF Railways CoRPoRate bond oFFeRinG ►Firms: Beijing xin He; Zhong Lunbanks:BOCInternational;CICC

Why:•MinistryofRailways,whichactedasacorporationindebt

market,issuedcorporatebondsandraisedUS$2.9bn•Secondtimerailwaysministryhasissuedbonds.Firsttime,

in2007,itsoldRMB60bnofbondsinsinglelargestapprovalobtained for corporate bond issuance so far

nine dRaGon senioR notes oFFeRinG ►Firms: Commerce & Finance; Conyers Dill & Pearman; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Jun He; Sidley Austinbank:MerrillLynch

Why:•Firstinvestment-gradedebtofferingbyanon-state-owned

companyinPRC•US$300mofferingunderRule144AandRegulationSbyNine

Dragonsofseniornotesdue2013•FirstdebtcapitalmarketstransactionfromanewissuerinAsia

in 2008

sHanda inteRaCtive ConveRtible senioR ►notes oFFeRinG

Firms: Cleary Gottlieb; Commerce & Finance; Conyers Dill & Pearman; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Jade & Fountainbanks:GoldmanSachs;JPMorganaccountants:PwC

Why:•Rule144AofferingofUS$175mconvertibleseniornotes

andacceleratedsharere-purchase;firstconvertiblebondofferingwithconcurrentacceleratedsharerepurchase(“ASR”)program in Asia

•Pricedon9Septemberasfinancialtsunamipickedupsteamand closed day Lehman fell

•Resultsin“capitalsubstitution”notcapitaldecrease,preserves balance sheet cash, monetises high stock volatility and takes advantage of low interest rates

ENERGy & RESOURCES DEAL OF THE yEAR

FINALISTSCentRal asia-CHina Gas PiPeline ►

Firms: Baker & McKenzie; Clifford Chance; Freshfields; GRATA; King & Woodbanks:ChinaDevelopmentBank;BankofChina

Why:•Developmentof1,818kmpipelinetodeliver30billioncubic

metres of natural gas from Central Asia to China•SpansfourcountriesatanestimatedcostofUS$11bn•StrategicallysignificantasChinahasbeenattemptingtocurb

itsenergydependenceontheMiddleEast

CHina Coal eneRGy iPo ►Firms: Jia Yuan; King & Woodbank:CICC

Why:•ChinaCoalEnergyA-shareIPOinShanghairaisedapprox

US$3.6bn•Launchedinearly2008aftersuccessfulHKlistingin2007•LargestA-sharelistingof2008

CHina GuanGdonG nuCleaR PoweR ►Firms: Clifford Chance; Grandall Legal Groupbanks:BNPParibas

Why: •FrenchenergycompanyEDFagreedtoajointventurewithChina

GuangdongNuclearPowerCompanytoconstruct,operateandmaintaintwothird-generationreactorsinthecityofTaishan

•OneoflargestJVinvestmentsinChinatodate,andtransactionvalueoneofhighestFDIsintoChinatodate

•OneofhighestvaluecommercialcontractssignedinhistoryofFrench nuclear power industry

CHina oilField seRviCes aCquisition oF awilCo ►oFFsHoRe

Firms: Clifford Chance; Jingtian & Gongcheng; King & Wood; White & Case; WongPartnershipbanks:CICC;JPMorgan

48


ISSUE 6.3

Why:•China’slargestintegratedoffshoreoilfieldservicesprovider

acquiredNorwegianoil&gasdrillingcontractorin US$2.5bndeal

•Largest100%-stakeoverseasacquisitioninnon-oil&gascategory accomplished in energy sector in China by value to date

•“FirstmajoroverseastransactionbyA-andH-sharecompany,andthirdlargestChinaoutboundM&Atransactionfortheyear”

CHinalCo aCquisition oF staKe in Rio tinto ►Firms: Allen Arthur Robinson; Cleary Gottlieb; Clifford Chance; Fried Frank; Haiwen & Partners; Linklaters; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Sullivan & Cromwell; Wachtell Liptonbanks:CICC;CreditSuisse;JPMorgan;Macquarie; MorganStanleyaccountants: Ernst & Young

Why:•Chinalcoacquired12%stakeinRioTintothroughwholly

owned subsidiary•AtapproxUS$14bnwaslargestoverseasinvestmentmadeby

Chinese enterprise to date•SubstantialportionofdebtfinancingbyPRClenderdirectlyto

overseasacquisitioncompanywasunprecedented;complexJVarrangementswithUSstrategicpartner

EQUITy MARKET DEAL OF THE yEARFINALISTS

CHina Coal eneRGy iPo ►Firms: Jia Yuan; King & Woodbank:CICC

Why:•ChinaCoalEnergyA-shareIPOinShanghairaisedapprox

US$3.6bn•Launchedinearly2008aftersuccessfulHKlistingin2007•LargestA-sharelistingof2008

CHina Railway ConstRuCtion CoRP iPo ►Firms: Baker & McKenzie; DeHeng Law Offices; Freshfields; Jingtian & Gongchengbanks:Citic;Citi;Macquarieaccountants: Ernst & Young

Why:•ConcurrentA-share(Shanghai)andH-share(HongKong)

offeringraisedapproxUS$5.4bn•LargestIPOinAsiaandsecondlargestworldwidein2008;

onlysecondeverA-then-Hsharelisting•Flawlesslyexecutedandgeneratedrecorddemand

CHina soutH loComotive & RollinG stoCK iPo ►Firms: Baker & McKenzie; Grandall Legal Group; Herbert Smith; Jia Yuanbanks:CICC;Macquarieaccountants: Ernst & Young

Why:•ApproxUS$2bnglobalofferinginvolvingA-andH-sharelistings•LargestcapitalofferingsinHKandChinasinceAugust2008,

anextremelyvolatileandchallengingperiodoftimewhichsawalargenumberofIPOactivitiesplacedonhold

•A-shareofferingmanagedtocloseafewdaysbeforeH-shareoffering due to precision planning and efforts of working team

jinduiCHenG molybdenum a-sHaRe iPo ►Firms: Guantao; Jia Yuanbanks:BOCInternational;CICC

Why:•RaisedUS$1.3bnthroughoffering538mA-shares•LaunchedA-shareIPOinShanghai•JinduichengMolybdenumisAsia’slargestproducer

of molybdenum

RenHe CommeRCial HoldinGs iPo ►Firms: Conyers Dill & Pearman; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Jingtian & Gongcheng; Kaiwen; Latham & Watkins; Morrison & Foerster; Norton Rosebanks:BankofChina;HSBC;MorganStanley;UBSaccountants:KPMG

Why: •US$437mIPOoflargestprivatelyownedoperatoranddeveloper

ofstand-aloneundergroundshoppingcentresinChina•Workingpartiesdealtwithsuddendownsizingofoffering

due to drop in overall market, investor interest and valuation of key comparables; highly volatile market conditions

•FirstcompanytoattemptHKIPOsincemid-Augustandsecondto list in HK in 2008; outcome critical to deals pipeline

sHandonG CHenminG PaPeR HoldinGs iPo ►Firms: Hylands; Jia Yuan; Li & Partners; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

Why:•US$410minitialpublicofferingofH-sharesonHongKong

ExchangeandsimultaneousinternationalofferingofH-sharesunderRule144AandRegulationS

•FirstChinesecompanywiththreecategoriesofsharesissued:A-sharesinRMB;B-shares(inRMBandforeigncurrency,listedonShenzhenExchange)andH-shares(listedonHKSE).

•RequiredcompliancewithdisclosureandregulatoryrequirementsofCSRC,ShenzhenexchangeandHKSE

XteP inteRnational HoldinGs iPo ►Firms: Conyers Dill & Pearman; Herbert Smith; Jingtian & Gongcheng; Jun He; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffebanks:JPMorgan;UBS

Why: •Transactioncompletedinverydifficultmarketandinwakeof

Sichuanearthquake•Reorganisationhandledwithnewlegalknowledgeand

techniquestoavoidviolationofrelevantprovisionsofnewM&Arules,especiallyprovisionsonaffiliatedacquisitions

M&A DEAL OF THE yEARFINALISTS

CHina HuanenG aCquisition oF tuas PoweR ►Firms: Allen & Gledhill; Haiwen & Partners; Herbert Smith; Lovells; Shook Lin & Bok; Sullivan & Cromwellbanks:BNPParibas;Calyon;CreditSuisse;DBS;Fortis; MorganStanley;Oversea-ChineseBankingCorp; SumitomoMitsuiBankingCorpaccountants:KPMG

Why:•ChinaHuanengboughtTuasPowerforUS$3.1bn,largest

overseas purchase by a Chinese power company•Occurredduringcreditcrunchwhichaffectedcostand

availability of bank loans•Involvedblendofcashanddebts,aswellaslengthy

negotiations between parent companies and their subsidiaries

CHina meRCHants banK aCquisition oF ►winG lunG banK

Firms: Clifford Chance; Deacons; DLA Piper; Freshfields; Jun He; Simmons & Simmonsbanks:CreditSuisse;JPMorgan;MorganStanley;UBS

Why:•TakeovervaluedatapproxUS$4.7bn;biggestM&Adealin

banking sector in seven years•Regulatedandsupervisedbyauthoritiesinvarious

jurisdictions,sodiverseregulatoryrequirementsposedsignificant challenges

•Receivedkeeninterestfrommainlandfinancialinstitutions,and was agreed to after very competitive auction process

CHina netCom/uniCom/teleCom RestRuCtuRe ►Firms: Commerce & Finance; Freshfields; Jingtian & Gongcheng; Linklaters; Milbank; Shearman & Sterling;

