CLB June 2012 by Yvette Chiu

E m p l o y e r o f C h o i ce 2 0 1 2 : T h e w i n n e r s r e v e a l e d

2012最佳雇主揭晓

june2012 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM

亚洲法律杂志 - 中国版 CHINA

China’s top growing law firms

中国十佳

成长律所

STRUGGLING IN THE STORM Choppy waters for China’s shipping industry 风急浪高：中国航运业艰难前行

PAGE 18

ONE OF A KIND

CENTRAL ARENA

INSIDE

The leaders of King & Wood Mallesons open up 管理合伙人访谈：金杜万盛的整合之路

Beijing thrives as the dominant legal hotspot 北京领跑全国法律市场

n Deals SPOTLIGHT

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PAGE 38

n THE BIG STORY

n LAW FIRM LEAGUE TABLES

n SUNDRIES

GET CONNECTED

STAY UP-TO-DATE

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BEIJING 2012

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A special platform for the frank exchange of views, sharing of best practices and formulation of strategies to deal with opportunities in 2012 and beyond. Topics include Private Antitrust Litigation in China, PRC Employment Law, M&A updates and much more. Interact with some of the most active and influential lawyers from around Asia. For more information, please contact Tracy at +852 3762 3262 or email tracy.li@thomsonreuters.com WWW.ASIANLEGALBUSINESSEVENTS.COM

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Shanghai Kai-Rong Law Firm

Partnering with maritime players

Mr. Yu-Lai Jin, Managing Partner

s one of the leading shipping firms in China, the maritime practice of Shanghai Kai-Rong Law Firm has been one of the core practice areas since its establishment in 1998. Its managing and founding partner, Jin Yu-Lai, has over 25 years of experience in the area. He and partner Rao Yi lead a team consisting of dedicated lawyers, as well as consultants who have worked in relevant government departments and Maritime Courts before, giving the firm the depth of expertise that few other law firms can match.

Kai-Rong is well-positioned to tap into the increase in contentious cases under the leadership of Jin, the managing and founding partner. He holds many prominent legal titles in this area. For example, he is the director of the China Maritime Law Association and an arbitrator for both the China Maritime Arbitration Commission and Singapore Maritime Arbitration Centre. His experience in all phases of complex litigation, non-litigation and arbitration is highly valuable to the firm’s clients.

Combining extensive experience in shipping with its highly regarded insurance and litigation practices, the firm regularly acts on various maritime dispute cases relating to everything from the right of subrogation, carriage of goods by sea, forwarding business, shipping agency, charter party, ship construction and repair, as well as disputes arising from general average, collision, salvage and towage.

Two other recent highlights further demonstrate the Kai-Rong’s flair in handling maritime litigations. One case saw the firm successfully recover US$15 million for a shipbuilder in Shanghai when a shipowner did not pay the remaining balance after the client had repaired three ships. The matter was complicated by the fact that the ships were registered in Libya where it is easy to change ship ownership and making it difficult for ship arrest, and that the indemnity provided by the shipowner had flaws in its clauses.

The firm’s multi-disciplinary offering also means that it can advise on commercial matters at the request of clients, making it a go-to choice for all types of players in shipping circles. These including international shipping companies, international forwarding companies, shipbuilders, ship repairer and storage companies. Some of the names on its vast array of clientèle include CTS International Transportation, Agility Logistics (Shanghai), Scan Logistics, OnTime Express (Shanghai), Great Richwell International Logistics (Shanghai), Sinotrans Container Lines, and HuaRun DaDong Dockyard. It is worth noting that KaiRong was a finalist for the Shipping Law Firm of the Year award in 2012 at the ALB China Law Awards, and it has been a finalist in the insurance law firm category since 2003 – proof of recognition of its market-leading practices. The firm strives to provide the best legal advice and service to its clients and is willing to go the extra mile, as seen from its representation of an insurance client in a dispute arising from collision. When the client faced the threat of ship arrest and could not obtain the indemnity from the re-insurance company in time, the firm provided the letter of indemnity on behalf of the client and managed to halve the compensation from US$600,000 to US$300,000.

Shanghai Kai-Rong Law Firm A: Suite 2206-07, Golden Magnolia Plaza, No. 1 Da Pu Road, Shanghai 200023 T: +86 21 5396 1065 F: +86 21 5396 1204 E: jinyulai@skrlf.com

The firm predicts that more maritime disputes are expected in the coming year. “The shipping market is not very healthy at the moment, and it is not going to pick up anytime in the near future. There is also the problem of excess transport capacity which leads to hostile competition and a massive number of disputes as a result,” Jin explains. “Shipping lawyers will have to help companies to settle disputes by litigation or negotiation to protect the interests of clients.”

In another case, Kai-Rong advised Ping An Shanghai in their filing of a claim arising out of the losses of 86 containers and damages of 24 containers by a carrier. Although the carrier argued that the case was beyond the limitation of action, the accident was caused by the weather change and defect of the twist locks, and whether Ping An Shanghai had the right of subrogation. The Shanghai Maritime Court ruled that the carrier was responsible for the losses and the judgement was upheld by Shanghai Higher People’s Court. Another development in the shipping market that the firm expects to see is the need for restructuring among companies. “The first thing the industry and its related businesses have to consider is how they can survive the market depression. This will give them a chance to adjust their internal structures to increase efficiency,” says Rao. This would require more diversity in the work offered by firms and KaiRong is again in the position to assist their clients as IP, employment, international trade, bank finance and corporate and commerce are some other strengths of the five-partner law firm. The wealth of experience in the maritime sector, professional legal advice, a client-focused approach and a full-service offering makes Kai-Rong an ideal partner with shipping industry players at home and abroad. Looking ahead in the next 12 months, the firm is determined to continue growing its high-quality client base in China and expand its business with overseas shipping companies, insurance companies, protection and indemnity associations, and law firms.

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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS JUNE 2012

Dacheng law offices

The Supreme People’s Court of China promulgates new Provisions governing freight forwarding disputes

L Yingbo Wang, Senior Partner

itigation of sea freight forwarding disputes has been always a controversial area, many landmark cases have been determined in the last two decades. Almost all participants in the value chain - including shippers, freight forwarders, B/L holders, sea carriers and their agents, bankers, port operators and even warehouse owners - have been involved in a wide variety of maritime cases. In the past few years, the Supreme People’s Court has been striving to gather and organize views from stakeholders including the maritime courts, freight forwarding practitioners, importer & exporters, scholars and lawyers. In the interim, the Shanghai High Court (with its particular regional experience) released ‘The answers on the trial of the freight forwarding contract disputes (Q & A Series 1-5)’, which serves as a guideline within Shanghai Maritime court and its appellate court Shanghai High court. Some opinions of this Q & A Series have invoked by judges, however, the Series is a guide only and just reflects the dominant opinions and trial practice in the Shanghai courts, without mandatory power. On March 20, 2012, The Supreme People’s Court of China promulgated ‘Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the trial of the sea freight forwarding disputes’ (‘the Provisions’) ,which came into force on May 1, 2012. The main points addressed are:

1. The Provisions are made under the ‘General Principles of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China’, the ‘Contract Law’, the ‘Maritime Code’, the ‘Civil Procedure Law’ and the ‘Special Maritime Procedure Law’, as well as other relevant laws, regulations, and also combined with trial experiences. 2. The Provision apply to disputes arising from business under which a freight forwarding company accepts a mandate from principals concerning the following services: (A) to provide booking, customs declaration, inspection, insurance services; (B) to pack goods, monitoring loading and unloading, container stuffing and unstuffing, bulk breaking, transit services; (C) to prepare and deliver of relevant documents, the freight settlement; (D) warehousing, land transport services; (E) dealing with other sea freight forwarding agency affairs.

A: Dacheng Law Offices 5F, Guohua Plaza, 3 Dongzhimennan Avenue, Beijing T: +86-10-58137108 E: yingbo.wang@dachenglaw. com W: www.dachenglaw.com

3. The court shall identify the nature of the case and apply different laws according to the different legal relationship reflected in the case, such as agency, transportation and warehousing relationships. 4. A freight forwarder is normally characterized as agent whose liability and obligations are much less than those of a carrier under Chinese law. Distinguishing between the forwarder as an agent or a (contractual) carrier is a

vital issue. The Provision lists the criteria for identifying an agency contract: - the nature of the rights and obligations agreed in the written contract; - the name and method of remuneration charged by the freight forwarding company; - the types of invoices (freighter forwarding business invoice and sea transportation invoice are assorted in China); - items charged(e.g. agency service fee or sea freight); - former transaction practices; and - the specific circumstances of performance of the contract between the parties. 5. In the circumstances below, the freight forwarding company shall be identified as (contractual) carrier, with the greater responsibilities and liabilities of a carrier: (A) When dealing with sea freight forwarding affairs, the freight forwarding company issues bills of lading, sea waybill or other transport document in its own name; (B) The freight forwarding company issues the bills of lading, sea waybill or other transport document in the name of the carrier, but it fails to prove that it has obtained power of authority from the carrier. 6. If the parties agreed the freight forwarding company to delegate its authority to a third party, and the freight forwarding company claims such an agreement of subagency, it shall be supported by the court. In the event that there is no such an agreement of subagency, the forwarding company or the third party alleging that the principal is aware of the delegation of authority without expressive opposition, therefore it advocates the consent of the principal to delegate, this claim shall not be supported, unless the doings of the principal obviously shows its agreement of subagency. 7. The Provision adopts the principle of apparent agency regulated by Article 49 of the Contract Law. It reads: “according to the customs of trade between both sides, one party has reasonable grounds to believe that the actor has the power of authority to represent the other party to enter into the sea freight forwarding contract, if this party claims the establishment of the agency contract, this claim shall be supported.” 8. The Provisions supports the freight forwarding company to exercise a lien on the relevant trading documents against the remuneration but, as a prerequisite, the lien clause must be expressly agreed in the contract. In the event that the contract fails to contain such a lien clause or the clause is ambiguous, the court shall made decision in favor of the freight forwarding company, except on the bills of lading, sea waybill and other transport documents. 9. The Maritime Code sorted the shippers as two categories: the party that concluded the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the party that actually

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delivers the goods to the carrier. Provisions created a new names- ‘contractual shipper’ which refers to the first category, while ‘actual shipper’ means the second category. Where that the freight forwarding company accepts the contractual shipper’s trust to book space and meanwhile accepts the actual shipper’s trust to ship goods to the carrier, the freight forwarding company shall handover the bills of lading, sea waybill or other transportation documents to the actual shipper upon request. Otherwise the court shall decide in favor of the actual shipper. 10. The doctrine of limited strict liability is adopted by the Provisions. If the principal claims for damage to or loss of goods caused by the freight forwarding company during its performance of agency, the claim shall be held out, unless the freight forwarding company can prove it’s not at fault. 11. Under the International Maritime Regulations of The People’s Republic of China, the specimen bills of lading of domestic and foreign NVOCC must be filed mandatorily in the transport administrative authorities with an amount of security for compensation. The Provision holds the freight forwarding company liable for losses to the principal if the freight forwarding company fails to exercise its due diligence to check the bills of lading filing records and

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conclude a contract with the disqualified NVOCC. 12. The freight forwarding company shall be liable jointly and severally with the disqualified NVOCC for losses suffered by the cargo interests if the freight forwarding company acts as agent to issue such non-filed bills of lading. However, the freight forwarding company is entitled to recover its damages from the disqualified NOVCC. 13. The Provisions do not apply to the disputes concerning the coast transportation (Shot-sea shipping) or to inland water transportation. 14. The Provisions apply to the cases undergoing in the proceedings of the first instance and appellate instance, but not to the retrial proceedings on an enforceable judgment. In summary, the freight forwarding industry has been re-regulated by the Provisions, and all forwarders should check with transportation counsel to ensure they understand their new obligations and liabilities, and that they comply with the Provisions new formal and practical requirements in their dealings with shippers, carriers, and NVOCCs.