Skadden; Slaughter & May; Sullivan & Cromwellbanks:CICC;Citi;JPMorgan

Why:•US$23.8bnmergerofChinaNetcomwithChinaUnicom;

andChinaTelecomUS$15.8bnacquisitionofChinaUnicom’sCDMAbusiness

•Landmarkdeal:stageoneofrestructuringoftelecomsectordesigned to further level out playing field

•China’sbiggestevermerger

CHina oilField seRviCes aCquisition oF ►awilCo oFFsHoRe

Firms: Clifford Chance; Jingtian & Gongcheng; King & Wood; White & Case; WongPartnershipbanks:CICC;JPMorgan

Why:•China’slargestintegratedoffshoreoilfieldservicesprovider

acquiredNorwegianoil&gasdrillingcontractorinUS$2.5bndeal•Largest100%-stakeoverseasacquisitioninnon-oil&gas

category accomplished in China’s energy sector by value to date

•“FirstmajoroverseastransactionbyA-andH-sharecompany,andthirdlargestChinaoutboundM&Atransactionforyear”

CHinalCo aCquisition oF staKe in Rio tinto ►Firms: Allen Arthur Robinson; Cleary Gottlieb; Clifford Chance; Fried Frank; Haiwen & Partners; Linklaters; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Sullivan & Cromwell; Wachtell Liptonbanks:CICC;CreditSuisse;JPMorgan;Macquarie; MorganStanleyaccountants: Ernst & Young

Why: •Chinalcoacquired12%stakeinRioTintothroughwholly

owned subsidiary•AtapproxUS$14bnwaslargestoverseasinvestmentmadeby

Chinese enterprise to date•SubstantialportionofdebtfinancingbyPRClenderdirectlyto

overseasacquisitioncompanywasunprecedented;complexJVarrangementswithUSstrategicpartner

CoCa Cola aCquisition oF Huiyuan juiCe ►Firms: Broad & Bright; Freshfields; Skadden; Walkers

Why:•Largest(US$2.5bn)foreignacquisitionofaChinesecompany,

andfirsteveracquisitionofHK-listedcompanywithallitsbusiness in China

•FirsteverinstanceoffullantitrustreviewunderChina’snewcomprehensiveAnti-MonopolyLaw(effectiveAugust2008)

•Multifacetedtransactioninvolvingcombinationofmanynovelanduniquecircumstancesincludingextensivemulti-nationalbidding process

sinosteel aCquisition oF midwest ►Firms: Deacons; Hardy Bowen; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Minter Ellison

Why: •DemonstratedextenttowhichChinesecompaniescan

competeincomplexcross-bordertransactions;forerunnertomany deals that followed

•Fiercely,thoughunsuccessfully,contestedbyrivalbidderMurchisonMetals

PROJECT FINANCE DEAL OF THE yEARCentRal asia-CHina Gas PiPeline ►

Firms: Baker & McKenzie; Clifford Chance; Freshfields; GRATA; King & Woodbanks:BankofChina;ChinaDevelopmentBank

Why:•Developmentof1,818kmpipelinetodeliver30billioncubic

metres of natural gas from Central Asia to China•SpansfourcountriesatanestimatedcostofUS$11bn•StrategicallysignificantasChinahasbeenattemptingtocurb

itsenergydependenceonMiddleEast



CHina GuanGdonG nuCleaR PoweR ►Firms: Clifford Chance; Grandall Legal Groupbanks:BNPParibas

Why: •FrenchenergycompanyEDFagreedtoJVwithChina

GuangdongNuclearPowerCompanytoconstruct,operateandmaintaintwothird-generationreactorsincityofTaishan

•OneoflargestJVinvestmentsinChinatodate,andtransactionvalueoneofhighestFDIsintoChinatodate

•OneofhighestvaluecommercialcontractssignedinhistoryofFrench nuclear power industry

CHina HuanenG aCquisition oF tuas PoweR ►Firms: Allen & Gledhill; Haiwen & Partners; Herbert Smith; Lovells; Shook Lin & Bok; Sullivan & Cromwellbanks:BNPParibas;Calyon;CreditSuisse;DBS;Fortis; MorganStanley;Oversea-ChineseBankingCorp;SumitomoMitsuiBankingCorpaccountants:KPMG

Why:•ChinaHuanengboughtTuasPowerforUS$3.1bn,largest

overseas purchase by a Chinese power company •Occurredduringcreditcrunchwhichaffectedcostand

availability of bank loans•Involvedblendofcashanddebts,aswellaslengthy

negotiations between parent companies and their subsidiaries

CosCo PaCiFiC GReeK PoRts ConCession ►Firm: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

Why:•Agreementinvolvesconcessionfeesandcapitalinvestment

expenditureexceedingUS$6.6bnovercourseofconcessiontermtodevelopandoperatetwopiersinPiraeus,Greece

•Verytightscheduleinveryvolatileglobalfinancialandcapitalmarket conditions

•HighdegreeofaccuracyessentialtoreconcilejurisdictionaldifferencesbetweenHK,GreeceandEUandsupportingfinancial commitments

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION DEAL OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

asia PaCiFiC land aCquisition oF tHe CenteR ►in sHanGHai

Firms: Allen & Overy; Deacons; Harneys; Jun He; Maples and Calder; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Paul Hastings; Walkers; Zhong Lunbank:JPMorganaccountants:PwC

Why:•US$650macquisitionofTheCenterbuildingfromHK-listed

HutchisonWhampoaGroupsubsidiarychairedby LiKashing;largestsingleassetrealestateacquisitionbyvalue in China’s history

•Shorttimeframeforstructuring,negotiation,duediligence anddocumentationininformation-scarceenvironmentofPRCreal estate market due to late entry into highly competitive bidding process

•Innovativestructuregrantsseniorandmezzaninelendersaccess to onshore security, which appears impossible under tightPRCforexcontrolregime

CountRy GaRden ConveRtible bond oFFeRinG ►Firms: Commerce & Finance; Conyers Dilll & Pearman; Jingtian & Gongcheng; Linklaters; Sidley Austinbank:MerrillLynchaccountants:PwC

Why:•Firsteversimultaneousconvertiblebondofferingandsynthetic

sharebuybackstructureforanAsian-listedcompany•Re-openedmarketwindowforChinesepropertycompanies

tosecurefinancinginpubliccapitalmarkets;against-market11%stockpriceincreasedayafterissuance

•AtUS$600m,largestrealestateRMB-denominatedconvertiblebondofferinginAsia-Pacific

FRansHion PRoPeRties aCquisition oF ►CHina jin mao

Firms: Allen & Overy; Tian Yuanbank:DeutscheBankaccountants: Ernst & Young

Why:•US$1.5bnacquisitionofentireChinaJinMaogroup,which

holds100%oflandmarkJinmaoTowerinShanghai;largestcommercialrealestateacquisitiontransactionin2008intermsof size

•Particularlychallengingtransactiongivennumberofparties,deal dynamics and issues arising out of dual legal and regulatoryregimesinPRCandHongKong

•CreativestructureoffirstinjectingequityinterestofJinmaoGroup into an offshore company and then transferring shares of the offshore company to purchaser

Poly Real estate bond issuanCe ►Firms: Beijing Alliance; Zhong Lun

Why:•PolyRealEstate,alargedeveloperownedbyChinaPoly

Group,issuedUS$628m(RMB4.3bn)worthoffive-yearfixedinterest bonds

•“Bondshadnominalinterestrateat7.00%”•Proceedswillbeusedtooptimisedebtstructureand

supplement current capital

vanKe CoRPoRate bonds issuanCe ►Firms: Shu Jin; Zhong Lun

Why: •Vanke,China’slargestlistedpropertydeveloper,raised

US$863fromissuanceofcorporatebonds•“Abouthalfofthebondsareincollateralisednoteswitharate

of5.5-6%”•Restareinnon-collateralisednoteswitharateof7–7.5%

INTERNATIONAL DEALMAKER OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Chun Wei, Sullivan & Cromwell•Paul Chow, Linklaters •Paul Deemer, Vinson & Elkins•Rupert Li, Clifford Chance•Teresa Ko, Freshfields•

CHINA DEALMAKER OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Cui Liguo, Guantao•David Liu Dali, Jun He•Guo Guiyang, King & Wood•Shuai Tianlong, Jingtian & Gongcheng•Wang Weidong, Grandall Legal Group (Beijing) •Yan Yu, Jia Yuan•

CHINA DEAL OF THE yEARFinalists to be announced on the evening

in-house awardsBANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Bank of China•China Development Bank•China Merchants Bank•Guotai Junan Securities•Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) •Société Générale•

INVESTMENT BANK IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

BOC International (China) •China International Capital Corporation (CICC)•Goldman Sachs•JPMorgan•Morgan Stanley•UBS•

CHINA LEGAL CAREER AWARD FOREIGN COMPANy

IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

BASF•Danone•Dell•Google China•Intel•Procter & Gamble•Shell•The Coca-Cola Company•

CHINESE COMPANy IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

China Railway Construction Group•China Telecom•Chinalco•CNOOC•Huawei Technologies•Lenovo•Ping An Insurance Group•Sinosteel•

MWE CHINA LAW OFFICES AWARD CHINA IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE yEAR

Finalists to be announced on the evening

50


ISSUE 6.3

firm awardsBANKING

LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Commerce & Finance•Maintainsleadingpositioninbanking&financebyadvising

largenumberofinvestmentbanksandunderwritersonIPOsand bond issuances

•NoticeabledealsincludeCountryGardenconvertiblebondofferingandNineDragonseniornotesoffering

Haiwen & Partners•Regularlyretainedbymajordomesticandinternationalfinancial

institutions in syndicated loan transactions, regulatory and compliance matters, and new product developments

•MajordealsincludeChinalcoacquisitionofstakeinRioTinto,andChinaHuanengacquisitionofTuasPower