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Shipping

Vale sells around 40 percent of its annual iron ore output of about 300 million tonnes to China and sees the ships as the best way to compete with its main Australian rivals, BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto. The Valemaxes’ size provides efficiency and economies of scale that narrow Vale’s transportation cost gap with Australia. But China’s ship owners allege that the costs outweigh the benefits. Chinese shipowners convinced Beijing in January to block the biggest dry bulk ships from entering China - Vale’s top market - due to concerns over safety and the vessels’ potential impact on loss-making domestic shipping companies. “Vale’s ships are too big and are beyond Chinese ports’ capability to handle safely,” said Zhang Shouguo, the secretary general of the China Shipowners’ Association. “They should alter those ships to below 350,000 deadweight tonnes and stop building those in the pipeline.” Zhang’s calls for restraint may be complicated by the fact that most of the 35 ships Vale is building or helping finance are being built in Chinese shipyards using Chinese steel, and with help from Chinese-state-backed loans. State-owned China Ocean Shipping Co (the COSCO Group), one of the largest players in the market, has been hit hard by a severe downturn in the dry bulk freight market. It has also been the most vocal critic of Vale’s huge ships. COSCO and others fear that the ships will

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

be used by the Brazilian miner to monopolise the lucrative iron ore trade between the two nations. The plunge in world shipping costs has been a boon for Vale and consumers, and devastating for shipowners. Since October, 2012, the Baltic Capesize Index, a benchmark for the cost of shipping used to move most of the world’s iron ore fell by more than half to 1,618 points. According to the index, capesize freight rates are now only 39 percent of the average for the last 12 years. Vale’s huge ships have been forced to take a more costly route to deliver iron ore to China due to Beijing’s ban, which has opened up an iron ore transshipment hub in the Philippines’ Subic Bay port in February. At the Philippine port, Vale hires smaller capesize vessels from other ship owners via public tenders to transport the iron ore to China. Industry officials said Chinese companies, such as the COSCO Group, have been excluded from

Shipping

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“In the next few years, if Chinese shipyards can address these issues and start emphasising quality and consistency in their products, then I think China will continue to be the dominant player in the shipbuilding industry not just in terms of tonnage, but also quality.” Ik Wei Chong, Clyde & Co

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

participating in these tenders.”I hope this can be solved. All of them should look to the long term, not be emotional, and should not take any actions that will violate the market principle,” said Zhang. — Despite the gloomy forecast, there are slivers of sunshine for those in the Chinese shipping sector. In fact, Chan notes that he knows of experts in the shipping field who have become quite “optimistic” recently. “Some shipping companies have begun to increase freight volumes, and some shipbuilders are building new ships. So they are treating all these as signs of a shipping rebound,” he says. Although dry bulk and container shipping volumes are down and will continue to suffer, there are other sectors of the market that remain buoyant. Chemical, particularly

LNG, transport will continue to be hot, confirms Chong of Clyde & Co. “Japan is heavily reliant on coal and LNG now that it has shut down all its nuclear plants. So you can imagine the amount of demand generated by the need to ship LNG from Indonesia, the Middle East and Australia to this part of the world. China will also become one of the world’s largest consumers of LNG,” he says. He calculates that there are 300 to 400 active LNG ships in service, but that this is still not enough. Cruise liner and luxury yacht markets are on the rise too. Although China is the largest shipbuilding nation in the world by product tonnage, it still lags behind the Koreans, Japanese and Europeans in terms of quality, according to Chong. “In the next few years, if Chinese shipyards can address these issues and start emphasising quality and consistency in their products, then I think China will continue to be the dominant player in the shipbuilding industry not just in terms of tonnage, but also quality,” he says. Traditionally, China has manufactured mostly bulk carriers and container ships, as they are easier to build. If China can, for example, ride the LNG wave and become a regular builder of LNG carriers, its dominance will be nearly impossible to challenge. LNG ships have high specifications and are very technologically involved, an ideal vessel to demonstrate a shipbuilder’s quality. China has begun to build a handful of LNG ships, but this is still a relatively new development. “If Chinese shipyards can instill confidence in the international market that they can build these ships at a high quality, then shipbuilding in China will be here to stay for the long term,” says Chong. For the bulk of shipping players, however, there are still tough storms to weather ahead. Problems that began four years ago, when the destabilisation of commodity prices sent the shipping sector into a downward spiral, are still burrowing their way through and affecting shipping markets around the globe. “The shipbuilding industry in 2013 will be even worse,” says Chen. “Maritime market players must adapt their activities to become stronger and more resistant.”

Managing partner interview

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

ONEOF A KIND

Stuart Fuller

When Australian market leader Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Chinese powerhouse King & Wood officially merged on March 1, the new combined firm became a game changer. With 21 offices and 390 partners worldwide, King & Wood Mallesons is the first and only firm with its international network headquartered in Asia, a true “combination of equals” offering Australian, UK, Hong Kong and PRC law advice. Global managing partner Stuart Fuller and China managing partner Wang Ling sat down with Candice Mak to discuss the integration of the firms’ cultures, why the King & Wood Mallesons model cannot be replicated, which elements are crucial for success, and the challenges they tackle as leaders.

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Managing partner interview

Wang Ling

ALB: What is unique about the King & Wood Mallesons offering in the market? SF: King & Wood Mallesons is the first of its type, combining a Chinese and Western law firm. The true difference with us is that we are the only law firm that can practise Hong Kong law, English law, Australian law and PRC law. In essence, that is the key differentiation. It is also about our footprint in those markets. One of the key challenges for any business with the rise of China and with the shift in economic power is that you really need to know the markets you are operating in to do well. We know the market better than anyone else. We get China. We can best advise on China, help people navigate the complex environment, and that is a very unique thing in one coordinated brand. WL: If we look at the whole legal market and the combination based on the Asia-Pacific area, we are unique. I think what we have accomplished reflects the developments in

this market and our clients’ ambitions. ALB: How would you describe the King & Wood Mallesons culture? SF: It is all about being the best you can be, a culture of excellence and quality, and a culture of client-focus. We do better work for clients, help clients in their business, and we have a very strong focus on our people. How do we train and develop them, how do we bring our partners with us on this journey, and how can we constantly influence everybody in the firm. (And) we do have a lot of fun as the partners genuinely get along. ALB: What was the genesis of the firm? SF: We first met in November 2010. We did not know each other all that well; we did not have a long track record of referring work to each other or acting as co-counsel. But we had connections at the top. We had a meeting in Beijing – I remember that it was an extremely cold day! Within an hour, it was very clear that we had a common vision about where we wanted to take the respective firms. We were Australia’s leading firm and China’s leading firm, but we had greater aspirations for clients and our people to create a new firm that would be a genuine combination of equals, which is a strong driver for the King & Wood Mallesons combination. It is a combination of equals, and people got on board.

Managing partner interview

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

“It is all about being the best you can be, a culture of excellence and quality, and a culture of client-focus. We do better work for clients, help clients in their business, and we have a very strong focus on our people.” stuart fuller, King & Wood Mallesons

WL: We had a very good feeling after meeting with Mallesons, and we wanted to continue the discussions in more detail. The result of those discussions came true, so that is very exciting. SF: These discussions took place over a year. In addition to doing the deal, we spent a significant amount of time talking to the partners about why this would work. We wanted to get very strong support from them. In the end, more than 95 percent of partners voted in favour of the deal. That was a very clear affirmation that it was the right choice, and that we were the right firms combining at the right time – some have even called it audacious! ALB: How do you define the firm’s strategies that you have set during your tenures? SF: In the short term, integration. We have started in Hong Kong where we have fully merged our respective firms to create King & Wood Mallesons. It is now the 4th largest firm in Hong Kong with close to 350 people. Common management is key. The management team speaks regularly on issues across the whole firm. We have a very clear plan about integration for the practice teams, clients, people and systems. That really focuses on strengthening the core of the network over the longer term. We will be focused on broadening our capabilities. We will also do this on the basis of what best suits the clients and our people over time. ALB: What were some of the post-integration merger issues you have had to address? WL: We put a lot of effort into looking closely at the business opportunities that existed as a result of the combination. On the practice side, it is quite exciting. The lawyers on both sides have been working together, managing transactions, or doing joint pitches. The combined team ultimately provides stronger and higher quality services to our clients. For operations, systems, IT, business development

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and marketing, at each level, we are moving forward swiftly with integration. SF: For the firmwide things that we needed to do for March 1, we hit the targets perfectly: The launch of the brand, the client launch campaign across the network and the brand campaign, particularly in Australia, and the international advertising campaign. We were very focused on launching the brand in a very fresh and different way, reflecting the fact that our combination was the first of its type, and we wanted to make sure we had market impact. We have a client business development stream which is very strong, and part of our challenge has been controlling and harnessing the energy of our partners and lawyers to work together, which is a perfect problem for managing partners to have. The desire of partners to look for business opportunities and to go and get more work, particularly work we would not have seen had we stayed separate firms, is a real test of the success of our combination. We had to deal with a lot of internal stuff, so conflicts and alignments, pricing, and retainer terms, all of which we put into place by March 1. We are constantly looking at those to make them more efficient and effective. In Hong Kong, we have a new IT system, new phone system, and we are meshing partners together into a new single profit pool. That was a huge effort. There are some inevitable teething issues around that, mostly around IT, and we have put a lot of effort into getting it right. These are very personal issues because everyone relies so heavily on IT these days. We have recently physically integrated the practice teams, so that the corporate, banking and litigation groups in Hong Kong are sitting together. It is a very tangible sign of integrating people, and in hindsight, I am very glad we did not try to do this for March 1. The initial plan was to launch the firm and physically integrate by March 1. But putting a couple of months between it to let all the pieces settle down was absolutely the right call. We will be doing more of this over the next 18 to 24 months, as we continue to integrate a lot of back office functions. ALB: The King & Wood Mallesons combination is the first of its kind. Do you foresee more tie-ups of a similar nature happening in the future between competitors? WL: What is notable about our case is that both firms were the top in their jurisdictions. If we look at other Chinese firms, some have

Managing partner interview

also set up alliances or partnerships using different structures or opened up offices in other countries. It seems that a number of Chinese firms are exploring what the best way is for them to develop their business. The combination between King & Wood Mallesons received a lot of attention from the market and colleagues in the market. They are quite interested in knowing how the Verein structure, which we use, works. I think we are the first Chinese firm to use the Verein structure. I think the other Chinese firms are quite interested to see if maybe this could be a model they could use, or at least something to look at, or at least pay more attention to. SF: For many of our competitors, if you want to be a leading global law firm, you must have exposure to the largest economy on the globe. So the challenge for the industry, whether a law firm or a business, is how to get that exposure and how to service your clients in that market Chinese clients wanting to do work in the China market, Chinese clients wanting to invest outward, which looks to be a significant business activity over the next 10 to 20 years, and international companies going into China. If you want to be a significant global player, you need to have a significant presence in what will be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest economy, and you have to do that at the top tier. We have done that. On one level, the King & Wood Mallesons combination cannot be copied because each is the leading firm in each jurisdiction. Our competitors may follow over time, but they will not be at that brand or quality point. ALB: How is the Verein structure crucial to your success? WL: I think the basis for the combination structure was when during discussions, we realised that the structures of both firms were quite similar. Both firms had quite similar strategic goals, cultures, values and visions. On the King & Wood side, we had a modified lockstep system, but our structures were quite similar. So there was quite a solid basis to set up this structure. Most Chinese firms do not have this structure. SF: Vereins should be better understood than they are, because there are a number of accounting firms and global law firms that use it, so it is not an unknown structure. One of the reasons we chose it was that we believe it is the structure of the future. It gives you the benefits of a common approach to brand, management, clients and people development. Then you overlay on that common approach a degree of flexibility, where you can run the firm and have sufficient regard for the different markets, the economics of markets, and the volatility of markets and exchange rates. Also how you can be flexible about bringing in new members into the Verein as you want to expand your footprint. The Verein gives you much more flexibility than a single profit pool, one lockstep model. Plus, and I think this is becoming apparent to some other firms, there is an inherent limitation on how big a firm can get when it is a single profit pool, single lockstep, because markets perform differently, exchange rates fluctuate, pricing is different, productivity is different, and trying to put that into one uniform model across x number of countries is a hard task. It is a fulltime management job in itself. We can create all the benefits from a client and people perspective with a structure that gives you more flexibility, which is what the Verein gives. ALB: What are the key challenges of running a firm like King & Wood Mallesons? SF: We have a very focused business development plan as a combined

Managing partner interview firm around the areas where we think we can add better value to our clients than our competitors. In the first six weeks, we let that evolve and there was what I ended up calling “creative chaos”. We had so much connection between the partners in that period about client opportunities, joint pitches, etc. We started to work on five to six matters in that period of time, and we have now closed five of those. We have done over 50 pitches together as a combined firm in either China or Australia or Hong Kong, all in just 80 days. So part of our challenge was actually controlling the energy of the partners to get on a plane, see each other, and pitch to clients. It is a good problem to have. The thing we are both adjusting to is running a firm that is now over 21 offices and with three languages, Mandarin, Cantonese and English, and making sure that however we do things, it works across the whole network. How we communicate, how we manage, and how we make decisions. WL: The challenges are the firm locations if we are looking at the market, the target clients, and also that the backgrounds of the firms are quite different. If we look at the Australian part, Mallesons is more than 180 years old, but King & Wood is still a young firm – though it has grown very stable and quickly. Also, if we look at the markets, Australia is a first world nation, while China is still an emerging market. If we look at our client bases, some Chinese clients have become very experienced and some lack experience. When we integrate together, we need to fill in those detailed issues. So one part of the integration is to consider the background of our specialties. We are not only concerned with the business of deals, but also in the operational management of the combined firm. SF: This is all just a question of scale, I suspect. Whether it is across three jurisdictions or 23, you have the same broad issues of aligning people with the systems. The true thing about us, or the different part about our combination, is that it is a combination of equals. It is not a takeover or merger. If you have a dominant firm taking over a less dominant firm, that is easier to run by just saying “do it my way”. However with us, the combination of equals is a strong part of the DNA. It is a matter of saying “let’s look at the way we want to do it together”. There is not one dominating the other or creating opposition, but rather we are both saying “we really want to do this”, which means that communication is key. Making decisions on a joint basis is

“Although we have so many different offices, you see the same structures of the same practice areas, and we are always sharing market observations and information. Even though partners are in different offices, they have been getting to know each other and are working together to provide support to one another.” Wang Ling, King & Wood Mallesons

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

much more powerful, and you get a lot more engagement when people work out things together instead of just being told what to do. ALB: How do you ensure best practices are upheld across all offices? WL: Although we have so many different offices, you see the same structures of the same practice areas, and we are always sharing market observations and information. Even though partners are in different offices, they have been getting to know each other and are working together to provide support to one another. SF: We have an executive team of four and we speak and e-mail regularly. There is Wang Ling as China managing partner, Australia managing partner Tony O’Malley, myself as the global managing partner and Hong Kong chief, and Rupert Li, who is the China international managing partner. The four of us have a particular time every week where we get together and talk about broader points across the firm. The international management committee has eight core members, four from each legacy firm with several Hong Kong observers. It meets every two months and looks at the overall firm, how we are going along in our business plan, integration plan, strategy, and any policy issues. The committee’s function is to primarily set standards and policies in the firm. So that is one way of achieving consistency at that level. Also, markets are different and the aim is to be the best in the market. You want to have that in whatever you do, in whatever market, and be accommodating of that market. So having an absolutely vanilla product across every market does not recognise the local nuances. As long as you are the best in the market and the client experience is very similar, that is the thing to aim for. That is a challenge for global law firms. WL: On both sides, we had practice heads. So we now have co-heads of the practice on each side. They help to coordinate any matter(s) that involves the lawyers and partners. If an issue arises, they know how to quickly involve the right person at the right time. SF: We have started with the firms’ top 30 clients with co-relationship partners and common client teams. With these clients, we are saying “here’s our team, what’s driving your business? And how can we help you? Here’s a team that can do that across all the practice areas that would be relevant to the client”. Client feedback and client engagement is crucial. It does not matter what we

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say about how good we are; it is actually the voice of the client that is the key thing. The reaction from clients and the market was even more positive than I had personally hoped for. ALB: What ingredients are vital to the success of the firm over the next few years? SF: Clients and people. We are making sure that we are a very client-focused firm, which is what we are. To be honest, the King & Wood culture is incredibly client focused, so it is something out of the combination that we, Mallesons, will relearn. Mallesons is very client-focused as well. But being older and a dominant brand in the Australian market, we really want to edge up the client experience in the Australian market. But how we do execute our client strategy - the proof of concept? Are we getting more work from our existing clients and are we getting better deals from more clients? Deals we would not have won had we stayed as two separate firms? (And) then there is the people experience: how we are developing and training our people, giving them career opportunities, and improving their quality and their careers. ALB: What personally makes you believe in the success of King & Wood Mallesons?