Jingtian & Gongcheng•Clientsincludebanks,non-bankingfinancialinstitutions,

industrial and trading enterprises, companies, and government agencies

•SignificantdealsincludeCountryGardenconvertiblebondofferingandChinaOilfieldServicesacquisitionofAwilcoOffshore

Jun He•Lawyershighlyexperiencedinhandlinglargeandcomplex

financial transactions•AtforefrontofemergingareasinChina,suchasasset

securitisation, resolution of distressed assets and derivatives•AdvisedChinaMerchantsBankonitstakeoverofWingLung

BankandadvisedHangSengBankonitsacquisitionofaRMB800m,20%stakeinYantaiCommercialBank–makingHang Seng the largest single shareholder

King & Wood•Hashandledlargeamountoftransactionsinbankingsector,

andhastrackrecordofhighqualityprojectfinancelegalwork•Workedcloselywithinvestmentbanks,sponsorsand

underwriters on some significant capital markets transactions, includingJiangxiCopper’sbondIssuance

DISPUTE RESOLUTION LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

AllBright•Teamofmorethan40specialiseddisputesresolutionlawyers

ledbyseniorpartnerBaoWei•Successfullyrepresentedclientsinlitigationcasesinvolving

cutting-edgeissuesregardingcompetitionlaw,IPinfringement,insolvency, shareholder and partnership disputes, international trade and investment

•Trackrecordofinvolvementininternationalarbitrationproceedingsinotherjurisdictions

Dacheng•Disputeresolutionteaminvolvedinsomeofcountry’smost

high-profilecommerciallitigation,includingactingforWahahaagainstDanone

•DisputeresolutionteamcompriseshundredsoflawyersinsevenofficesinChina.ManyhaveexperienceworkingasseniorjudgesintheSupremePeople’sCourtandlocalcourts

•Havingrenownedlitigators,suchaspartnerQianWeiqing,continuestoraisefirm’sprofileassolidchoiceforcomplex,high-value litigation and arbitration

• Involvedinsomeofthecountry’smosthigh-profilecommerciallitigations,includingactingforWahahainitslegalaction againstDanone

Fangda Partners•Withmorethan50lawyers,includingninepartnersdedicatedto

dispute resolution, widely regarded as a leading market player•DrJiangZhipei,formerChiefJusticeofIntellectualProperty

SectionofSupremePeople’sCourt,importantadditiontoteam

Jun He•Scoredsomehigh-profilesuccesses,suchasitsSupremeCourt

victoryforFerreroSPAinitslandmarkcaseagainstMontresor(Zhangjiagang)Foodforimitatingthesignaturegold-wrappedRocherchocolate

•BoosteddisputeresolutionexpertisebyaddingformerheadofZhong Lun’s dispute resolution practice group, Liu Honghuan, and veteran lawyer Fei Ning from Haiwen’s Shanghai office

King & Wood•Continuestobeamajornameforthemostcomplicatedand

high-valuelitigationwork•Growingreputationforinternationaldisputeresolutionwork,

asitexpandspresenceinsomekeymarketsoverseas,suchasHK and New York

•Clientsincludewell-knowndomesticenterprises,governmentorganisations, public service units, large SOE, private companies

GRANT THORNTON AWARD INSOLVENCy & RESTRUCTURING

LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Dacheng•Long-standingcommitmenttohelpinginvestorsrespondtorisks

andopportunitiesofSOErestructureandprivatisation;enjoysleading position in SOE restructure and privatisation practice

•AdvisesonregulatoryandadministrativerequirementsandcommercialtechniquesforSOEreformmatters

Guantao•Numberofpartnersspecialisinginthispractice,includingYang

Guang,LvLiqiuandCuiLiguo•ExtensiveexperiencerestructuringSOEandsecuritiescompanies

King & Capital•Hasadedicatedinsolvencyandrestructuringpracticeledby

executivepartnerMengBing•Hasemergedasaforceinthemarketsinceestablishedin2006•Pickedupanumberofmid-marketprojectsaroundthecountry

andwasappointedbyBeijingHighPeople’sCourtasinsolvencyadministratorofBeijingLinlinDepartmentStore

King & Wood•Extensivenationalnetworkandstrongcorporatepracticegives

itcapabilityandcompetencetomanageverycomplexdeals•Playedaleadingroleinseveralhigh-profilecasesinvolving

listedcompanies,eg,insolvencyofShanghai-listedHuayuan•LeadingpartnersincludeZhengZhibin,LiuYanliandWang

Fuxiang,allofwhomarehighlyregardedpractitioners

W & H Law Firm• Insolvency&restructuringhavebeenrecognisedbyAllChina

LawyersAssociation,SupremePeople’sCourtandBeijingHighPeople’sCourt,andcasesithasadvisedonarewidelystudiedbythese organisations and top research institutes

•In2008,headedbyseniorpartnerZhangXiaowei,YiZhengyou,ZhaoJimingandZhuQingbiao,appointedasinsolvency administrator for impressive array of cases, includingbankruptcyofBeijingZhongxingTrustInvestment,XinjiangSecurities,BeijingYinjiaRealEstate

Zhongzi•Hasattractedanincreasingamountofattentionforits

liquidationandrestructuringwork.Headofinsolvencyandrestructuring practice Han Chuanhua is particularly well known

•High-profileinsolvencycaseofWuGuDaoChangisoneofthefirm’s recent case highlights

INSURANCE LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

AllBright•Winnerofthisawardforthepastthreeyears,remainsintop

tier of firms active in various types of insurance disputes•AllBrightrepresentsawiderangeofclients,including

insurance companies, brokers and policyholders

Grandall Legal Group•Strengthsliemainlyinofferingnon-contentiouscorporate

advice and services to insurance industry clients•DrZhanHaoleadstheinsurancepracticegroupandadvises

on a wide range of corporate insurance matters

Shanghai Kai-Rong•Bestknownforrepresentationofinterestsofdomesticand

internationalinsurersandre-insurers•Handledanumberofsignificantcases,someofwhichhave

become landmark cases for instructional purposes by Supreme CourtofChina,eg,actingforEmiratesAirlinesagainstaMrXu for an air passenger liability dispute

•ActedforCargoluxanditseightco-insurersagainstXiaMenTAECO in Shanghai High Court for huge insurance indemnity ofapproxUS$14marisingfromGroundServiceContract

King & Wood•HeadedbypartnerYuanEnze,thefirm’sinsurancepractice

washighlypraisedbyinsuranceregulatorsandblue-chipclientsforitsmarketknowledgeandexpertise

•Increasingfocusoncorporateendofinsurancemarkethasgainedmomentum.Increasinglyinvolvedinhigh-endmattersand adds further strength in transactional work

Wang Jing & Co•RemainsatopchoicebyprominentinternationalandPRC

insurers, reinsurers and policyholders, particularly for matters in connection with marine insurance

•BesidesadvisingoninsurancetermsandP&Iagreements,group is actively engaged in litigation and arbitration relating tomarine,property,projectandliabilityinsuranceclaims

CCH AWARD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTy LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

CCPIT Patent & Trademark•Withmorethan400practitionersand50years’service,itis

oneofthebestknownnamesinIPsector•Thisfirmisproficientinpatentandtrademarkapplication

drafting, filing and prosecution, and a leader in handling large, complexIPlitigationmatters

Fangda Partners• IPpracticegrouphasaround30members,includingsixpartners.

OffersawiderangeofIPservices,coveringfilings,portfoliomanagement and commercialisation, and enforcement

•BestknownforIP-relatedlitigationcapabilities,particularlyrepresentingclientsincomplexandhighvolumeclaimpatentlitigation.

•Well-establishedplatformattractedIPveteranDrJiangZhipei,formerChiefJusticeofIntellectualPropertyRightsTribunalofSupremePeople’sCourt,tojoinasaseniorcounsellastyear

King & Wood•Oneofthefewfirmswithadedicated,largeIPdepartment

and is regarded by multinational and large domestic enterprisesasaleadingfull-serviceIPlegaladvisor

•Reputationinpatentprosecutionhasbeengrowinginawiderange of industries, including biochemistry, pharmaceutical, and electrical and mechanical engineering

•IPteamalsoregularlyworkswithcorporateteamtoprovidesupportforM&Aandfinancialtransactions

•Hasfurtheradvanceditsexpertiseandskillsinadvisingclientsonhigh-endIPlitigation

Lifang & Partners•Acorepracticearea.Lastyear,thefirmextendeditsphysical

presencetoGuangzhoutocatertoalargenumberofIP-drivenclientsinPearlRiverDeltaregion

•Hasnotablestrengthsindraftingcomplexandhigh-qualitypatentapplications,asmanyseniorpartnerswereIPjudgeswithsolidexperienceinhandlingmajorpatentlitigationcases

Liu, Shen & Associates•Firmcontinuestoenjoyastrongreputationamongitspeers

andclientsforitscomprehensiveworkinIP•BolstereditsIPexpertiseandcapabilitieswithappointmentof

Jeekai&PartnersfoundingpartnerJayShain2008



Longan•IPpracticehasworkedonmanygroundbreakingand

unprecedentedIPcases,someofwhichwereforeign-relatedpatentdisputes.Threeofthesecasesareincludedin“100typicalIPlitigationcases”selectedandpublishedbySupremePeople’sCourtlastNovember

•ManagingpartnerXuJiali,headoftheIPpractice,isfirstpostdoctoralscholarinIPlawinChinaandonlydoctoralinstructor to date

Watson & Band•CoverswholespectrumofIPrights-especiallystrongin

IPlitigation•ManagingpartnerGeorgeFuisahighlyrespectedIP

practitionerandservedaspresidingjudgeofShanghaiHighPeople’scourt.HealsoheadsIntellectualPropertyResearchCommittee of the Shanghai Bar Association

Zhongzi•IPpracticegrouphasmorethan100experiencedlawyersand

patentagents,including19partners.•Hasestablishedreputationforbeingastrongplayerinmarket

andenjoysanincreasinglybusyworkload• IthandlesfullspectrumofIPlegalservices–counselling,

prosecution, enforcement and litigation. • ItisfullyconversantwithallareasofIPrights,includingpatents,

trademarks, copyright, unfair competition, trade secrets, franchising,licensing,IPmanagementandtransactions

SHIPPING LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Global Law Office•WithpartnerGaoYifengatthecore,thefirmcontinuesto

enjoyastrongreputationamongpeersandclients

Hai Tong & Partners•Awell-regardedadmiraltyandmaritimeboutique,manycases

handled by the firm have been taken as leading precedents •Hasastrongteamoflawyerswhohaveexpertiseandskills

inhandlingdisputesarisingfromcontractsandmajormarineaccidents,eg,collisions,explosionsofdangerousgoods,oilspills and salvage

Rolmax•Continuestobehighlyregardedbypeersandclientsalike

Sloma & Co•FollowingmergerofSloma&CoandSiway&Seawayin2007,

this firm further consolidated its leading market position as integrationprocessentereditsfinalstep.Mergerallowsitmoreopportunitiestoextendreachtonewclientsandextendshipping practice to new areas

•Continuestopositionitselfasaleadingplayerofbothdryandwet sides of the shipping business

Wang Jing & Co•Remainsoneofthetopnotchfirmsinthisnichemarket.Having

promoted a number of senior shipping associates to partnership, the firm enhanced its competitive edge in this practice area

•LedbymanagingpartnerWangJing,thefirmcontinuestoexcelinbothdryandwetwork,andadmiraltyandinternational trade practices.

•Offersinternationalanddomesticclientsanationalreachthrough its eight offices in the most important port cities

TAX & TRUSTS LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Fortran•Foundedbymainpartnersoftaxandfinancepracticegroup

fromShanghaiCo-Effectin2007,thisnewlyestablishedtaxboutiquefirmisrisingfasttobecomeamarketleader

•Hasbeenveryactiveinprovidingtrainingandseminarsforexecutives,andfinancialandlegalstaffofmanycompaniesthroughout the country

Hwuason•Oneofthefirstfirmstospecialiseintaxationlegalservices,

itprovidescomprehensivetaxationandcommerciallegalsolutions for both domestic and overseas clients

•ClientsincludeBaosteel,HuahanInvestmentGroupandModern

GreenDevelopmentCo;recentlyappointedastaxcounselofInternationalHatchBatorofZhongguancun

Jun He•Taxteam,headedbyShanghaipartnerDavid(Dingfa)Liu,

continues to grow in size and strength. The team handled a broadrangeoftop-endtransactionalandadvisorytaxmattersincorporateandM&A,privateequity,bankingandfinance

JunZeJun•Retainsreputablescholarsasseniorconsultantstoprovide

strongpolicyandtheorysupportforitstaxationservices•LedbyexperiencedLiRongfa,especiallyinhandling

complicatedtaxationdisputesandgeneraltaxplanning

King & Wood•Taxteamplayedanincreasinglyimportantroleinmany\

corporate,finance,privateequityfundsandM&Atransactions•Alsorepresentedclientsinseveralhigh-valuetaxdisputes

Lehman Lee & xu•Hascontinuedtobuildonitslong-standingstrengthin

assistingclientswithdevelopingtax-reductionstrategies,liaisingwithtaxationauthoritiesandcomplyingwithChina’staxationrequirements

RISING LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Han Yi•FoundedbyveteranpractitionersRichardXuandHuJunin

2007,thefirmenjoyedayearofgrowthin2008•FocusesonM&A,formationandinvestmentofprivateequity

funds,capitalmarketsandforeign-relateddisputeresolution

Han Kun•ContinuedasadominantPRClegalcounselintheVC/PE

sectorinChinabyrepresentingnumerousVC/PEfundssuchasChinaEnvironmentFund,DCM,FidelityAsiaVenture,GEEquity,IDG,KPCB,LegendCapital,NorthernLight,PacificAlliance, among others

•DecidedtorecruittwonewpartnersfromCliffordChanceandBaker&McKenzieandonecounselfromGidetoheaditsnewShanghai and Shenzhen offices, notwithstanding worldwide financial crisis, in late 2008

•HasbuiltareputationastrustedcounselinM&A,venturecapital,privateequityandforeigndirectinvestmentsectorsinitslessthanfive-yearhistory

HaoLiWen•Threeoffices,inShanghai,ChicagoandDublin,and30associates•CorebusinessiscorporateandM&A;establishedpracticesinclude

customs/tariffadvice,disputeresolution,IPandemployment•Highlyregardedforhighqualityandsolution-drivenadvice

and services

Jia Yuan•Foundedin1997,wellknownforitstrackrecordofadvising

issuersandunderwritersinsomeoflargestandmostcomplexIPOsandlistingsathomeandabroad

•LedbymanagingpartnerYanYu,theboutiquepracticehadastrongyearin2008andenhanceditsofferinginM&Atransactions and debt markets

Jin Mao Partners•Establishedbyagroupofseniorpartnerswholeftestablished

ShanghaifirmJinMaoin2007,thisnewfirmhasmadeitsimpactinjust18months

MWE China•ThisShanghai-basedfirm’sbusinessenjoyedrobustgrowthin

the past year•StrategicalliancewithUSfirmMcDermottWill&Emery

hasplayedamajorroleinitsfastdevelopmentsinceitsestablishment in 2007.

•Itscapabilitiesenableittoservemultinationalcompaniesanddomestic Chinese clients from all industry sectors

Run Ming• Itsheadcount(partners,associatesandparalegals)hasalmost

tripledfrom15toaround45inthepast20months•Hassetupanewserviceline,JapanDesk,byrecruitingtwo

partnersplusfiveassociatesandadvisorsbasedatBeijingheadquartersorShanghaibranch

•RepresentedStandardCharteredinitsUS$30mtermloanfacility

toaWOFEinChinaswellasBNPParibas,SociétéGénéraleandCalyonintheFrenchtaxleaseof14aircrafttoAirChina

OFFSHORE LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Appleby•Promotedeightlawyerstopartnerandtwotocounsel•Investedsignificantresourcesinstrengtheningits

infrastructure and financial reporting system•Focusedonintegratingthefirmfromahumanresourceand

serviceperspectivetofulfilclients’requirementsoftheiroffshorelegal counsel as “creating a global culture of working together”

Conyers Dill & Pearman•Specialisesincorporaterestructurings,M&A,mutualfunds

andunittrusts,privateequity,JVandpublicofferingsofsharesand securities

Harneys•Almosttripleditspartnersinthepastyear,addingsixnew

partnersin2008andeightnewpartnerson1January2009•MovedintoCyprusthroughstrategicalliancewithlocalfirmALY•Continuestoattractexceptionallyhigh-qualitytransactionsin

Asia,suchastheCVCAsiaPacificstructuringofaRMB745minvestmentinGentingSanyenIndustrialPaper(Malaysia)andother Genting paper and packaging group companies

Maples and Calder•Clientsincludetop-tierinvestmentfirms,fundmanagersand

international corporations•RichardGrasby,atrustsspecialistatMaplesandCalder,has

relocatedtoitsHongKongofficefromtheCaymanIslands

Walkers•Developedspecialistfinance,fundsandprivateequityteams

providinggreaterexpertisetoclients•SignificanttransactionsincludedChinaMedicalTechnologies’

concurrentofferingsofUS$240mofconvertibleseniornotesdue2013andupto4,693,877purchasedADSs

•Continuestoexpandclientbasebyembracingbusinessdevelopment opportunities in new emerging markets such as India,Indonesia,Malaysia,Taiwan,ThailandandVietnam,andexistingmarketssuchasPRC,JapanandSingapore

WEST CHINA LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Chongqing Overseas•Focusesoninternationalclientsandcoveringcorporatelaw,real

estate, finance & insurance, securities and foreign investment•Hasbeeninvolvedinanumberofmajorprojectsinregion

underleadershipofmainpartnersLiYunandWuQiang

Exceedon & Partners•Hasattainednotableachievementsandbecomeoneofthe

mostenergeticandpromisinglawfirmsinWestChina•Awardedtitle“Themostsatisfactorylawfirmofpeople”and

firstplaceinNationalBarTVDebate;executivemanagingpartner,SunYu,awarded“Top10Lawyers”inChongqing

Sichuan Jun He•OneofthelargestfirmsinSichuan,withmorethan75lawyers•Enjoysgrowingreputationinregionforitsinternational

businesspracticeandIPlegalservices

Sifangda•OneofthelargestlawfirmsinSichuanProvincewithnearly60

lawyers and paralegals•FormedstrategicalliancewithGrandallLegalGrouplastyear

which has given its corporate offering a significant boost

Solton & Partners•Aleadingplayerinregion,withlocalgovernmentconnections•Provideslegalserviceasexternallegalcounselformorethan

200 clients, including financial and securities companies, foreign-investedenterprises,large-andmedium-sizedSOEandgovernmentorganisationsinChongqing

Tahota•WithofficesinBeijing,Chengdu,HKandShenzhen,it

continues to attract an increasing amount of instructions from newandexistingclients

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ISSUE 6.3

•JoinedSinoGlobalLegalAlliancetofurtherstrengthenitsinternational practice

Zhong Hao•Alarge-sizedandfull-servicefirm•EnjoysgrowingreputationforitsWestChinawork

NORTH EAST CHINA LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Deheng Law Firm•OneofChina’slargestfirms,ithas37partnersandnearly200

legal service staff•HasestablishedbranchesinBeijing,Shanghai,Jinanand

Qingdao-addedanumberofexperiencedcorporatelawyerstoBeijingofficelastyear

•Continuestoexpanditsinternationalnetworkbysigningcooperation arrangements with firms around the world