Managing partner interview

SF: You have to be passionate and energetic about it as leaders of the firm, because you have to convey that you genuinely believe in what we have done, which I do. The combination of firms, the change in the global economic and political environment, the brand of the firm, the quality of the firm, and the clients and the market and the people connections - these are very strong across both firms. Being 81 days in, the signs are good because the people are gelling. We are dealing with each thing we need to deal with on a daily basis. We are talking regularly, and the client and market reaction is strong. Both firms are client driven firms, and if you get that reaction from the market, that incentivises the firm to continue on. It is our job to give partners and lawyers all the assistance they need, the platform they need to go into the market and get that work. WL: What I can add is that when you find the opportunity, you seize it for the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. When you have a very good basis, like from the management to the people to the structure of the firm, and you have no reason to cap the opportunities, then the opportunities can become true. Owning opportunities and taking them; that is really important to the next stage of the firm. When I look back on the development of King & Wood, many people have asked the same question: How did King & Wood build up so quickly? It developed quickly, not just in size or headcount, but I believe because people recognised the stable development and mature qualities of the firm, though it was still very young. I think one of the reasons for the growth in the past was that King & Wood tried to do something different from the other colleagues in the China market. We tried to catch the opportunities provided, or potentially provided, by the market or by the economic developments in the Chinese market. That is very important for the

Managing partner interview firm, and I think that is the main reason why we needed to do the combination. ALB: What have you learnt from the management style and the culture of the other’s firm? WL: There are many things we learnt from Mallesons. As a young firm, we were quite impressed by the efficiency of Mallesons’ management and its systems, each with a function that supported the firm’s development and created efficiency. The next stage for us on the King & Wood side is how we can adapt to the system. If we look at the legal practice, particularly in some sectors, Mallesons has a very good reputation and is highly recognised in the market in areas such as mining and energy. Knowing we can bring these into qualities into the combined firm is, I believe, really fantastic. SF: Mallesons is a very strong client focused firm, but the King & Wood client focus is incredibly strong with its depth of connection in the market. One thing I have realised from King & Wood, which is dominant in its market, is that it is the client connection and market connection that you have through your partners, being constantly in the market, and constantly focused on the clients - that makes a big difference. The singular focus is on what clients want, how do we get the deal, and how our connection to the market - through clients and people - mean we can provide better and broader service to clients. That is making a big difference with any client that we deal with. The other thing I have noticed is the communication style of the King & Wood lawyers. It is far more conversational. Mallesons, again, is 180 years old. We have very slick administrative services, and we probably do more by e-mail and by short, sharp communications. But the way, we do it in the Chinese firm; how I have seen Wang Ling and her partners do it is they have very significant conversations about decisions. So it is a group decision. That is the way you make a better decision, you talk it through, understand where each is coming from, and then move on. Now, as a whole firm, we are making sure we have conversations together so it is less of an e-mail culture. ALB: In the next five years, what do you predict the Asian legal market landscape will look like? WL: It will definitely be more competitive, and perhaps there will be more consolidation. In these next two years, we will likely see more and more Chinese firms trying to learn more from the experience of foreign firms and getting more involved in international matters. Also, I think one of the approaches for them would be to set up some type of relationship with the foreign firms. So I think that may result in more consolidation. On the other hand, it will not just be between Chinese firms and foreign firms. If we look at the other Asian firms, they might also be looking to set up relationships with Western firms. SF: It is a challenge because with the many countries in Asia, the laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Any strategy for a law firm has to be a client-led strategy, not a firm-led strategy. So you have to do things that will allow you to do more for your clients, and where they are taking their business. The big challenge for law firms, whether in five or ten years is that, in the current structure, law firms are not set up to do that. They do not cover enough jurisdictions; they cannot offer same brand or same experience to clients over enough of the jurisdictions where the clients are doing business. Compare accounting firms to law firms, and they are very different models. The accounting firms have the benefit of international accounting standards, so there is some similarity. But they drive brand and consistency of service across more jurisdictions in which their clients operate. (And) that is a

**The Chinese translation of this story was prepared by Synmax Translation**

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

challenge for many law firms with a client-led strategy: How do you help your client across more jurisdictions through one brand and organisation? That is where I think there will be an evolution - in the way firms approach their structures, headcount, and their footprints. The markets are moving very quickly and the rate of change of what is happening

“In these next two years, we will likely see more and more Chinese firms trying to learn more from the experience of foreign firms and getting more involved in international matters. Also, I think one of the approaches for them would be to set up some type of relationship with the foreign firms.” Wang Ling, King & Wood Mallesons

in the U.S., European and Asian markets is quite significant at the moment. ALB: Have your work and personal lives changed since the launch of the new firm? SF: I have moved! So the biggest change for me was that I was made the chief executive of Mallesons and then became the global managing partner of King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong, and I moved here from Australia. My family does not move until the end of the year, so I go back to Sydney every weekend to see the family if I am not elsewhere. The firm changed, my job changed, and my place of residence changed, but it is terrific. I am meeting people all the time, dealing with clients and new market opportunities, and putting the firms together. It has been great fun. WL: Compared to Stuart, I am lucky. My travel is not so frequent. We appreciate Stuart traveling so much, particularly in the first year and around the time of integration. For me, travel did increase compared with before, but I think dealing with it has been fine. On the other hand, the working focus, my work has transferred into looking after the integration matters of the combined firm.

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Managing partner interview

金杜

— 开创律所合作新模式

澳大利亚律所大鳄万盛国际律师事务所(Mallesons Stephen Jaques) 和中国律所巨头金杜律师事务所于3月1日起正式联盟，新的国际联盟——金杜律师事务所 (King & Wood Mallesons)掀起了新的市场潮流。金杜在全球拥有21家办公室，390名合伙人，是第一家也是唯一一家将全球业务总部设在亚洲的律师事务所，同时也真正实践了“强强联盟”的模式，从而为客户提供中国、澳大利亚、香港和英国四个司法区域的法律服务。全球管理合伙人Stuart Fuller（下称”SF”）及中国区管理合伙人王玲接受了本刊编辑Candice Mak的采访，就如何整合事务所文化、金杜模式为何难以复制以及成功的秘诀和作为事务所一把手所面临的挑战等问题展开了讨论。

Managing partner interview ALB: 金杜的联盟在法律市场上有何独特之处？ SF: 金杜是中西方律师事务所联盟的首例。与其他律所的真正差异在于，我们是唯一一家能够提供中国法、澳大利亚法、香港法及英国法法律服务的国际律师事务所联盟，这是关键区别所在，另外就是我们在这四个地区法律市场上所占的份额了。中国经济的增长和全球经济重心的转移对所有行业都提出了一个重要挑战：我们需要真正地了解自己所在的市场并力争做到最好。我们比任何人都熟悉这个市场。我们来到中国，同样可以提供最好的法律服务，在复杂的环境中为客户引领航向，这就是联合品牌的独特之处。王玲: 放眼整个法律市场和对比亚太地区的联合经营模式，我们都独具特色。我们所取得的成绩反映了这个市场的发展状况，也体现了我们客户的日益增长的需求。 ALB: 您如何解读金杜的文化？ SF: 一言以蔽之——尽我所能。我们的文化是追求卓越和高质量的文化，也是以客户为本的文化。我们为客户提供更好的服务，帮助他们发展业务，同时也非常关注自己的员工，包括如何培训和发展他们的能力，如何让合伙人在律所的发展道路上与大家共勉以及如何能持续带动所里的每一个人等等。现在合伙人之间相处融洽，大家也在工作中收获了很多快乐。 ALB: 能介绍一下两家所是如何走到一起的吗？ SF:我们是2010年11月初次见面的。当时我们完全不认识对方，相互之间也没有长期的业务推荐或合作办案经历，但两家律所的高层有一定联系。我们是在北京会面的——我记得那天非常冷！通过一小时的交流，我们已经很明确双方对如何建设各自的律所都有共同的看法。万盛和金杜都分别是澳大利亚和中国顶尖的律所，对于客户和自己的员工，我们都怀有更高的期许，就是要通过真正意义上的平等联盟成立一家新的律师事务所，这就是金杜联盟的强烈动因之一。此次联盟正是一次平等基础上的联盟，所有人都参与其中了。王玲:与万盛会面后我们感觉非常好，也希望能继续就细节的问题进行更深入的讨论。如今这些讨论的成果均得以实现，着实令人感到兴奋。 SF:双方关于联盟的讨论持续了一年多。除了商谈合作事项外，我们也花费了大

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

量的时间，向合伙人们解释联盟的好处。我们希望得到合伙人们的强力支持。最终，95%以上的合伙人都投票赞成联盟，这一点清楚地证明了联盟是个正确的选择——两家正确的律所，在一个正确的时间走到了一起。甚至有人评价我们的联盟是一项大胆的创举！ ALB: 能说明一下您在任期内制定的事务所发展战略吗？ SF: 短期而言，就是要实现一体化。在香港我们已经实现全方位合并。合并后的新所现已成为香港第四大律所，有近350名员工。共同管理是关键所在，管理团队定期在涉及全所的问题上发表意见。我们对业务团队、客户、员工和制度的整合都有非常清晰的计划。这一计划主要侧重于加强长期的内部联系和沟通。同时我们也将致力于拓展自身能力，当然这一切都将以最适合客户和我们员工的方式进行。 ALB: 就联盟后的一体化而言，您必须解决的问题有哪些？王玲:我们花了大量的精力仔细寻找联盟后出现的业务机会。从实践效果来看，我们取得了令人满意的成绩。双方律师通力合作，共同处理交易或进行项目投标，新团队因此得以为客户提供更高质量的服务。不论是事务所运营、制度建设、IT系统、商业发展还是市场营销计划，我们都在迅速地推进整合的步伐。 SF: 我们圆满完成了3月1日联盟前需要在全所范围内开展的工作，包括：新品牌的推出、针对双方客户和联合品牌的宣传（尤其是在澳大利亚），以及国际广告宣传。我们力图以一种新鲜不俗的方式推出新的品牌，以着力强调两家所的联盟绝无先例，同时也希望确保自身强大的市场影响力。我们在客户商业开发方面具有很强的优势，但面临的挑战之一就是如何加强合伙人及律师的工作凝聚力，这是管理合伙人必须面对的问题。能否满足合伙人对业务机会、业务量（尤其是在联盟前我们各自没有看到的机会）的需求是对这次联盟是否能取得成功的真正考验。我们要处理很多内部事务，并且必须在3月1日前解决好内部协调、收费标准、委托条款更新等问题。现在我们还在继续关注这些问题，并努力做到更高效地解决这些问题。我们在香港增设了新的IT系统和电话系统，同时也针对合伙人建立了统一的“利润池”分配机制。我们在这些事项上花费了大量精力。当然，新的问题也难以避免，主要集中在IT系统方面，但我们都尽力解决。因为大家现在使用IT系统的频率非常高，这一问题反映在每个人身上都不尽相同。最近我们实现了业务团队在形式上的整合，因此香港的公司、银行和诉讼业务团队现已在同一间办公室开展工作。这是整合人员方面取得的显著成果，事后我很高兴没有急着在3月1日完成这些工作。我们的初步计划是在3月1日前设立新所并完成形式上的整合，但用几个月的时间将所有事务安排妥当才是当务之急。在接下来的18到 24个月我们要完成的工作比预期的更多，其中还包括大量的办公室后台整合工作。 ALB:金杜模式是史无前例的。您认为将来会出现更多竞争者之间类似性质的联盟吗？王玲:我们的联盟之所以值得关注，就是因为双方都是各自司法管辖区内顶尖的律所。纵观其他中国律所，也不乏一些通过不同模式或在其他国家设办公室的方式与外国所建立了战略联盟或合作关系。似乎一些中国律所也在探索最适合自己发展的道路。金杜和万盛的联盟取得了市场和同行的高度关注。他们很想知道我们的联盟模式有哪些好处。我们是第一家以“瑞士联盟”的方式与外国律所联盟的中国律所，其他中国律所很想知道这种模式是否也能为他们所用，至少这对他们而言也是一件值得审视和关注的事情。