Liaoning Fada•BasedinDalian,ithasestablisheditselfasatopboutiquefirm

in Liaoning, mainly focusing on commercial and corporate•Hasbeenapioneerinadoptinganorganisationalformand

management structure used by international law firms

Liaoning Shenyang•HasplayedanimportantroleinLiaoning’slegalsystemreform•Involvedinincreasingnumberofhigh-profiletransactionsand

projectsinlocalmarket

Shandong Ya & Tai•BasedinQingdao,ithas12partnersandatotalof40lawyers•Hasastronglistofdomesticandinternationalclients,including

CITICBank,BankofChina,TsingTaoBeerandJETRO•FoundingpartnerLiuQunrecognisedasaleadinglawyer,

specialising in finance and real estate

Wang, Wu, Yang & Ma •Ithas32partnersandmorethan80legalstafffocusingon

corporate matters, banking, insurance, real estate and infrastructure

•WiderangeofclientsincludingHyundai,ICBC,BankofChina,ShenyangHualiPlaza,ChinaInvestBank(ShenyangBranch),CalbeePotatoFood,ShenyangInternationalTechnicalCooperationCompany,DoorayGroup(Korea),ShenyangKorean Commercial Association

ZHEJIANG LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

High Mark•Establishedstrategicallianceswithprestigiousinternational

business service providers and has had close cooperation withinternationalfirmsonanumberofhigh-profiletransactionsinZhejiang

•Hasadoptedamodernfirmmanagementstructurewhichenables it to serve clients with unyielding professional integrity and comprehensive legal services on multiple levels

Zhejiang Brighteous•Stronggrowthinpastyear,withnumberofpartnersincreasing

fromfiveto15•AnnualrevenueexceededRMB25matyearendof2008,

which ranked top five in Hangzhou city •Over150clients:alllevelsofgovernmentauthorities,well-

known domestic companies and foreign invested companies

Zhejiang Liuhe•MergerwithZhejiangYaxiyalastyearhasgiventotalheadcount

significantboosttomorethan140qualifiedlawyers,coveringwide range of corporate and commercial issues

•Corporateandsecuritiespracticesformcorebusiness.Itssizeable team focuses on international trade and investment

Zhejiang T & C•RemainsadominantplayerintheareaofFDI,IPOsandlistings•HasadvisedonmajorFDIprojectsinZhejiangbymultinational

corporationssuchasMotorola,TexasInstruments,Otis,Toshiba,Panasonic,FujiElectricGroup,UnitedBiscuit,ShellGroup,Kyaerner,Alstom,Sanofi,Siemens,andSaint-Gobain,withatotalinvestmentofmorethanUS$30bn

Zhejiang Zeda•Long-termcooperativerelationshipwithmorethan300clients•Hasreceivedpositivefeedbacksfromclientsforitslegal

servicesinrespectoflitigationandnon-litigationaffairs

JIANGSU LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Fangben•BasedinSuzhou,thismedium-sizedfirmalsohasa

meaningful presence in Shanghai•Continuestowinhighpraiseforitsworkincorporateand

investment matters, and litigation and arbitration•Hasdevelopedstrongrelationshipwithforeignclientsfrom

morethan40countriesandregions

JC Master•FavouritelocalfirmofanumberofwesternandSoutheast

Asian foreign law firms to refer inbound work to•AsamemberofInternationalAllianceofLawFirms,hasplayed

adominantroleinadvisingcross-bordertransactions,high-endcorporatemattersandprojectsinJiangsu

Jiangsu Co-far Law Firm•Providesbusiness-focusedlegalservicescoveringcompany

law, listings, infrastructure and real estate, international trade andinvestment,financeandtaxation

•PartnerTangWeiisrecognisedforhisworkininternationaltrade and investment

Jiangsu FD Yongheng•Remainsatopchoiceforinboundforeigninvestmentandlarge

infrastructureprojectsinregion

Jiangsu Way-to-Justice•BasedinNanjing,andwithofficesinWuxiandChangzhou,

had a busy 2008 in international trade & investment, commerciallaw,finance&securities,realestateandtaxation

•ClientsincludeSinopec,FiatandAOSmith

TIANJIN LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Join & High•OneofthelargestfirmsinTianjin,withmorethan50lawyers•Focusesoninvestment,corporatematters,IT,IPand

international matters

Teda•FirstlawfirminTianJinEconomic–TechnologicalDevelopment

Area, for which Teda was named•Hasmadegreatcontributiontoarea’sdevelopment,focusing

onFDI,corporatematters,finance,IP,realestate

Winners•Hasadvisedmorethan30high-profileprivateequityand

venturecapitalfunds,includingTianjinMunicipalityLeadingFund(FundofFund),SAIF,GrowthFund,BoHaiIndustrialFund,BinHaiLeadingFundofFund(RMB2bn)

•ServedaslegalcounseltoanumberofbanksincludingChinaNationalDevelopmentBank,StandardChartered,DBSBank(China) and BEA Bank (China)

Zhang Ying•Aleadingplayerinthelocalmarket,ithas69qualifiedlawyers

and support staff•Hasestablishedlong-termbusinessrelationshipswithother

firms including in North America, England, Germany, France

SHENZHEN LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

China Commercial Law Co•Hasdoubleditspartnercountinthepastfouryears,and

has developed services that stretch beyond its core finance practicetoencompasssecurities,litigation,M&A,maritimeand international trade

•HireofYangSunhasaddedballasttocorporateofferingandZhiyongHuang’sIPexpertisecontinuestoattractChineseclients

Guangdong Guanghe•Has78partnersand160associatesinitsShenzhen,Zhuhai,

NewYorkandDallasoffices,andhassetupassociatedofficesinBeijing,ShanghaiandHK

•Expertiseinrangeofpracticeareasincludingsecurities,corporate&finance,construction&realestate,labour&employment.One-quarterofitsworkhasaninternationalelement

SD & Partners•Hasadviseddomesticandforeignclientsinsecurities,bank,

insurance,taxes,realestate,infrastructureconstruction,IP,liquidation,litigationandarbitration

•Hasmorethan170lawyersandsupportstaff

Shu Jin•RegardedasaleadingplayerforadvisingIPOsandlistings,

particularly on Shenzhen stock market•Strongcapabilitiestohandlecomplianceandregulatoryissues

for listed companies•CloselytiedtoitsprominentShenzhenpractice,thefirmhasa

highly active corporate element in its Shanghai office

Sincere Partners & Attorneys•Continuestobuildstrongreputationasfirst-tierfirmin

Shenzhenwithmainpracticeinnon-contentiousarea,namelyinternationaltrade,finance,M&A,arbitration,realestate.

HONG KONG LAW FIRM, PRC OFFICE OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Arculli Fong & Ng•HasbeenstrengthenedbyassociationwithKing&Wood•Well-establishedrecordadvisingonwealthmanagement,trust

and estate planning•RespectedplayerinTMTmarket,particularlyknownforits

telecomsregulatoryandpureITwork

Deacons•Substantialteamof50-pluslawyersandprofessionals

(including researchers and translators), having an established network with a core team in HK and three licensed offices in Beijing,ShanghaiandGuangzhou

•TeamadvisedleadingChinadomesticenterprisesinM&AandJVwithworld-classprivateequityandinvestmentfunds

•AssistingaHKsubsidiaryofleadingUS-listedcompanyinlodging and hospitality supply industry to set up a foreign invested commercial enterprise in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province,toengageindistributionofhotelamenityproducts

JSM•Three-timeawardwinneriswellknownforitsbanking&

finance, corporate finance, employment, real estate, shipping, restructuring and dispute resolution practices

•Hasgrownwithitsclientsthroughoutits145-yearhistoryandhas assisted the growth of many now global organisations, suchasHSBC,CathayPacific,SwireGroupandLi&Fung

Jackson Woo & Associates•Wellknownforitspracticeincorporatefinance,M&A,

commercial law, corporate governance and compliance issues•AssociationwithAshurstHongKongandalliancewithGuantao

enables it to offer clients a global platform with access to consistenthighqualityadviceandin-depthexperience

Woo Kwan Lee & Lo•HeadoflitigationCheungWaiHingisrecommendedformedia

and entertainment work, representing numerous performance artists, promoters, managers and movie companies

•AdvisedHongKongHotelREITinJanuary2008onitsproposed Hong Kong listing, the latest in a series of such listings on which the firm has advised

•FormedstrategicalliancewithGrandallLegalGroupandTahota

Vivien Chan & Co•RegionalandHK/ChinacounselofnumerousFortune500

companies, listed groups and multinational market leaders, in their respective industries from North America, Europe, Australia and Asia

•RecommendedforM&AandChinaFDI•VivienChanandGeorgeRibeirohaveearnedconsiderable

kudos in the HK legal market



GUANGZHOU LAW FIRM OF THE yEARFINALISTS

Alpha & Leader•StrategicalliancewithBryanCaveenablessharingofresources

anddiversifyingservices,expandingitsnetworktoNewYork,London,Hamburg,Milan,Kuwait

•Withninepartnersandover60lawyers,teamservesinternational clients such as banks and funds in practice areas including finance, banking, corporate, transaction, risk & asset management, dispute resolution and real estate

•Providedlegalservicesforover48NPLdeals,withthedisposalofNPLsanddistressedassetsworthapproximatelyRMB129.5bn

C & I Partners•IncreasinglyactiveinassistingGuangdongclientsin

outbound investment•Singaporeofficeisfirststeptowardsinternationalisation•Maintainsclosebusinesscontactswithreputablelaw

firms, accounting offices and other consultancy and service institutions in North America, Europe, East Asia, Australia, HK