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SF:对我们的很多竞争对手来说，想要成为顶尖的全球性律所，就必须进军世界上最大的经济体。不论是对律所还是企业，在法律行业里面临的挑战都是如何抓住这个机遇和如何服务好这个市场的客户，其中包括想在本土市场开展业务或进行对外投资的中国客户（这也将是未来一二十年的一项重要业务）以及开拓中国市场的跨国企业。如果想成为全球重量级的市场参与者，就必须在世界最大经济实体中占有重要的一席之地，并跻身第一梯队。这一点我们已经做到了。从某种程度上说，金杜的联盟无法复制，因为两家都是各自司法管辖区内顶尖的律所。我们的竞争对手以后或许会效仿，但却无法达到那样的品牌效应和质量标准。 ALB: “瑞士联盟”模式对联盟的成功起到了哪些重要的作用？王玲: 我认为之所以采取这一联盟模式，就是因为双方在讨论中都意识到两家所的运营模式非常相似，不论是战略目标、文化、价值观还是发展愿景均是如此。金杜实行的是的非严格意义上的合伙人资历薪酬制 (modified lockstep system) 制度，但我们和万盛的运营模式非常相像。所以建立联盟的基础很扎实，但大部分中国律所不具备我们这样的制度。 SF:人们对“瑞士联盟”模式应当有个更深入的了解，不少会计师事务所和全球性律师事务所都使用这一模式，所以这不是什么新鲜的概念。我们选择这一模式的原因之一，是相信这是顺应未来发展趋势的，可以使我们获得品牌、管理、客户和人力资源共享带来的利益。然后再在共享的基础上加以变通，就可以做好律所的经营工作，并对各大市场及其经济形势、波动情况和汇率有一个充分的认识，以便在想要进一步拓展市场的时候灵活地将新成员引入联盟中。“瑞士联盟”模式相比单一的“ 利润池”分配模式要灵活的多。另外，实行单一“利润池”分配制度和合伙人资历薪酬制的律所究竟能做多大，这当中存在一个固有限制，这一限制对某些律所而言正变得越来越明显。原因就在于，不同市场的机制不同、汇率有起伏、定价和产出也不尽相同，试图用一种统一的模式跨国经营是件非常困难的事。这本身就是项需要全副精力来完成的管理工作。我们可以通过一种更灵活的模式从各自的客户和人员中创造出更大的价值，这就是“瑞士联盟”的好处。 ALB: 金杜在经营上都面临哪些主要的挑战？ SF:我们为联盟后的新所拟定了一个重点明确的业务发展计划，涉及的都是与我们的竞争者相比，我们认为能为客户提供更高价值的领域。在最初的六个星期里，我们不断丰富着计划的内容，最后我称这个计划为“创造性混乱”。那时候两边的合伙人就客户开发、联合参与项目投标等事项的沟通非常积极，也就是从那个时候开始我们在5、6个项目上开展合作，而且现在已完成了5个。在联盟后仅80天的时间里，我们已在中国、澳大利亚、香港合作完成了50多个项目的投标工作。事实上我们面临的一部分挑战是如何控制合伙人参与同一项目的积极性，如何相互协调，争取客户。其实有这个问题也不失为一件好事。目前双方都在探索的问题是如何经营一家拥有21个办公室，使用普通话、粤语和英语三种语言的律所，并确保我们的管理方式（沟通、管理和决策方式）能在全所通行。王玲:我们要解决的问题在于新所的定位。纵观整个市场，我们各自的目标客户和自身背景都存在很大不同。如果我们站在澳大利亚的角度看，万盛已有180多年历史，而金杜正在稳步快速成长，还是个年轻的律所。另外，如果从双方市场角度考虑，澳大利亚是第一世界国家，而中国还是个新兴的市场。反观金杜的客户情况，部分中国客户在市场上已颇具经验而有些还略显生涩。我们整合后，必须解决这些具体的差异问题。因

Managing partner interview

此整合的一部分就是考虑双方各自的特点。我们要考虑的不仅是交易本身，更有新所的经营管理问题。 SF:我想这就是个规模问题。不管是跨了 3个还是23个司法管辖区，我们都要解决同样的大问题，即如何对人员进行统一的制度管理。现在真实的情况，或者说此次联盟的特色在于，这是个平等基础上的联盟，而不是收购或并购。如果一家占有市场支配地位的律所收购另一家市场地位稍逊的所，内部就很容易出现“一家独大”的局面。但我们不同，“平等”是双方的强烈意愿。我们选择的是“ 求同”的模式。没有一方压倒另一方或搞对立的情况出现。事实上共同决策也更具有说服力，相比被动接受，双方共同处理事务的方式也能使我们得到更多的收获。 ALB: 你们如何保证全球各个办公室都能提供最高质量的服务？王玲:虽然我们的办公室遍布世界各地，你可以看到不同办公室在相同业务领域内采用的是同样的模式，而且都能共享市场观察和信息。合伙人们是在不同的办公室办公，但他们也已开始相互了解并相互提供协助。 SF:我们建立了一个四人执行团队，经常沟通和邮件往来。团队包括中国区管理合伙人王玲，澳大利亚管理合伙人Tony O’Malley，兼任全球管理合伙人和香港地区负责人的本人以及中国区国际管理

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

合伙人李孝如。我们四人每周都会辟出一个特定的时间在一块儿讨论全所的宏观性问题。我们的国际管理委员会有8位核心成员，其中四人分别来自各自原来的律所，其余几位都是香港办公室观察员。委员会成员每两个月碰一次，讨论全所事务，包括业务发展计划与整合计划的进展以及一些战略性和制度性问题。委员会的首要职能是制定事务所的标准和制度，这也是高层实现协调一致的方式之一。虽然各自所在市场不同，但大家的目标都是要做市场的龙头。不论我们身处什么市场，都应该努力适应，并把这个目标始终贯穿在我们所做的每一件事中。因此我们的服务一定要有特色，否则无法顺应不同市场哪怕只有细微差别的需求。保持市场优势地位并充分利用类似的客户服务经验是我们追求的目标，也是全球性律所面临的共同挑战。王玲: 原来两家所的各个业务领域都分别有各自的业务负责人，所以现在的情况是我们有来自每一成员所业务团队的共同负责人。他们的任务就是协调与律师和合伙人有关的任何事务，在出现问题时，他们知道如何快速地在适当的时间找到适当的人来处理。 SF:我们首先从两家所的前30大客户开始实行合伙人共同合作共享客户资源这一模式。我们向这些客户说明了新团队的性质以及我们可以提供的服务。这个新的团队可以提供与客户相关的所有业务领域服务。客户的反馈和信任是至关重要的。我们如何标榜自己并不重要，真正重要的唯有客户的反响。现在客户和市场的反馈甚至比我个人预期的还要好。 ALB:未来几年里金杜的成功要素有哪些？ SF:还是客户与员工。我们正坚决贯彻以客户为本的理念，这也是我们一贯遵守的原则。老实说，金杜崇尚的是极度重视客户的文化，这也是我们万盛在联盟中需要重新学习的地方。尽管万盛也是个非常重视客户的律所，但作为澳洲市场上历史更悠久的优势品牌，我们真希望进一步丰富自己在澳洲市场上服务客户的经验。但我们如何实施自己的客户战略呢——难道

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只是纸上谈兵吗？我们的既有客户是否给我们带来了更多的业务？我们是否从更多的客户那里获得了联盟前不可能争取到的更好的业务？（这些都是我们思考的问题。）关于人员管理，我们经验是：开发和培训员工能力，给予他们更多的职业发展机会，提高他们的服务质量并拓宽他们的上升空间。 ALB: 就您个人而言，是什么让您坚信金杜会取得成功？ SF:作为事务所的领导人，我们必须对成功抱有极大的热诚和信念，因为我们必须传达出对我们所做工作的成功深信不疑的信念。我本人就是这么做的。金杜与万盛的联盟、全球经济和政治环境的变化、新所的品牌和质量以及客户、市场和员工之间的联系等等，都是两家所极其在意的问题。在联盟后的81天里，双方人员合作顺畅，一切都显示出良好的迹象。双方经常进行沟通，我们从客户和市场得到的反馈也很积极。因为金杜和万盛都是客户为本的律所，那么得到了市场的肯定，我们就有了继续走下去的动力。我们的任务就是给予合伙人和律师所有必要的支持，搭建他们所需的平台，从而赢得市场并顺利开展工作。王玲:我要补充一点，当我们发现机会时，为了事务所的发展，就要抓住这个机会。如果此时，不论是管理、人员还是制度都能具备良好的基础，那么机会就不会轻易溜走，就会成为现实。寻找并抓住机会对事务所下一阶段的发展十分重要。回顾金杜的发展历程，很多人都会问同一个问题：金杜何以发展得如此迅速？金杜的确是发展迅速，但不仅体现在办公室规模或人数上。我相信之所以会提出这个问题，是因为大家都认同我们所发展稳定，服务质量可靠，尽管我们建所时间并不长。过去能够快速发展的一个重要原因在于，金杜的实践与中国市场上的同仁相比自有与众不同之处。我们努力抓住市场，抓住中国经济发展所带来的既有或潜在机遇，这对我们所来说至关重要，也是我们决定联盟的主要原因。 ALB: 你们分别从对方那里学到了哪些管理风格和律所文化？王玲:我们从万盛那里收获很多。作为一家年轻的律所，我们对万盛高效的管理和制度操作印象很深，每一项管理制度都能够起到支持事务所发展和提高效率的作用。金杜的下一阶段任务是要解决如何适应这一制度的问题。从法律实务，尤其是部分产业的法律实务角度来说，万盛口碑卓越，它的采矿和能源领域业务能力也得到了市场的高度认同。联盟后，这些优势都将有助于提高我们的服务质量，我觉得这一点非常好。 SF: 万盛是一家实力雄厚，以客户为本的律所。金杜以客户为本的理念也极其强烈，并且与市场保持着深入的联系。我从金杜这一中国法律市场领跑者这里学到的，就是通过合伙人建立起与客户和市场的紧密联系，并不懈地立足市场和关注客户需求——做到这一点就能脱颖而出。我们最关注的就是客户的需求，以及如何争取项目和通过客户及律师所建立的市场联系向客户提供质量更高范围更广的服务。这些对客户而言具有非同寻常的意义。我注意到的另一方面，是金杜律师的沟通方式。他们之间的沟通不仅限于简单的对话。万盛建所至今已有180年，行政管理制度很完善，我们一般更多地通过电子邮件或简短直接的对话来沟通。但在金杜，我见到王玲与其他合伙人讨论决策性事项时采取的是一种非常有意义的群议方式。通过这种方式，大家能在彻底讨论并充分了解各自想法的基础上达成一致，因此作出的决策也就更明智。联盟后，我们在全所范围将更多采用这种群议的方式，减少先前的“电子邮件文化”。 ALB: 请您预测一下未来五年亚洲法律市场走向如何？ ** 鑫马翻译提供中文译文 **

Managing partner interview 王玲:竞争会更加激烈，也可能会出现更多合并。在未来两年里，我们可能会看到更多中国律所努力向外国律所学习经验并更多地参与到国际法律事务中的情形。我认为要做到这点，可行的方法之一就是与外国律所建立某种类型的合作，因此我预计可能会有更多合并出现。另一方面，这也不仅仅是中国律所和外国律所之间的事情，其他亚洲律所也可能在寻找与外国律所建立合作关系的机会。 SF: 联盟是个不小的挑战，因为亚洲国家众多，不同司法管辖区的法律迥然不同。律所的任何发展战略都应该是客户为本的战略，而不是以事务所自身为导向的战略。因此就要在最大限度内为客户考虑得更周全。律所在现有经营模式下面临的一大挑战在于，5年或者 10年内他们都尚未准备好这一战略模式的转换，同时能够覆盖的司法管辖区很有限，无法在客户开展业务的所有司法管辖区内提供统一品牌或统一经验指导下的法律服务。与会计师事务所相比，律所的模式大不相同。会计师事务所得益于标准的国际会计准则，所以共同之处很多，这使得他们能够在更多的司法管辖区提供统一品牌下的无差别服务。这对于崇尚客户为本的律所而言挑战巨大，即我们如何通过同一个品牌和组织为客户提供跨多个司法管辖区的服务？这也是我认为律所必须加以改进的地方，这一点可以通过制定好的经营模式，扩大人员规模和拓展市场来实现。市场正在快速发展，而当前美国、欧洲和亚洲的市场环境也是瞬息万变。 ALB: 新所成立后您的工作和个人生活发生变化了吗？ SF: 我搬家了！对我来说最大的变化就是我从万盛的首席执行合伙人变成了金杜的全球管理合伙人，我也从澳大利亚搬到了香港。我的家人会在年底搬过来，所以年底前如果我人在香港，就每个周末回趟悉尼看望家人。我们的所变了，同样发生变化的还有我的工作和住所，但这是很棒的体验。我现在要马不停蹄地见各种各样的人，和客户打交道，对新的市场机遇快速做出反应，也要处理联盟整合的相关事宜。这些工作让我非常充实快乐。王玲:和Stuart相比，我很幸运，不用成天飞来飞去。我们很感激Stuart不辞辛劳地奔波，尤其是在联盟的第一年和整合期间。当然我出差的时间和过去相比也多了不少，但我认为这些都没问题。另一方面，我的工作也重心转移了。现在我更多地负责联盟后的整合事务。

Beijing report

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Beijing regional report

The central arena P

China is growing, but is Beijing growing faster than the rest of the nation? The gap in profitability between the legal market in the capital city and other cities seems to be growing wider, as Beijing law firms’ revenues amount to a quarter of all the country’s earnings – more than twice the size of second ranked Shanghai. Beijing is attracting domestic and international firms, thanks to easier access to policymakers, a closer distance to huge SOE clients, and the largest group of legal talent, writes Liu Zhen

olitical capital Beijing and economic centre Shanghai have constantly been the dual core of China’s legal business, as together, they host 16 percent of the country’s 230,000lawyer population. Both cities have seen rapid growth in terms of firm numbers and lawyer headcounts. By the end of 2008, 18,635 lawyers in Beijing worked for 1,121 firms, and in Shanghai, there were 10,071 lawyers and 889 firms. At present, Beijing is home to some 22,000 lawyers in 1,500 firms, while Shanghai has equally impressive numbers with 14,000 lawyers and 1,130 firms. However, when the competition between the two cities is extended to firm revenues, Beijing wins on a much more comfortable scale. As of 2010, the size of its legal market was twice the size of Shanghai, with the yearly revenue being 11.3 billion yuan ($1.79 billion) and 5.8 billion yuan ($0.92 billion) respectively. In comparison, the municipality of Tianjin pulled in only 590 million yuan ($ 93.6 million), according to a Westlaw China report. “Beijing has less than 10 percent of the country’s lawyers, but earns a quarter of all the fees,” says Jiang Qi, the managing partner of Beijing DHH Law Firm. “Beijing firms have an exceptionally advantageous position in China.”

REUTERS/Jason Lee

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Such a prominent position can be partially explained by the incompletion of China’s marketisation, as the government still controls the most significant resources, suggests Zhang Xuebing, the managing partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm and the president of the Beijing Lawyers Association. “There is a saying: ‘a waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight reflection first’,” he says. “It is the advantage of Beijing lawyers.” Beijing’s policymaking departments, from the powerful central planning body known as the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) to the banking, securities and insurance regulatory commissions, are all extremely influential for anyone doing business in this country, not to mention the higher legislative National People’s Congress. “In the past 30 years, as reform deepens, many new laws and regulations are passed each year by central government agencies. As lawyers often need to understand policies or regulations, being in Beijing, we have the advantage of easier access to relevant government agencies for inquiries that we may have,” says Ye Xiaowei, the co-head of Bingham McCutchen’s recently opened Beijing office. Jiang adds that Beijing has other relevant judicial and administrative resources for lawyers’ practices. For example, for an intellectual property practitioner, there is the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the Trade Mark Office (TMO) of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), and the National Copyright Administration (NCA) among others. “A provincial lawyer has little or no access to these highest level resources,” he says. Clients Another prestige owned by Beijing is that most of the central stateowned enterprises (SOEs) are Beijing-headquartered. These giants dominate the most fundamental industries of China. “Naturally, there is a concentration of clients,” says Zhu Xiaohui, the managing partner of Tian Yuan Law Office. “I do feel that being close to the big clients facilitates our business a lot. Those clients prefer face to face communication. Many problems are unable to be solved by just a conference call. If you are in another city, it would be very inconvenient,” he says. In spite of the world economic crisis, the central SOEs seem to be less affected with solid growth figures and repeated big moves of going abroad, which are strongly encouraged by the Chinese government. In 2011, 117 central SOEs overseen by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) together possessed assets worth 28 trillion yuan ($4.4 trillion), and they recorded 20.2 trillion yuan ($3.2 trillion) in revenue along with a net profit of 917.3 billion yuan ($145.6 billion). The names of these cash rich Chinese companies are regular features in significant high-value cross border deals backed by the government. Beijing firms share the benefits of these companies going abroad, says Chen Wen, the managing partner of Zhonglun W&D, whose clients include CNPC, Sinopec, China Life Insurance, China Mobile, and China Development Bank among other central SOEs. “The big corporations reach out very far. They have covered almost everywhere in China, and they are doing businesses everywhere in the world,” he says. A fact to point out is that although these companies are widespread across the world, their headquarters are in Beijing, especially their legal departments, adds Zhu. The managing partner of the Jia Yuan Law Firm, Yan Yu, says: “Our Beijing office has built long-time relationship with the SOE headquarters…and our branches are also looking after their branches and subsidiaries in the provinces.” International firms have their role to play here too. “As Beijing is where many large SOEs are based and where key decisions are made, international firms like us together with local firms find being in Beijing will give us more opportunities to work with these SOEs on international matters,” says Ye.

Beijing report

“Beijing is where many large stateowned enterprises are based, and where key decisions are made.” Ye Xiaowei, Bingham McCutchen

Talent Pool Above the closeness to power and wealth, Zhang insists that Beijing’s most essential advantage lies in the people. As China’s centre of culture and education, some of the country’s best known law schools including those of Peking University, the People’s University, and the China University of Political Science and Law are located in the capital. They are producing a greater number of law graduates than anywhere else. “The largest number of China’s best legal talent lives in Beijing, which is the basic premise. Otherwise, no matter how rich and generous your clients are, it would be wasted if your lawyers are not competent enough,” says Zhang. Being close to these law schools has made firm recruitment easier. Some international and local law firms have annual law student award programmes for students from different law schools. Often, the award recipients will have opportunities to become interns of the law firms which they have received awards from, says Ye. It is not just the young graduates. Seasoned lawyers in Beijing also receive high appraisals for their skills very often. “Only the best talent can systematically develop new products and deliver the best performance,” says Zhu. “The Beijing lawyers are most capable in developing new service products, designing transaction procedures, issuing legal instruments, and so on. They are the group of people who have the highest service standards.” Ye finds that the Beijing-based firms are generally larger in size and richer in international experiences. “Beijing lawyers have relatively more diversified international experiences than those from some provinces, mostly because of their exposure to international matters as part of their daily practice,” she

Beijing report

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

“Some of the Beijing firms have already got over the ring of domestic competition. They are targeting at the international standard, and competing against the international firms.” Zhang Xuebing, Zhong Lun/Beijing Lawyers Association

says. “So much of the best talent is here,” says Zhang. “It is our largest capital, and I am proud of it.” National heights The concentration of clients as well as talent results in a so-called “cluster effect”, Tian Yuan’s Zhu suggests. “We see that many firms originating from other provinces have opened up their Beijing offices.” One such firm, DHH, has a larger goal than simply opening in Beijing in order to take a slice of the capital city pie. Launched in 2010, DHH is the dual brand of Shandong Deheng Law Firm from Shandong Province, aimed at developing from a regional firm to a national brand. “To develop nationwide, we have to start from Beijing,” says its managing partner Jiang Qi. “Beijing is the height of China’s legal service.” Since moving the core operation to Beijing, Jiang says the firm has been elevated considerably to a higher national platform, and this has upgraded its services. “For instance, our practice of dispute resolution in the past could only deal with cases to be processed by the Shandong High Court. Now, we can directly handle a case with the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the CIETAC (China International and Economic Trade Arbitration Commission)…and for the foreign-related businesses, we can approach the Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom),” he says. Also, his team has been strengthened by the great availability of talent in the Beijing market, from graduates to senior partners. “In Shandong, most of our graduate recruits were from Shandong University or Qingdao University. Now, there are Peking University students for us to pick. Plus, the level of the partners we hired has also relatively improved,” says Jiang. “It was impossible to attract such good lawyers in Shandong.” The DHH case is an example of how China’s legal business is concentrating on the “commanding heights” or the apex city in the country. Zhang claims that the big cities have irreplaceable advantages in most countries

all over the world like New York, London, and Tokyo. “Compared to the capitals of many developed countries, Beijing has a relatively lower degree of concentration,” he says. “In Korea, there are 12,000 lawyers and 8,000 of them practice in Seoul.” Meanwhile, the firms in Beijing are also consolidating through merger and expansions. “The number of firms that have headcounts larger than 100 have risen from less than 10 to over 30 in several years… and the largest 50 firms among the 1,500 have over 7,200 lawyers, and earn 70 percent of the entire revenue of the legal industry in Beijing,” says Mei Xiangrong, the managing partner of Yingke Law Firm. “The concentration of the industry is increasing. At the same time, the international firms are gathering here too.” Ye says Bingham is new to China, but with the opening of the Beijing office, it is ready to handle complicated legal matters. Pioneers As the firms based in Beijing represent the highest standards of Chinese legal practices, the competition taking place on its soil involves both Chinese and international firms striving to exploit the opportunities brought in by China’s overseas business. Although more and more provincial SOEs and private companies from different provinces have also become active, the largest cross border deals remain yet to be decided on and approved in the capital. “International firms like us are increasingly focused on outbound investment opportunities representing Chinese companies. Of course, we also continue to represent multinational companies with respect to their inbound work,” says Ye. According to Chen, Chinese law firms, on the other hand, feel the opportunities and responsibilities in this particular time as the Chinese companies go investing abroad. “Chinese firms have to go international just as the Western firms did. It is inevitable and necessary,” he says. Nobody but the top Beijing firms could possibly fulfill these tasks such as opening branches in foreign countries, suggests Zhang. He also says the burden of advisory for Chinese manufacturers and traders that are often being accused of dumping and price subsidies under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, also falls on major Beijing firms. “The legal business is also a part of (the) Chinese national industry. In the market of China’s overseas investment, we are not just competing with Chinese firms,” says Zhang. “How could we make our own international challengers had we not produced the best champions among the Beijing firms? Clearly, this is a responsibility too heavy for provincial lawyers to handle.” Zhang says having the advantage of practising in Beijing means taking up more responsibilities than other colleagues nationwide because of the best opportunities and the best developments so far. “On the other hand, as the largest Beijing firms march forward into the international market, they create spare room and opportunities for domestic firms,” he says. “It is a virtuous circle.”

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地址：北京市朝阳区西坝河南路1号金泰大厦19层邮编： 100028 电话：+86-10-6440 2232 传真：+86-10-6440 2915 电邮： haowei@zlwd.com wujian@zlwd.com 网址 : www.zhonglunwende.com

法

的漏洞和盲点，进行补充和完善。如企业有关劳动人事管理制度，除加强操作性、进行合法性审查外，还要完善程序，防范可能出现的劳

律风险管理作为企业全面风险管理中的重要组成部分，越来

动人事纠纷。

越受到企业经营者的重视。识别企业法律风险，主要应从以

二、在业务人员进行对外活动中，企业针对自身业务特点，编制相关法

下方面入手：

律风险防范手册及操作规程，指引业务人员操作，规范业务人员行为。

一、在企业的生产经营过程中，从采购、生产、营销到投资、劳动人事

三、企业可根据企业特点和岗位特点，结合已经识别的法律风险，有

管理、财务管理、税务管理等方面，每个环节都可能存在法律风险。

针对性的对员工进行培训，提高法律风险意识和法律风险管理技能。

二、针对企业的规章制度和管理流程，管理者会同法律专业人士进行系统梳理，识别在运转过程中容易出现法律风险的环节。

综上，企业应建立现代企业法律治理制度，健全企业法律风险识别和

三、在与利益相关人（包括公司股东、管理人、公司员工、材料供应商、

防范机制，对所有可能面临的法律风险采取统一有序的事前防范、事中

客户、政府等）进行交易或进行管理活动时，从各个环节入手，发现与每

控制、事后补救的措施，使企业在合法经营、良性发展的轨道上运行。

一利益相关人发生的法律风险。

Jingtian & Gongcheng

Jingtian & Gongcheng has been recently involved in two high-profile cross-border acquisitions.

BEIJING A: 34/F, Tower 3, China Central Place, 77 Jianguo Road, Beijing 100025, China T: +86 10 5809 1000 F: +86 10 5809 1100 SHANGHAI A: 3505 K. Wah Centre, 1010 Huai Hai Road (M) Shanghai 200031, China T: +86 21 5404 9930 F: +86 21 5404 9931 SHENZHEN A: Room 2401-2402, New World Center, 6009 Yitian Road, Futian District Shenzhen 518026, China T: +86 755 2398 2200 F: +86 755 2398 2211

ursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement entered into by and amongst Karl-Schlecht-Stiftung, Karl Schlecht Familiestiftung, Prof. h.c. Karl Schlecht, Sany Germany GmbH and CITIC PE Advisors (Hong Kong) Limited on January 20, 2012, Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (“Sany”) would acquire 90% interests in Putzmeister Holding GmbH through Sany Germany GmbH for a cash consideration of €324 million. The transaction was closed in April 2012. Sany is the largest Chinese construction machinery manufacturer and the target company is a leading German concrete pump manufacturer. Led by one of its founding partners, Mr Bai Wei, Jingtian & Gongcheng assisted Sany in information disclosure, governmental approvals and filings required under Chinese laws. Mr Bai has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and banking. Pursuant to a Merger Agreement entered into by and between Wanda Group and AMC, the second largest cinema chain operator in North America, on May 21, 2012, Wanda Group would invest USD 3.1 billion in total,

which includes purchase consideration, re-financing and further capital injection. Wanda Group controls the Wanda Cinema, one of the largest cinema chains in China. Upon closing of the deal, Wanda Group will become the largest cinema chain operator in the world. Led by its partner, Mr Dai Guangchun, Jingtian & Gongcheng advised Wanda Group on Chinese regulatory approvals, financing structures, and participated in the negotiations. Mr. Dai has been working as qualified lawyer in both Chinese and major American law firms with more than 14 years of experience in the areas of corporate finance, merger and acquisition. Being grateful for the trust of Chinese companies in their endeavors of “going abroad”, Jingtian & Gongcheng has gained extensive experiences from such deals as Sany and Wanda. Armed with not only paper knowledge but also these practical experiences, Jingtian & Gongcheng will be privileged to guide more domestic clients to set foot on foreign lands, opening a new era of Chinese economic development.