GFE Law Office•Hasstrongreputationforitscapabilitiesincorporate,M&A,

capital markets and dispute resolution •Actedaslegaladvisortomanyleadingdomesticcorporations,

includingGuangzhouHinoMotor,FoshanMunicipalGovernment,EmbryHoldingsandMagicianIndustries

•ZhouQinghua,promotedtopartnerin2008,22ndpartner

Guangda•Winnerinpasttwoyears,ithasactedforalargenumber

ofinternationalandnationalclientsinhigh-endinvestment,transactions,andlitigationandarbitrationcasesinPearlRiverDeltaregion.DealshighlightsincludeArtini’sIPOatHKSE

•IPandinternationalbusinessexpertisestrengthenedbyappointing several senior partners from other leading firms

•Appointedaslegalcounselfor2010GuangzhouAsianGames

Kingson•Wellknownforitspracticein:corporate&commercial;foreign

investment & trade; banking, finance & capital markets; restructuring&insolvency;tax;intellectualproperty;IT;realestate & construction in south China

•HeadquarteredinGuangzhou,hascreatedassociaterelationswithmanymajorfirmsinChinaandhighlycapableofofferingnationwide legal services to clients

Wang Jing & Co•EnhanceditscompetitiveedgebyjoiningTerralexLegal

Network and promoting a large number of senior associates to partnership across its eight offices last year

•RetainedbyleadingglobalbroadcastingcompanyinacquisitionofaleadingGuangzhou-basedbus-advertisementcompany,forapproximatelyRMB50m

•RetainedbyoneofJapan’slargestcompaniestoacquireequityinterests,forapproxRMB200m,ofstate-ownedmetalcompanyinGuangxi

PORSCHE CENTRE SHANGHAI AWARD SHANGHAI LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

AllBright•ThelargestShanghaifirmenjoyedasuccessfulyear.Its2008

revenueincreasedbyover30%comparedtothepreviousyear.•NewmanagementheadedbyZhuLinhaihasfurther

strengthened its market position•Establishedacorporaterestructure/bankruptcypracticegroup

Duan & Duan•Isrecommendedbyclientsforcapitalmarkets,corporateand

M&Awork•Handledaconsiderablenumberofdomesticcommercialloans,

international commercial loans, and syndicated loans, as well as working in collaboration with overseas law firms on behalf of Chinese clients seeking overseas listing and investment

•HongKongoffice,inassociationwithHKfirmChanJ &Lai,playedimportantrolefacilitatingclients’growingcross-border business

Fangda Partners•Continuestohaveadominantmarketshareinmanyhigh

profile transactions

Grandall Legal Group (Shanghai) •OpeningHongKongofficeincreaseditsinternationalprofileand

enhanceditsofferingstoexistingclients.•EstablishedstrategicalliancewithleadingSichuanfirmSifangda,

tobetterassistclientsseizingopportunitiesinWesternregions•Hasdevelopeddiversepracticeareas,withcapitalmarketsas

core.In2008,itactedfortheissuersin11domesticIPOsandanumberofoverseasIPOsinthepastyear,includingthe“firstA-then-H”listingofChinaSouthLocomotive&RollingStock

Jade & Fountain•Revenuesfor2008exceededtargetsetatbeginningofyear

andgrewby22%year-on-year•ActedasPRCcounseltoamajorretailcompanyinclosing

seriesBandCroundsoffinancing,withVCinvestmentsamountingtoUS$30m

•AdvisedaGermanmultinationalinitsconstructionprojectofregionalheadquartersinShanghaiwiththeconstructionprojectcostbeingRMB55m

Jin Mao Partners•Foundedbyleadingpractitionerswithavisiontoprovidebetter

servicestomid-andhigh-endclientsbothathomeandabroad.•Manymultinationalclientsfollowedthemtothenewfirm

Llinks•Llinkscontinuestoprovidingqualitylegalandbusinessadvice,

guiding many international financial institutions and multinational corporationsthroughthecomplexChineselegalsystem

•Advisedseveralmajordealsinitsprincipalpracticefieldsofbanking, corporate and capital markets including Shanghai Electric’sInitialPublicOfferingintheA-shareMarketthroughmergerbyabsorptionwithShanghaiPower

LEXISNEXIS AWARD BEIJING LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Dacheng•Continuedtobroadenreachbysettingupnewbranchofficesin

China and some overseas liaison offices in the past year•Expandedfurtheritsgloballegalservicenetworkbyestablishing

strategic partnership with a number of overseas law firms

Guantao•EstablishmentofitsXiamenandHongKongbranchoffices

has made the firm more attractive to both domestic and international corporate clients

•RemainedaleadingplayerinthecapitalmarketsareabyadvisingtwomajorIPOsinthedomesticmarket,whichraisedoverapproximatelyUS$1.4bn

•ActiveinprivateequityandM&A,andinsolvencyandrestructuring area

Haiwen & Partners•Highlyregardedbyinternationalinvestmentbanks,leading

securitieshousesandblue-chipclientsasatopchoicelegaladviserforthemostchallengingandcomplexM&Aandcapital markets transactions

•Dealhighlightsinclude:advisingChinalcoonitsjointacquisition,valuedatUS$14bnwithAlcoaof12%sharesinRioTinto;advisedChinaHuanengonitsacquisitionofSingapore’sTuasPowerforUS$3.1bn

JT & N•MergerwithNeedInternationalin2008hasboostedthefirm’s

totalheadcountandaddedateamofexperiencedpartnersandlawyerstothefirm’sexistinginternationalpracticegroup

Jun He•Winnerofthisawardlastyear,firmreinforceditspositionasa

industry leader by recruiting a number of heavyweight lawyers to its partnership, such as dispute resolution partners Liu HonghuanandFeiNing,IPveteranHuangSongandreturningfoundingpartnerJohnChu

•Workedonanumberofimportantdealsover2008,includingChinaMerchantsBank’sacquisitionofHongKongWingLungBank,AsiaPacificLand’sacquisitionoftheCenterinShanghaiandtheglobalofferingsofXtepInternational

King & Wood•ContinuestoenjoydominantpositionintheBeijingmarket,

2008sawthefirmbeingsoughtoutbymajorChineseenterprises to advise on landmark transactions, such as CentralAsia-ChinaGasPipelineprojectandChinaOilfieldServices’sacquisitionofNorway’sAwilcoOffshore

•SolePRClegalcounseltotheBeijingOrganizingCommitteefor the Olympic Games – firm’s contribution to the Olympics and its organiser was well recognised and highly praised

•MaintainedleadininternationalexpansionamongPRCfirmsbydeveloping a strategic alliance with Australian specialist corporate law firm Gilbert + Tobin and opening an office in New York

Tian Yuan•EnjoysgrowingreputationinBeijingmarket,particularlyforits

expertiseinthecorporate,M&AandTMTareas.Mostofitswork involved some foreign parties or international elements

Zhong Lun•Firmenjoysarobustreputationacrossarangeofpracticeareas•Feeearnersgrewby36%anditsrevenuegrowthratewas46%•Involvedinanumberofprivateequitydeals,including

investmentintoWandaCommercialPropertiesbyCCBInternationalandrepresentingAIGGlobalInvestmentGroupto invest in Lifan Group

•Corporategroupadvisedonsomeofthelargestbondissuances last year

GIEVES & HAWKES AWARD MANAGING PARTNER OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Christopher Han, Llinks•Underhisleadershipthefirmhasexecuteditslightning-fast

growthinadifferentway.Whilepartnernumbersremainedstablein2008,itwasextremelyacquisitiveattheassociatelevel,increasingfeeearnersbyalmost11%

•Had47lawyersattheendoflastyear,allofwhomwereresponsibleforincreasingrevenueby38%

Wang Li, DeHeng Law Offices•LedbyrenownedmanagingpartnerWangLi,Dehenghas

gone from strength to strength•Pastyearsawthefirmplayinganimportantroleinsomemajor

deals,includingtheIPOChinaRailwayConstructionIPO

Wang Ling, King & Wood•King&Woodcontinuestoenjoydominantpositioninthelegal

market, and has reached new height in business development•Inadditiontoadvisingonmajorlandmarktransactions,King&

Wood’scontributiontotheBeijingOlympicsanditsorganiserwas well recognised and highly praised

•MaintainedleadininternationalexpansionamongPRCfirmsby developing strategic alliance with Australian corporate law firm Gilbert + Tobin and opening an office in New York

Wang Yadong, Run Ming•RunMinghasattractedanumberofseniorlawyersfrom

international firms and emerged as a rising star in the legal market.

Wang Zhongde, Dacheng•UnderWangZhongde,Dachenghasgonefromstrength

to strength •Openedseveralnewofficesin2008andestablishedtheCross-

Strait Legal Service Center in Shanghai, increasing its offerings to advise Taiwan clients doing business in China and domestic clients who are interested in investing into Taiwan

xiao Wei, Jun He•XiaoWeicontinuestoenjoyastrongreputationamonghispeers•AschairofJunHe’smanagementcommittee,hehasproven

itsleadershipabilitiesandbusinessacumenwithJunHeachieving another successful year

•Partnershipgrewsteadilyandrainmakerssecuredmanyinstructionstoadviseonmajordealsandcomplexlitigation,and arbitration cases

Zhu Linhai, AllBright•Regardlessofthedepartureofafewrainmakingpartnersin

2007, AllBright’s robust growth and development proves Zhu Linhai’s effective management

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ISSUE 6.3

CCH ChinaCCHisadivisionofWoltersKluwer,a leading multinational information provider,withover100yearsofexperienceinpublishinginformationonlaw,business,tax,accountingandhumanresources.OfficeslocatedinChina,HongKong,Singapore,Malaysia,Japan,Australia,NewZealand,USA,Canada,UKandEurope.