Employer of choice

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Employer of Choice methodology An online survey that asked 15 questions pertaining to a law firms’ performance as an employer was conducted between Feb. 28, 2012 and Mar. 30, 2012, and was sent out to the leading law firms and lawyers across Asia. Respondents – who ranged from paralegals to managing partners – were asked to anonymously rate their employers and provide feedback on key areas such as work-life balance, remuneration, promotion prospects and IT support, among others. Once the survey closed, the data and responses were collected and analysed by the ALB editorial team. The numbers of respondents from a firm were evaluated in proportion to its size, after which specific responses were graded on a scale of one to three (critical – neutral – positive). The final assessment was based on a total of quantitative and qualitative results. Law firms named “Employers of Choice” performed most strongly in their respective market. Only law firms that were represented in the survey results were considered.

Employers of choice by jurisdiction: China

India

5 R&P China Lawyers

Hong Kong 1 Ropes & Gray 2 Mayer Brown JSM 3 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 4 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom 5 Herbert Smith

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

1 Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Part- ners

1 Atsumi & Sakai

2 Rahmat Lim & Partners

2 Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono

2 Daiichi Law Office 3

1 Deheng Law Firm 2

Zhong Lun Law Firm

3 Han Kun Law Offices 4 Wang Jing & Co

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

1 Trilegal 2

J. Sagar & Associates

3 Lall & Sethi 4

Munkur Law Partners

5 Indus Law

Zul Rafique & Partners Chooi & Company

4 Raja Darryl & Loh

Melli Darsa & Co

5 Azmi & Associates

Philippines

Singapore

South Korea

1 Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De los Angeles

1 Drew & Napier

1 Yulchon

2 Rajah & Tann

Bae Kim & Lee

2 SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

3 Harry Elias Partnership

Kim & Chang

3 Accra Law

4 Allen & Gledhill 5 KhattarWong

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Employer of choice

Employer

of Choice 2012 ALB is proud to present a portion of its annual ‘Employer of Choice’ feature, in which the region’s top law firms are recognised and profiled by Candice Mak for their commitment to providing the best workplace possible for its staff. The full report of the Employer of Choice 2012 survey results will appear in a supplement feature of the ALB June issue. Stay tuned.

here is no market in Asia where competition for talent is not fierce. Particularly in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Singapore, where the pool of leading law firms seems to constantly be expanding and the supply of quality lawyers is not quite so robust. Retention is the core challenge for all law firms, and the various approaches they take range from the expected offering of market-leading remuneration packages and mentorship programmes to the less conventional “open door policy” (see the profile on Vilaf on page 66) and novel educational opportunities where lawyers can learn just about anything, from Spanish to philosophy from a celebrity (see Yulchon’s profile on page 62). The firms that have best responded to the recruitment and retention challenge are highlighted in the following

Taiwan 1 Eiger Law 2

Tsar & Tsai Law Firm

3 Lee & Li Attorneys-at-Law

Vietnam 1 Vilaf 2 LCT Lawyers 3

YKVN Lawyers

pages, as voted by their very own employees. Over half of the survey respondents were associates and nearly a quarter were partners. Hundreds of lawyers from across the region were keen to anonymously share candid feedback about their employers. There was a healthy dose of pride, criticism, humour and sincerity in the comments. Similar to last year, the most polarised responses came in the work-life balance category. A fair percentage were adequately happy (30 percent), but a sizable portion rated their experience as “Very Poor” with comments such as “the Blackberry is my leash” and “I never go home” and “Anything less than 14 hours is considered slacking off”. Most survey respondents were kind to their employers, safely rating them within the “Excellent” to “Good” ranges. On the salary front, 43 percent gave their law firms a “Good” standing. However, 20 percent felt their compensation was anywhere from “Average” to “Very Poor”. Quite a few lawyers gave the feedback that they were not satisfied with bonuses or the transparency of how bonuses are decided. “It is a mystery, and we never know what our bonus is until we receive them,” says one. A whopping majority (82 percent) of respondents from South Korea gave their law firms a thumbs up on the remuneration question. Many commented that their salaries were above market rate, which aligns with the profiles of the respondents’ employers - all from the top echelons of the Korean market. The supportiveness of management was given top marks, with 86 percent rating their superiors in the “Excellent” or “Good” category. However, team collaboration achieved even more impressive numbers with 92 percent respondents expressing their happiness regarding the cooperation and teamwork they experience at their firms. The IT and Knowledge Management categories received the most amount of constructive feedback. “IT has an army, but they never take any of our calls or respond to queries,” complains one survey participant. Another paints a picture of “dinosaur laptops” still being used. “I am afraid we have a very slow internet connection, and we are using ancient Office applications. It is embarrassing and frustrating when we are unable to open counterparty files,” says a respondent. However, based on feedback, it was the knowledge management departments that were most in need of improvement on the whole in this category. For a full report on the results of the Employer of Choice survey, along with a more thorough look into specific feedback and comments from respondents, please stay tuned for the ALB July issue’s supplement feature.

Employer of choice

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

And the winners are…. China

Deheng Law Firm Zooming up four places from last year, Shandong-based Deheng Law Firm lands in the top spot with a tremendous positive response rate from its lawyers. With over 300 legal professionals on its roster, it is quite a challenge for the management to keep its staff focused, content and developing. However, these are tasks that the firm’s executive director, Hu Ming, says Deheng is well equipped to address. She acknowledges there are three things every lawyer needs when she says: “First the payment, which is essential for living; second is the opportunity to move up; and third is the environment of the organisation.” Deheng guarantees a certain amount of basic payment through a corporate system, not by case commission. “We guarantee a standard life for them and a predictable pay rise every year,” says Hu. The firm also provides a well-designed development plan for its lawyers which offers quite a bit of flexibility: “We have designed a career path for them, while also respecting their own intentions. There is no ceiling. Geographically, our nationwide expansion provides them with more choices, so they can choose to be based in Jinan or Beijing if they like. Professionally, there are no extreme hurdles to join the partnership,” she says. Deheng claims a “strong firm culture” that encourages a sense of belonging. “Our organisation has a humanitarian attractiveness. We organise many activities of social responsibilities, of arts and sports. We want to create a group cohesiveness because we want our firm to be a close team,”Hu says.

Younger and mid-level lawyers are offered many opportunities to receive training, and rise up in the ranks if they want. “We have the development path to partnership for everyone who wants it,” says Hu. “I do hope more people can join.” She notes Deheng is different from many other domestic firms that set a high bar to make the partnership. “We have a mobilisation event every year to encourage people to work harder to be promoted and we discover, nurture, and escort all potential candidates.” Younger lawyers are assigned a mentor within their department, and these senior lawyers encourage feedback from their charges. “We care a lot about our employees’ needs, so we employ bridging mechanisms to exchange opinions,” says Hu. “We listen to our employees.” Apart from external trainings offered by the Bar Association, lawyers can attend internal educational lectures by partners numerous times a year. Hu also describes a “Youth Development Scheme” that supports a few of its younger lawyers every year to go and study abroad. The firm’s remuneration system is different from its peers as well, according to Hu. Deheng has adopted the corporate system that international firms use, where lawyers receive base pay plus bonus. In sharp contrast is the fact that other Chinese firms pay by commission. “This enables a young lawyer to concentrate on improving his or her practice skills in the early years,” says Hu. “They do not need to worry about where to get cases. As long as they complete the assigned work well, they can feel stable that their payments and bonuses are guaranteed.” This is something one respondent agrees with: “There is

a good balance between organisational systems, and freedom is allowed for individuals to achieve their highest potential.” After disappearing behind a roster of the country’s premier law firms last year, Zhong Lun Law Firm rises above them this year to land in second place. One enthusiastic respondent comments: “I really love this place. Zhong Lun is always getting better and greater as an employer.” Earning top marks for being a “strong training ground” for younger lawyers, other respondents praised the firm’s strong work portfolio and inspiring leadership. Han Kun Law Offices, meanwhile, makes it to the Employer of Choice list for the first time and debuts up high on the third position. “I like the complete training system, excellent team leader, reasonable compensation and comfortable working environment,” says a respondent from Han Kun. Its partners are “young and international”, and work closely with their teams. The firm is credited with a resourceful IT and knowledge management team.

Hong Kong

Ropes & Gray The overwhelmingly positive comments received from associates employed by Ropes & Gray in Hong Kong catapulted this relatively young firm to first place. “I believe Ropes & Gray to be the best law firm to work for in Hong Kong,” attests one respondent. “The work is interesting. The culture is great. The office has a very collegial and collaborative spirit, and the partners are good mentors.” Staffed with about 18 fee-earners, the mid-

Deheng Law Firm

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Sponsored Profile

Zhong Lun Law Firm

Committed to your success

张学兵, 中伦律师事务所管委会主任

stablished in 1993, Zhong Lun Law Firm found its beginnings in Beijing and has now grown into a fully-fledged, international legal practice offering a wide variety of services for its clientele. With locations across China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London, Zhong Lun is at the forefront of Chinese law. The firm prides itself on training young professionals and grooming them into some of China’s most promising lawyers, says Zhang Xuebing, the founding and managing partner of Zhong Lun. Employer philosophy Zhang believes that the core philosophy of the firm– “Committed to your success” – makes it a conducive place to work and learn. “It is what we commit to our clients, and it is also what we commit to our young people. By success, we mean not only the client’s business success, but also each and every lawyer’s personal development and career success,” says Zhang. This strong emphasis on the training of young employees is one aspect of Zhong Lun that sets it apart from others in the industry. Newer employees can also expect to be paid some of the most competitive starting salaries in the country, garnering more perks the longer they stay onboard. “As Zhong Lun strides towards becoming an international firm, we plan for a clear and predictable future for our young people. What distinguishes us from many other firms is that we are generous and willing to invest in our young lawyers. We offer one of the highest salaries among Chinese firms,” states Zhang. He goes on, claiming that, “a young Zhong Lun lawyer could probably afford the down payment of a flat in Beijing after three or four years”. The firm also financially supports employees who wish to own property or pursue further education; lawyers who have worked for five or more years are eligible to receive interest-free loans for home purchases or studying abroad.

地址：北京市建国门外大街甲 6号SK大厦36-37层邮编： 100022 电话：86-010-59572288 传真：86-010-6568-1022/1838 网址 : www.zhonglun.com A: 36-37/F, SK Tower, 6A Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing 100022, P.R. China T: 86-010-59572288 F: 86-010-6568-1022/1838 W: www.zhonglun.com

Recruitment and retention An ongoing challenge faced by firms is how to win over talent from other professions and industries. In China, many university students yearn for predictability and job security, leading many to opt for jobs at state-owned enterprises. “At our campus recruitment campaigns, we try convincing the law school students to be lawyers, that it’s a promising and rewarding career. Joining a firm like Zhong Lun, you will have just as many opportunities as you would at the state-owned enterprises” promises Zhang. “Being a lawyer is hard, but being a lawyer at Zhong Lun is less stressful and provides more opportunity to succeed. This is because we provide the best salaries, best training, and best opportunities.” Indeed, Zhong Lun is developing new and innovative ways to attract the cream of the crop from the newest graduating classes. The company has created scholarships from alumni donations, student subsidies,

and sponsors campus events as well as academic forums at almost a dozen of China’s top law schools. Those who are lucky enough to work for Zhong Lun end up staying for the long haul, learning from some of China’s best and obtaining benefits and perks along the way. Averting attrition Despite this, it is a difficult task to prevent attrition in any industry. The legal sphere is no different. However, Zhang states that the lawyers who leave Zhong Lun most often switch industry sectors entirely. “Very few of them join our direct competitors, which reflects that we are more attractive in comparison to our peers,” he adds. “Generally speaking, our personnel strategy has been successful. We’ve kept those we should keep from being seduced by competitors. However, as a major firm we must have a big heart and open mind. You can’t keep everyone. Those who left received excellent training from us, and they still care about Zhong Lun and are happy with our growth.” Zhang also told ALB that 2013 marks Zhong Lun’s 20th anniversary, and the firm plans to invite all its alumni to join the celebration. Deep-rooted culture At Zhong Lun, corporate responsibility is one of the cornerstones of their firm. The name, ‘Zhong Lun’ translates to “ethical, or to abide by moral rules.” The firm sponsors many corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, such as the Zhong Lun charity fund. “We want our young people to not just care about their own development, but also about the good of society, the disadvantage of certain groups, and the nation,” says Zhang. In addition to being a responsible corporation, Zhong Lun encourages a healthy work-life balance for employees, providing venues such as work out clubs and reading salons, and activities like sports recreation, cultural lectures and even professional training. As Zhong Lun cares about their employees and the greater good, Zhang says that they have a responsibility to “follow the rules, to speak carefully, and act thoughtfully”.

Employer of choice

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Ropes & Gray, Hong Kong

sized office prides itself in having a platform that offers its lawyers exposure to a variety of work, rather than keeping associates locked down in one practice area. “Associates are encouraged to be members of more than one practice group, and to get involved in different types of transactions,” says Paul Boltz, a partner at the Hong Kong office. Another key difference resounding from the survey was how active the partners were in working with, and developing younger lawyers. Boltz says: “Our firm has a lower ratio of partners to associates, and we are a group of young, active, hands-on partners who get involved in our deals and with the associates together. There is a real commitment to on-the-job training and hands-on approach to handling things.” A market survey found that in a highly competitive legal space like Hong Kong, Ropes & Gray is placed at the high end of the market with its compensation package. “We do want the best people,” says Hong Kong-based partner Brian Schwarzwalder. “It is our stated goal to be competitive so we can attract and retain top talent. It so easy to find bodies, but to find really good, switched-on people who are multicultural and multilingual – that is a narrow group and really competitive.” Mayer Brown JSM, meanwhile, lands comfortably into second place, moving up two spots from last year. Its collegial work environment and training initiatives have been lauded by respondents. “My colleagues are friendly and professional, and we have

many resources available to us,” says one. Finally, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton cracks into the top three with favourable comments about easy-to-work-with partners and the “respect the firm shows us”, says one respondent.

India

Trilegal “Trust is the key value that Trilegal upholds and that comes through in the employer-employee relationship. It is a very good employer,” says a survey respondent about first place India winner, Trilegal, which climbed up four spots to dethrone Amarchand & Mangaldas from its two-year long perch at the top. The 12-year old firm has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, and it values its staff highly. Sridhar Gorthi, Trilegal’s managing partner, tells ALB how the firm focuses on growing talent internally, and that it works hard on retaining its talent through in-house training and grooming. “We have a different structure and approach,” he says, about the firm’s vision. “We are a complete meritocracy, and the transparency and flat meritocracy permeates through the firm and is visible to every lawyer. There is a very clear path to increasing the ownership stake in the firm.” The reputation of the firm is very clear for new recruits fresh from law school: It is a “cool” place to work with high-quality work, rigorous and varied training, a collegial envi-

ronment and “approachable partners”. “I do like working at Trilegal,” says one commenter on the survey. “Being a corporate law firm, it is really hard to please people working for you. But I would say that my firm is doing a pretty decent job. I have knowledge of other law firms in India, and I would really prefer to be at Trilegal over any of those.” Gorthi is refreshingly forthcoming about challenges in attrition the firm experiences from time to time. But he highlights how seriously firm management considers the issue. “We are doing a lot of things to address this, like stepping up recruitment, monitoring time, monitoring weekends to make sure people are getting proper balance. It is an ongoing process. I w ill not say we have cracked it, but we are very aware of it and determined to do something about it.” One of the solutions is the installation of a workload tracker and in one office, a concierge service has been im-

“Trust is the key value that Trilegal upholds and that comes through in the employer-employee relationship. It is a very good employer.” - survey respondent on trilegal

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Employer of choice

second place this year, scoring highly for quality of work and work-life balance. Lall & Sethi makes its first ever appearance on our list and claims third place, with strong comments from participants about feeling valued and supported by management. One respondent has very kind words for the firm’s founder: “As an employee, I like the environment of my firm and the kind of relationships that employees have with each other. The absolute best thing about the company is Mr. Lall, who is a very nice human being and very caring of his employees.” plemented. Rubeena Mander, the firm’s senior HR manager explains: “If associates need to make personal travel bookings or pay utilities bills among other things, they can have it done through the concierge. We are trying to help the lawyers achieve a balance.” Another bonus is that the firm’s evaluation processes are more robust, with more structured and detailed feedback offered to associates to gauge their development and work. Human resources is also more involved than at some other Indian firms. There is

extensive training offered to staff, and lawyers have access to Allen & Overy’s training and secondment programmes (thanks to Trilegal’s affiliation with the Magic Circle firm). “We are constantly finding new ways of improving programmes, and making them more fruitful for people,” says Mander. To sum up why Trilegal is ALB’s winning Employer of Choice for 2012, Gorthi remarks: “We work hard, party hard, and pay well.” Meanwhile, jumping up one spot from last year, J. Sagar & Associates lands in

Indonesia

Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners “At the end of the day, the assets we have are the lawyers we have,” says Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners’ (HHP) recruitment partner, Nadia Nasoetion. This year, the Indonesia firm unseats Melli Darsa & Co as the country’s top Employer of Choice in our survey. Competition is quite fierce for talent in Indonesia, particularly for quality associates at the mid-level rank. This has helped

Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners

Employer of choice

forge HHP’s approach of focusing heavily on developing associates as professionals and as individuals. “Lawyers can see the benefits of joining us because they can develop skills and develop themselves,” says Nasoetion. There are practice-specific and soft skills trainings, along with yoga classes, sports activities and social events. There is also a mentor-mentee programme in place, which includes feedback sessions conducted by human resources in-house and externally (by Baker & McKenzie, an affiliated partner of HHP). Management, according to Nasoetion, is very responsive to concerns about work-life balance. “We do not want to wait until our associates are burned out, so we are proactive about creating a balance.” She says every Monday morning, the partners have a meeting and they discuss the issues associates have. “Being an employer of choice means the management must have a willingness to create a good working environment and system,” says Nasoetion. Some forwardthinking approaches HHP has adopted in the past two years are flexible working hours or a work-from-home set up, especially for working mothers. “The founders of HHP are female, so they understand the challenges working mothers encounter,” says Nasoetion. Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono inches into the second spot on our employer of choice rankings, moving up one place from last year. It has received positive comments from respondents for its management’s commitment to preserving a decent work-life balance for its lawyers. “I am very grateful that my employer helps take care of us all. I feel valued,” says one. Melli Darsa & Co, meanwhile, comes in third. Although a drop from its first place tiering last year, the feedback this year has been very strong. “The firm does provide good training for lawyers,” says one respondent. Another credits the firm with having “a good culture and environment.”

Japan

Atsumi & Sakai Japan winner Atsumi & Sakai is “a very different place to work at” - and that is a good thing. Ascending four spots to reach the top, the law firm has a nimble size of about 100 staff. It offers employees an open and unique workplace that differs from more traditional and conservative domestic firms. A sign of the firm’s success is reflected in its rapid expansion and recruitment of partner-level

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Atsumi & Sakai

lawyers from other Japan-based firms. “People are coming to us,” says senior partner Hiroo Atsumi, who surmises that even though remuneration may not be the big draw, its transparent and easy-to-understand bonus structure is attractive for associates. Partner Bonnie Dixon says other benefits the firm offers include LLM studies overseas, and training opportunities offshore. “These are huge attractions for lawyers,” she says. “Because we have foreign partner firms, we have had a 100 percent success rate for placements. So it is a definite work qualitycareer benefit.” Atsumi & Sakai has a unique organisational structure where lawyers are not segregated by shimas or islands; a system that isolates associates to one particular

are very women friendly, we make accommodations for them by having very flexible employment arrangements. For skilled and intelligent women, Atsumi & Sakai is one of the better places to work.” Mentorship programmes are not formally implemented, but they do not need to be that way because very often, senior lawyers are working directly with junior associates on all matters. “I see people getting mentored by senior partners all the time. Part of it is maybe we do not have enough people, so I work directly with associates and I cannot afford to have a really layered team,” says Dixon. The firm has increased its headcount in the past year through a number of lateral

“We try to allow the lawyers as much freedom as possible. We don’t bother them about practice groups, how they dress. we encourage associates to market, and we allow people to raise ideas in meetings.” bonnie dixon, Atsumi & Sakai practice area. “We are very frank and open, we do not have factions in our firm,” says Atsumi. “Everyone belongs to two practice groups and we encourage them to join more if they wish. That is our basic policy.” This provides associates with a broader exposure to different types of work. Dixon also points out the firm’s strength in diversity - that 40 percent are women - the statistic found at every level of seniority. “We have a lot more diversity than other firms,” she says. “We

hires. This lends to the firm’s ”open” environment because “they do not come here with loyalties internally, so they cannot build a kingdom here,” says Atsumi. “My personal feeling is we have a really different structure, we are not rigid about who is here as a senior person because we have new people joining the firm all the time.” Atsumi describes the freedom the firm offers as a rarity among conservative Japanese firms. “You can choose whatever practice area you want

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to join, you are quite free to cut down on fees or offer discounts to clients once you attain the approval of management,” he says. Dixon concurs: “We try to allow the lawyers as much freedom as possible. We do not bother them about practice groups, how they dress. We encourage associates to market, and we allow people to raise ideas in meetings.” This liberal ethos is derived from the lawyers themselves. Whereas other firms may attract a type of lawyer or personality that would fit into a more uniform culture, at Atsumi & Sakai “our people here have done weird stuff, lived in weird countries, and they bring a lot of different ways of thinking. It just flows from having the individuals here,” says Dixon. The firm has five foreign partners and their valued involvement at the senior management level means that “we are able to freely throw our ideas into a discussion, which results in a firm with a lot of hybrid approaches. The firm treats foreign partners as part of the thinking process, and this has had a powerful impact on being ‘out-of-thebox’”. Making its first ever appearance on our Employer of Choice list, Daiichi Law Firm climbs ahead of the “Big Four” law firms. The mid-sized firm scored well for its collaborative and stable environment. Partners are commended for being respectable and hands-on. Next up is Mori Hamada & Matsumoto. The venerable firm remains buoyed in third place, the same as last year. Its development and training programmes were highly rated by respondents. One such respondent says: “I have the opportunity to do interesting work with other excellent lawyers.”

Employer of choice

Peters-Goh says, is “trying to create an environment for the staff that provides them with the sense of having a life even while at the firm”. The implementation of non-legal activities that enrich lawyers’ lives has been very successful, with many of them being well-attended. On the remuneration front, Zul Rafique continues to pay above the average in the market, which its lawyers appreciate. “I feel secure because my salary is better than my peers at other firms,” notes one survey respondent. Interaction between senior partners and junior lawyers is encouraged through the firm’s in-house training programme, where seniors gives talks on their practice areas, updates and share experiences. Women feel very comfortable working at Zul Rafique with the management offering several options for working mothers, or those who are pregnant. Though these cases are evaluated on an individual basis, Peters-Goh is championing new approaches to retain its talented female associates. “I am personally looking at recommending a workfrom-home policy, or some flexible working hours at least for women here, because some issues cannot be avoided due to children and family,” says Peters-Goh. “Rather than losing them, many of whom are very talented, why not just keep them on whatever terms?” Though nothing formal has been presented to the partnership for approval yet, PetersGoh is confident that in time, her ideas will come to fruition. “It can be done; I have seen it done at international firms, so it is just a matter of where there is a will, there is a

way,” she says. The competition for talent in the market is very stiff, which the management at Zul Rafique is very aware of. “So this makes them very open to ideas,” says PetersGoh. Rahmat Lim & Partners debuts in the second place this year, riding a wave of positive feedback on an equal opportunities environment and comments emphasising the helpful and supportive demeanor of senior lawyers and the management. Chooi & Company, our third place finisher, is similarly appreciated by respondents for its “understanding and sympathetic partners”. The firm scored highly with young lawyers who appreciate the dedication the firm has in training and developing them.

Philippines

Romulo Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De los Angeles (Romulo) boasts a statistic that is extremely rare for any law firm in Asia: In the last decade, it has not lost a single associate to another firm. “To me, that is an important indication of how the firm is as an employer,” says managing partner Perry Pe. Associates have left, he notes, but to inhouse roles with clients rather than for a rival firm. It is not just Pe who is proud of this fact. In this context, one respondent writes: “We have the lowest attrition rate in the Philippines. We are happy associates, and it feels like a family.” Romulo bumps last year’s winner, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan from its perch to win the title of Employer of

Malaysia

Zul Rafique & partners When Zul Rafique moved to a new building two years ago, it installed a fully-equipped gym and multipurpose space that is used as a cafeteria and classroom. These new facilities play an integral role in enhancing lawyers’ lives, and help the Malaysian firm secure its top ranking position once again as the employer of choice in its jurisdiction. In fact, its office space and the activities organised – such as yoga classes, motivational coaching and even blood drives to give back to the community – are such a success that recruitment partner Mariette Peters-Goh has considered inviting other law firms in the vicinity to participate. What is key to the firm’s approach in being a quality employer,

Zul Rafique

Employer of choice

Choice 2012 for the Philippines. What is the secret to its success? For starters, the firm is extremely choosy in hiring new associates, and will bring on no more than five each year. The low number is due to the lack of turnover. According to Pe, the management has an attitude of respect towards all its staff. “We do not treat them as employees; we treat them as professionals and lawyers from day one,” he says.”I will tell my lawyers - my only advantage is my experience, but in terms of the law, you are probably smarter than I am.” Associates can expect senior partners as mentors and the consistent flow of quality work. “I will bring my lawyers together with a client face to face, even if it is their first deal or case,” says Pe. “Our lawyers are not just figureheads or flower arrangements; they are important to us, and they know that.” One survey respondent writes: “The great working atmosphere at Romulo removes most of the stress of being a lawyer.” The firm’s reputation for specialised corporate work and incentive-based salary structure makes it an attractive place of employment. “You are not tied to one paycheck per month. The harder you work and the more you participate, the more bonus you will receive,” says Pe. The managing partner is candid that Romulo rarely hires laterals because “it will break up our system. We are all so close, like a family”. The firm organically grooms and grows its talent from the early stages when they are hired as junior associates. Romulo boasts of a strong secondment and exchange programme with

many top tier firms in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Revered Wall Street names like Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Sullivan & Cromwell and Cravath Swaine & Moore roll off Pe’s tongue as he describes where some past Romulo associates have been placed. “The firm has a very good vibe; there is no fear factor which is common with many law firms,” says one respondent for Romulo. “Management is supportive and easy to work with.” Taking a back seat to Romulo this year is SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, which remains in an enviable second place. A common theme running through feedback from respondents about SyCip is the firm’s strong culture of teamwork and work environment, where associates feel like they are learning from “talented seniors”. “I am very happy being here with interesting work and colleagues as friends,” says one. Accra Law, meanwhile, smoothly transitions to third place again this year. Comments and ratings indicated the firm has an excellent IT infrastructure, and that there is a fair distribution of workload by highly-involved partners.