CCH China is dedicated to designing and developing professional publications about China in English and Chinese, which provide reliable and updated information for investors, corporations and professional advisers.Since2000,brancheshavebeenestablishedinBeijing,Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen; however, our company’s roots date backto1985.

Shirley Liu, Senior Area Sales Manager, CCH ChinaShirley is the senior area sales manager with CCH China.Shehasfiveyears’experienceintheprofessionalpublishing industry. She understands the legal professionals,tax&accountingprofessionalsandHRprofessional well, and has built a strong sales team to develop CCH’s business in Shanghai.

INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR

FINALISTS

Clifford Chance• InvolvementinanumberofmajoroutboundM&Atransactions

ofPRCcompanieshaveproventhestrengthofitsChinapractice.

Davis Polk & Wardwell•Majordealscompletedin2008includeRenheCommercial

HoldingsIPO,SolarfunPowerHoldingsConvertibleBondsandADSOfferingaswellasCOFCO’sInvestmentinSmithfieldFoods

•Participatedinmanyimportantcross-borderM&Aandprivateequitytransactionsin2008,aswellassomeofthelargestequityanddebtofferingsbyChineseissuers

Freshfields•MadefurthercommitmenttoresourcesinChinawiththe

additionoftwocorporatepartnersinBeijingandHongKong,who specialise in corporate work

•HasadvisedonsomelandmarkdealsinChina,suchasthelargesttelecomrestructuringactivityinChina(ChinaUnicom/China Netcom merger) and the recent public takeover of HuiyuanJuicebyCoca-Cola

Linklaters•AdvisedonsomenoticeabledealssuchasCountryGarden

convertible bond offering •AdvisedMerrillLynchinrelationtoUS$50bnall-stockofferby

Bank of America•ChinaofficesareledbyZiliShao–widelyrecognisedasthe

strongest for strategic investments both into and out of China

Lovells•AdvisedSoftBankonitsUS$400mshareacquisitionof

OakPacificInteractiveandalsoActavis,aninternationalpharmaceuticalgroup,ontheacquisitionofa90%share(RMB40m)inZhejiangChiralMedicine

•IPpracticeenjoyedsignificantgrowthin2008andcontinuestobeattheforefrontofdevelopmentsinhigh-endIPlitigation,brand protection strategies, patent and trademark prosecution work, media and entertainment.

•BusinessRestructuringandInsolvencyteambolsteredreputationasleadingpracticeinChina,advisingonhigh-profileJVdisputebetweenDanoneandtheWahahaGroup

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett• InternationalpracticehighlyrecognisedbyChambers&Partners•RepresentedTheBlackstoneGroupwithrespecttoits

investmentofuptoaroundUS$600mtoacquire20%oftheequityofChinaNationalBluestar(Group)Corporation,whichwasawardedPrivateEquityDealoftheYearatIFLRAsianAwards2009

•Representedanumberofwell-recognisedtransactionssuchasChinaRailwayGroupA+HListingandAluminumCorporationofChinainitsacquisitionofa12%stakeinRioTinto.

Skadden•AdvisedPacificCenturyRegionalDevelopments(PCRD),as

ajointofferorwithChinaNetcom,inproposedUS$1.9bn(HK$14.9bn)cashoffertoprivatisePCCW

•OpenedShanghaiofficeinFebruary2008,bringingthenumberofofficesacrossGreaterChinatothreewith10partners and around 60 other lawyers

•Finishedyearwith26M&AtransactionsvaluedatUS$265,623m

CHINA LAW FIRM OF THE yEAR FINALISTS

Dacheng•Grandall Legal Group•Guantao•Jun He•King & Wood•Zhong Lun•

sponsors

China Legal CareerAt China Legal Career (CLC) we differentiate ourselves from the competitionbyourlegalfocus,in-depthknowledgeaboutthelocalmarket,on-the-groundexecutioncapability,internationalnetworkintheUSandUKandourconsultants’high-levelprofessionalism.Wecoverbothprivatepracticeandin-housesectorsandwemovefrompartnerstoassociatesandfrom GCs to corporate counsels. Three years after our foundinginChina,CLChasbecomeawell-recognisedbrandnamethatisassociatedwithhigh-qualityservicein the Chinese legal recruiting community.

Frazer xia, Managing Director, China Legal CareerFrazerhasover20years’experienceinChina.He

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capital markets from a leading international law firm. Proficiency in Chinese is required.

International Law Firms (Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing): Employment Lawyer (3-5 PQE) – International law firm seeks lawyer with experience working in Hong Kong or PRC, to join their China Employment Law Group based in either Hong Kong or China. The candidate should have at least 3 to 5 years PQE with employment law experience, particularly with a PRC focus. Chinese language skills are needed for this role.

International Law Firms (Hong Kong): Litigation/Insolvency Lawyer (2-8 PQE) – Various international law firms seek junior to senior level commercial litigation lawyers for their litigation/insolvency team to be based in Hong Kong. The successful candidate should have strong commercial litigation, insolvency or debt restructuring experience gained from working with a leading international firm. Fluency in Mandarin not required.

UK Law Firm (Singapore): Arbitration Specialist (10-18 PQE) [C1617] - Senior Arbitration lawyer required to build and lead the firm’s regional arbitration practice in Singapore.

UK Law Firm (Singapore): Corporate Partner (10-18) [C1619] - Corporate Partner with specialized practice area (outside general M&A practice) for firm with strong international presence.

For more details on these positions, as well as a full listing of all available positions, please log on to our website at www.legallabs.com. Please contact us at +852 3189 7032/ +65 6236 0166 or [email protected] for a confidential discussion.

IN-HOUSE

Leading Global Provider Of Engineering Software Solutions (Hong Kong): Regional Counsel (4-9 PQE) [C1636] – US IT Company seeks a regional business counsel to assist in the negotia-tion of their commercial contracts. The ideal candidate should have at least 5 years PQE ideally with in-house experience in IT related agreements.

Global Energy (Beijing): Senior M&A lawyer (6-9 PQE) [C852] – Strong m&a transactional experience is required, particularly in oil and gas industry to support their acquisition activities across China. Good proficiency in English & Mandarin is required.

Major US Healthcare Provider (Singapore): Legal Counsel (5-7 PQE) [C1598] – US pharmaceutical company seeks a mid-level legal counsel to be based in Singapore. The candidate should have strong general corporate/commercial experience to provide legal input to senior management of the company across the region, with particular focus on high growth markets including India and the Middle East.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

International Law Firms (Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing): Corporate (3-8 PQE) – Various international law firms seek mid to senior level lawyers to join their corporate and commercial practice group. The successful candidate must have good academics and strong corporate finance transactional experience in either M&A or

LexisNexisLexisNexisisaleadingglobalproviderofcontent-enabledworkflowsolutionsdesigned specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accountingandacademicmarkets.LexisNexisoriginallypioneeredonlineinformationwithitsLexis®andNexis®services.AmemberofReedElsevier,LexisNexisservescustomersinmorethan100countrieswith18,000employeesworldwide.

Mr Aley Chang, Managing Director, LexisNexis ChinaMrAleyChanghasover23yearsofexperienceinsales,marketing,businessdevelopment,M&Aand general management in media and information industry. He has held various senior positions in China, Hong Kong, Taipei and London driving businessexpansionfordifferentbusinessunitsinPCCWbeforejoiningLexisNexis.

MWE China Law OfficesMWEChinaLawOfficesisstrategicallyalliedwithMcDermottWill&Emery,aninternationallawfirmwith16officesintheUnitedStatesandEurope,toprovideglobalcompaniesbasedwithinandoutside of China superior client service with access to leading lawyers

Porsche Center ShanghaiThePorscheCentreShanghaicommencedoperationsonAugust192003,providingpersonal service to all customers in the East China region. The showroom is centrally located intheheartofthecity,alongtheprestigiousNanjingRoad.Inthe630m2 showroomandworkshop,Porsche’sprofessionalstaffprovideexpertiseonallPorscheproducts,includingthenewestvehiclesofcurrentmodelrange.TheshowroomalsodisplaysavarietyofPorscheDesignSelections items, such as model cars, watches and shirts. 650 units of cars were sold in 2007.

Mr Chun (Tommy) Zhao, General Manager, Porsche Center ShanghaiTommyisGeneralManagerofthePorscheCenterShanghai.Hehasover15years’experienceworkingin the China Auto industry and has had many roles as:seniormanagerinaninvestmentcompany;seniorstrategy consultant; operation manager; etc. His majorfocusisonthepartssuppliedtoOEMsandthecar sales channel.

withinChinaandaroundtheglobe.Ourlawyerspossessanin-depthknowledge and understanding of the local laws, customs and regulations ofthePeople’sRepublicofChinaandglobalbusinesspractices.WithaWestern-styleapproachtoclientservice,weexcelatprovidinglegal services and business advice to both Chinese companies and multinational companies doing business in China.

Kevin Y Qian, Founding Partner, MWE China Law Offices KevinYQianisafoundingpartnerinMWEChinaLaw Offices based in Shanghai. He has broad legalexperienceintheareasofinternationalsyndicate loans, venture capital investments, equipmentleasing,projectfinancing,jointventures,establishmentandfinancingforhigh-techcompanies,technologylicensing,M&A,internationalarbitrationandother commercial business areas.

Grant ThorntonGrant Thornton is one of Hong Kong’s leading accountancy firms providing financial advice to businesses and theirowners.Wehavealongtrackrecordofhelpingbusinessestoexpandandexplorebusinessopportunitieslocallyandinternationally.Services include assurance, business risk, corporate finance, forensic & investigation,restructuringandtaxservices.InHongKongandmainlandChina,GrantThorntonhasofficesinHongKong,Beijing,Shanghai,Chengdu,GuangzhouandShenzhen,employingover1,300people.GrantThorntonisamemberofGrantThorntonInternationalLtd,anorganisationofmemberfirmsoperatingin110countries,employingover28,000peoplein490offices.

Mr Alan Tang, Partner and Head of Specialist Advisory Services, Grant ThorntonAlanhasover25years’in-depthhands-onexperienceinvariousSpecialistAdvisoryengagements in a wide spectrum of industries and service lines, including corporate advisory, restructuring and insolvency, mergers and acquisitions,duediligence,valuation,investigation,debtrecovery,fundtracing,litigationsupport,expertwitnessandforensic accounting assignments involving operations in Hong Kong, the PRCandvarioustaxhavenjurisdictions.

Alan is the author of InsolvencyinChinaandHongKong–APractitioner’sPerspectivepublishedbySweet&MaxwellAsiain2005 (c.1,200pages).

GrantThornton’scorrespondentfirminBeijingisregisteredbytheBeijingHigherPeople’sCourtonthePanelofApprovedAdministrators,under the New Enterprise Bankruptcy Law.

hasin-depthknowledgeabouttheChineselegalrecruitingmarketandanextensivenetworkonboththeclientandcandidatesides.Frazerpreviously held many senior management positions in China and in the US.HegotaMBAfromSUNYin1987andBSfromWuhanUniversityin1982.

Gieves & HawkesAllovertheworld,“SavileRow”standsforthe very best in men’s tailoring, and it is fitting

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Today,Gieves&Hawkes,asthepurveyorofquintessentialEnglishstyle, present individuals with modern classics across their wardrobe, from formal evening wear to suiting and through to casual wear.

Godwin Lam, Managing Director - China is in charge of the LiFung Trinity Group operations in Mainland China. LiFung Trinity Group is the Licensee of Gieves & Hawkes for Asia Pacific.

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56

Sign off >>

ISSUE 6.3

Barrister couple to take silk together

Husband and wife barrister duo Joanna Smith and Mark

Vanhegan may make history this March when they both take silk before the Lord Chancellor in the UK.

The pair, who met at bar school in 1989 and have two daughters, aged seven and nine, were both called by Lincoln’s Inn in 1990, and are among 104 new silks in the latest list of QC appointments.

Smith, of Wilberforce Chambers, and Vanhegan, of 11 South Square, join 4 Pump Court construction specialist Sean Brannigan, who will become a silk at just 37, and 39 Essex Street solicitor Stephen Tromans, the speediest silk appointment this year, having made the mark with just 10 years’ call.

DLA gets tough on staff sick daysDLA Piper associates who may have taken the odd ‘sickie’ after a night in

the pub or just for a break from the office are in for a rude awakening. They will soon discover that the firm takes such absences very seriously.

According to a document leaked on legal website RollOnFriday, the firm will be taking ‘attendance’ into account when it comes to selecting candidates for redundancy and – as expected – this has caused some controversy in the firm.

The file outlines that fee earners under consultation will be subject to six criteria – strength of relationship with clients, specialist skills, business development, cross-group work, attendance and disciplinary records – with each category scoring 15–20 points. Those who have taken sick leave in 2008 could have as many as five points deducted for one day.

However, reports suggest that the criteria are still in draft form, and could change during the consultation period.

Support staff will be subject to different criteria.

If we needed any further evidence that law firm redundancies have

got lawyers spooked, look no further than recent statistics from Google which have shown a near fourfold increase in the number of users searching the term “law firm layoffs”. Not surprisingly, the spike started in September with the global economic meltdown. The number of “law firm layoff” queries reached a plateau

during Christmas but resumed a steady climb in January.

The majority of these queries are coming from the US and Canada. There were 431 reported redundancies globally in November, declining to 388 in December and then rising rapidly to 783 in January. In the face of steady official denials to the contrary, there has been steady speculation that Asia will be the next region to feel the heat.

Worried lawyers hit Google to research redundancies

The month so far…

This year has seen many firms fall victim to the economic downturn and – despite efforts to restructure, revamp and cut costs – the tally continues

to grow. Firms continue to turn to redundancy consultations in a bid to lose deadweight and stay afloat.

RedundanCies as at maRCH 2009 ►Firm Total Attorneys Staff

White&Case 400 200 200

MorganLewis&Bockius 216 55 161

KL Gates 121 42 79

King & Spalding 122 37 85

Andrews Kurth 20 20

Pillsbury 155 55 100

ArentFox 28 13 15

Bingham 39 16 23

Clifford Chance 115 115

Firm Total Attorneys Staff

O’Melveny&Myers 200 90 110

Dewey&LeBoeuf 130 15 115

Shearman & Sterling 78 78

Haynes & Boone 3 2 1

Wiggin&Dana 28 14 14

Freshfields 10 6 4

DLAPiper 54 20 34

Orrick 300 100 200

SchulteRoth&Zabel 20 20

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LONDON • PARIS • HONG KONG • SINGAPORE • BRISBANE • MELBOURNE • PERTH • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND • WELLINGTON伦敦 • 巴黎 • 香港 • 新加坡 • 布里斯本 • 墨尔本 • 柏斯 • 悉尼 • 奧克兰 • 威灵顿

In-houseSenior Legal Counsel (7-10 yrs pqe) Beijing Newly created role to handle the China legal duties for this listed US conglomerate seeing substantial growth in Asia. The China operation encompasses a variety of businesses, and the incumbent will be charged with streamlining these units, in addition to establishing the legal function for China and handling general corporate commercial matters. Must have proven expertise dealing with China and familiarity with US laws and corporate governance requirements; ideally, be qualified in both countries. Demonstrated legal and leadership capability is required along with fluency in written and spoken Chinese and English. Ref: 8021/CB

Assistant General Counsel Beijing Working closely with the General Counsel, this is a senior role with tremendous growth potential within one of the world’s biggest companies. PRC law degree and a foreign law degree are prerequisites, together with a foreign bar admission and international firm training. The position requires corporate commercial experience. Our client is looking for a dynamic and business savvy person who has excellent English language skills. Ref: 8079/CB

Compliance Manager Beijing Major multinational seeks a Compliance Manager to cover the Asia-Pacific region. Successful candidates need experience in a wide range of PRC compliance issues and must have the ability to provide pragmatic advice in a fast paced environment and influence change. A lawyer with regulatory and compliance experience is preferred but not essential. Applicants need definitive analytical and problem resolution abilities along with strong interpersonal skills. English and Mandarin Chinese language skills are required. Ref: 8080/CB

Legal Counsel (5-8 yrs pqe) Tianjin Seeking a lawyer with PRC qualification who has strong drafting and negotiating skills to join an international manufacturing corporation. Reporting to Lead Counsel in Asia, this regional role will be focused on China work and will involve compliance, contracts, M&A and government affairs. Candidates coming from another manufacturing company will have preference, as will those with exposure to an international work environment. Fluent written and spoken Mandarin and English are necessary. Ref: 8074/CB

Compliance Professional Beijing World famous financial institution needs a compliance professional with proven experience in any of the following areas: wealth management, asset management, funds and investment management or trading platform experience. Those having experience with a regulator such as the CSRC will have an advantage. Work with top-notch clients and deals as the firm continues to expand in China. Ref: 8078/CB

Private PracticeSolicitor (4-5 yrs pqe) Beijing Opportunity to join this international firm in their Beijing office and work on cutting-edge general corporate, China FDI and M&A transactions. Candidates must be HK qualified and have relevant experience. Work with high-calibre fee earners in a collegiate environment and gain international exposure with the opportunity to develop your career. Fluency in written and spoken Mandarin is needed. Ref: 8069/CB

Tax Consultant (3 yrs pqe) Shanghai A reputable international law firm seeks a Tax Consultant to join its Shanghai office. The qualified candidate must have at least 3 years experience in taxation gained from big 4 accounting firms or reputable international law firms. You will need to have PRC corporate taxation and international taxation experience with solid drafting skills in English. University graduate or above with a major in law, tax or accounting from one of China’s top universities and/or a qualification from an overseas law school is required. This position requires excellent English language skills. Ref: 8048/CB

PartnersChina Partner Shanghai/Beijing This dynamic US firm has seen fantastic growth in Asia. There is an urgent need for partners to be based in their Shanghai and Beijing offices with the expertise to leverage off the existing practice, as well as a proven track record of building a business. The focus will be on corporate, M&A, finance and projects. Fluency in Mandarin and English is required. Ref: 8049/CB

Disputes Partner Beijing Prestigious international firm is seeking a Partner with an established practice in litigation to be based in their Beijing office. The incumbent will need experience with cross-border litigation; arbitration exposure is a benefit. Ideal candidates will have experience representing PRC clients in international disputes. The firm is a market leader and offers one of the strongest platforms for the right candidate. Representing a major investment and demonstrating its commitment, the firm will also consider a team. Mandarin language skills are mandatory. Ref: 8071/CB

Partner Beijing Expanding its China practice, this large reputable international firm desires a Partner for the Beijing office. To be considered, you must have experience in M&A and private equity with a blue-chip deal sheet. With a worldwide reputation in high level corporate finance, the firm’s roster includes the top clients in Greater China. Candidates should ideally be dually qualified in China and the US/UK and have the ability to build on the on the firm’s strong platform. Fluent Mandarin and English are prerequisites. Ref: 8075/CB

HONG KONGTel: (852) 2520 1168 Fax: (852) 2865 0925 Email: [email protected]

SINGAPORETel: (65) 6220 2722 Fax: (65) 6220 7112 Email: [email protected]

The sky is not falling.Reference to “Chicken Little” Fable

CLB April09 Chick.indd 1 3/25/2009 11:24:20 AM

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China Legal Business 6.3

Documents

Transcript of China Legal Business 6.3