Singapore

Drew & Napier First place winner Drew & Napier moves up a notch from its second place standing last year with significant participation and strong, positive feedback from its staff. It is no secret that Singapore is a highly competitive market for talent, and so it is no mean

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

feat that Drew & Napier beat out notable peers. “Drew & Napier clearly values its staff and lawyers, and the directors go out of their way to demonstrate their appreciation for the staff and lawyers here. I am delighted to be here,” comments one respondent in the survey. According to director Blossom Hing, the firm is “very focused on people”. While speaking to ALB, Hing and hiring director Kelvin Tan emphasised the management’s goal of providing ample training to develop its staff as both lawyers and individuals. “We work as a team and when you join us, you are joining a family,” says Tan. A popular initiative is the firm’s work-at-home programme, where lawyers can work from home once every two weeks. “We trust our lawyers can work from home and deliver the quality work product,” says Hing. The firm offers a cool, comfortable lounge, regular sporting and social activities, firm trips and frequent training and education opportunities. However, beyond these perks, the partners explain what drives the firm forward and permeates through its culture is the collegiality, cooperation and cohesiveness of its employees. “People on your team are like friends and family, so this makes it easy to come to work every day. You do not ‘just view them as colleagues’,” says Tan, who credits the management’s conscious efforts to replicate the small team, family-like feel the firm had in its early years when it was much smaller. Another plus point for younger lawyers is that the track for promotion is very clear and that senior lawyers focus heavily on grooming the next generation. “We are very picky

Drew & Napier

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when we choose people at the outset,” says Tan. “Our duty to(wards) them is to invest efforts to ensure they are going to succeed here and have a long career here.” With the pro bono interests of associates rising in past years, the firm has recently instituted a policy that encourages its lawyers to do at least 25 hours a year. For special employee cases – such as female staff requiring longer maternity leave or a need to work remotely for an extended period of time – the management is very receptive to working out flexible arrangements that enable a lawyer to remain in the firm’s fold. “We have been quite good about flexible arrangements because different people come with different wants,” says Tan. In summary, Hing enthusiastically remarks: “At the end of the day, we really love our firm.” In second place is Rajah & Tann, which moves up two spots from last year. Feedback from survey respondents repeated a similar message: the firm cares about its employees. “Rajah & Tann tries very hard to be an understanding employer and at the same time, maintain the quality of work expected of a leading law firm. The culture and philosophy of (the) management reflects very much what it promises,” says one. Another says they feel like “everyone is treated as part of this big family”. Many also had favourable comments about the incentives and development programmes the firm offers. “I feel that my employer, Rajah & Tann, is a place where I can have security and am able to grow to my best potential. This firm is a well-rounded employer that really takes care of its employees,” says a content respondent. The Harry Elias Partnership, meanwhile, appears in third place after being notably absent from last year’s ranking. The firm is praised by a respondent for offering “great practical experience” and having directors who are approachable and “willing to do the work with us (associates)”.

South Korea

Yulchon “Yulchon is the most appropriate firm for me among the South Korean law firms,” writes a respondent; a sentiment that is replicated by many of the firm’s lawyers who participated in our survey. Yulchon moves up two places to dethrone Kim & Chang as ALB’s Employer of Choice for South Korea this year. According to managing partner Sai Ree Yun, there are several elements of the firm’s philosophy that lend to its success as a younger, cuttingedge employer among the top domestic

Employer of choice

players. First, the management is dedicated to retaining talent by rewarding them financially, as well as providing them with a sense of belonging and satisfaction. “We try to have a very congenial and comfortable work environment - not just in a physical sense, but also in a psychological sense,” says Yun. Second, Yulchon’s organisational approach is to cultivate a small group environment within the larger firm. “Each practice group and team is subdivided into smaller groups where each individual can feel a sense of belonging and care,” says Yun. Third, education and training is an invaluable resource for lawyers and the firm has catered to this demand with its famous Yulchon Academy, where associates can learn almost anything from a bevy

spect the senior lawyers in Yulchon.” In the past 12 months, the firm has been expanding – it hired 50 new lawyers, 20 of them whom were lateral hires. “We had quite a significant contingent of new lawyers joining us from other law firms in Korea, both at the partner and associate level. I believe this speaks for our reputation in terms of working environment,” says Yun. Compensation and promotion are almost exclusively based on merit, which makes the partnership track for younger lawyers very clear. Another bonus for associates are its secondment programmes. After a lawyer completes his or her LLM abroad (fully funded by the firm - a market standard for Korean law firms), they can be dispatched to international firms overseas for a year or two.

“The best way to make our professional services more productive is to share knowledge and encourage our professionals to be motivated to continue studying and developing their skills sets, knowledge and experience.” sai ree yun, Yulchon

of foreign languages to lectures on history, philosophy or business. The firm invites celebrities, academics, renowned businessmen and other knowledgeable personalities to share their insights. Recently, even the firm’s clients have participated in teaching at the Yulchon Academy. “The legal profession is really one of information and knowledge. It does not cost much to share knowledge, but the productivity is very significant,” says Yun. “The best way to make our professional services more productive is to share knowledge, and encourage our professionals to be motivated to continue studying and developing their skills sets, knowledge and experience.” Fourth, and what Yun says may be its greatest strength, is that its founding partners are still very active in practice, and that they provide very strong and clear leadership. “One of the reasons I have heard from lawyers who join us from other firms is that they did not see any vision for future growth or strategy at their former employer, whereas we provide them with a clearer vision and strategy,” says Yun. One comment from a respondent confirms this: “Yulchon is very open to newcomers from other law firms, unlike other firms. The senior lawyers are strong role models.” Another respondent in the survey says: “I re-

“We place a high priority on team spirit and working as a team,” says Yun. “We try to make the environment and working relationships less competitive.” A survey respondent concurs with the firm’s efforts to encourage cohesion and balance when he says: “Yulchon tries to distribute the workload in a more balanced way by the help of a computerised time checking system and constant recruitment.” Senior management at the firm is very focused on the challenge of trying to help balance work and life for its lawyers. “Yulchon is not perfect for now,” says one survey respondent. “But it is always trying to improve, which I like.” Another one says: “While it is not a number one firm yet in Korea, Yulchon is still growing fast and I am confident that this firm is going towards the right direction.” Meanwhile, landing in a very respectable second place once again, Bae Kim & Lee gave Yulchon a good run for the title of Employer of Choice in South Korea. With an impressive amount of responses from the staff, the firm boasts of a bevy of varied development and training programmes for its lawyers, quality work, management that encourages cooperation among teams, and a favourable remuneration package. “As an

Employer of choice

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Yulchon

employer, my firm has always been fair,” says one respondent. “They reward merit and appreciate the challenges of practice.” Another offers his take by saying: “Compared to other firms, the firm is not a bad place even though it can be hierarchical. Things work and move here, and the partners are smart, attracting top quality work.” Finally, Kim & Chang drops down two places to third this year. But the regional powerhouse continues to win accolades from respondents for the quality of work, cream of the crop leadership, and generous (by market standards) compensation. “I cannot say I am unhappy with the pay because we are among the top paid lawyers in the country,” says one respondent. Another says: “This is a firm I will be happy to stay at for at least another 20 years. The training is excellent, the client base superb, and the work selection is incomparable.”

Taiwan

Eiger Law When you visit the online website of this year’s Taiwan winner, which is Eiger Law Firm, one of the first things you will notice is the firm’s diversity. One of the key draws to the mid-sized offering, as partner John Eastwood says, is that the partnership path is transparent, attainable and “we do not play games”. One of the major challenges in the Taiwanese legal market is senior associates lacking a clear way to enter the partnership ranks at the larger, domestic firms. “We want to be a very equal opportunity employer; there are no lines between locals and foreigners. We look at the attorney’s work, their acquisition; are they working hard? Are they a good leader?” asks Eastwood. “We want to be extremely straight with everyone about numbers, (and) how we count them up. The

essential ingredient to the firm’s success as an employer can be summed up in one word: respect. We have an environment where we behave respectfully toward employees. We treat people respectfully, and have an open door attitude to questions and problems,” he says. There is a very upbeat, family-oriented vibe running throughout the firm. “We are not a law factory. We have a lot of people who have families, which makes us more efficient,” says Eastwood. “People should work hard, then go out and go live a life. The workfun balance here is pretty good; we do not want our attorneys having the typical prob-

“We don’t hide away our associates, we’re very proud of them. Our management style is we try to help people be successful.” john eastwood, Eiger Law lems of high stress professions.” The firm takes an unusual stance on the “firm trip” event that most other law firms hold. Instead of making a firm trip mandatory, no matter how exotic the locale, the partners decided instead to put the spend back into its staff’s pockets through their salary and “let them choose where they want to go on vacation”, says Eastwood. Partners at the firm work with the younger lawyers, and are happy to mentor and develop their skills. Eastwood gives an example of how he helps associates on internationalising their tone and manner of reporting to

clients. “We do not hide away our associates, we are very proud of them,” he says. “Our management style is we try to help people be successful.” A strong element of their management approach is trust. “We trust our associates and have a good attitude that says people can do anything they can show they are ready to do. We will let them do it,” says Eastwood. Following on Eiger’s heels is Tsar & Tsai, which received high marks from respondents for its work diversity and stable environment, where lawyers are encouraged to partake in development trainings and studies abroad. Domestic powerhouse Lee & Li, meanwhile, lands in third place, with one of our survey respondents saying: “I am pleased to work at this firm. It is the best in the country with the top lawyers.” The firm’s brand comes across strongly in feedback, and it was well regarded for its internal small group collegiality and work quality.

Thailand

This year, ALB made the editorial decision not to rank Thai firms as there was not a strong enough participation rate from the market. A minimum of five firms with at least 10 votes each were required for us to consider a table, but unfortunately, this strict threshold was not met. However, we did want to highlight that one firm in particular stood out with a number of positive comments from its participants: LS Horizon. The firm was praised for its “understanding management”, work quality and being, as one respondent said: “a law firm that takes care of its employees”.

Vietnam

Vilaf What stands out at Vilaf is the firm’s “open

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door policy” and its management’s efforts to accommodate its lawyers’ lifestyles. The Vietnamese firm climbs to first place to overtake last year’s winner, YKVN Lawyers. Vo Ha Duyen, Vilaf’s managing partner, stresses that her firm places significant emphasis on retaining the “good lawyers” at the firm. “We try to create an environment that is nurturing and accommodating, and we provide the necessary training for their practices and to keep them with us,” she says. “We want to create an environment that is flexible, friendly, and sufficient for the lawyers and staff. We want to make it feel like a family.” Duyen explains that her management team is acutely aware as to the stresses in a lawyer’s life, and from this has stemmed the firm’s “open door policy” – where lawyers who have been with the firm for three years can take a leave of absence from six months up to two years, and then return to the position they once held if they need to take a break. “This effort is provided to offer lawyers a feeling of stability because we understand life is difficult,” says Duyen. The firm also allows flexible time schedules. As Vilaf is one of the country’s largest corporate and commercial law firms, it has an advantage in terms of headcount. “One advantage for us is our size. We have large teams, and so each can take alternate positions and have alternate people participate in one project and provide favourable support,” says Duyen. Another strength is that senior associates have an equal opportunity to be made partner, which is evident in the firm’s expansion and growing partnership. “They see they can make it to partnership,” says Duyen. “We spend a lot of time growing people to make them promotable.” The flexible, accommodating and stable environment keeps its lawyers happy, even if salaries are not the highest in the market. “For those who need it, we arrange a system for them to stay at home to work, or work from remote access until they have recovered and can come back,” says Duyen of associates or staff who may need some time off due to illness or family issues. “We want to keep our people with us, and this provides them with some security.” Partners are encouraged to spend time with associates, and many

Employer of choice

in the junior ranks find themselves being mentored and guided informally by senior lawyers. Internal training is routinely organised, and there are social and sports events members can attend. Meanwhile, a new entrant from last year, LCT Lawyers, claims second place. Scoring points from respondents for its “open workplace”, the firm provides interesting work to its staff and management is rated highly.

“My partner treats me with respect and I see this continued within the firm among other colleagues,” says one survey participant. Finally, YKVN Lawyers slips two spots to land in third place. “They do not work lawyers around the clock, and the hours are not as bad as in other firms here. Staff is valued and management treats us with respect,” says one respondent of the congenial and balanced work culture at YKVN.

“We want to create an environment that is flexible, friendly, and sufficient for the lawyers and staff. We want to make it feel like a family.” vo ha duyen, Vilaf

Fast 10

CHINA’S

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

FAST 10

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Fast 10

REUTERS/Toby Melville

Fast 10

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Methodology

CHINA’S

FAST 10

he 2012 China Fast 10 recognises the law firms that showed the strongest performances in this rapidly growing market with regards to physical expansion and revenue growth. Divided by the expansion approaches of volume or specialisation, or a combination of both, the fast 10 firms are strategically preparing themselves to take further advantage of China’s industrial upgrading and overseas investments. In particular, they are focusing on increasing network coverage, expanding practice areas and improving professional proficiency. In this age of intensified competition within the legal industry, those that have found the most suitable approach to their own unique development are taking the lead for the future.

The ALB China editorial team received submissions from law firms that provided information on their hires, departures, percentages of revenue growth, newly opened offices and other elements contributing to a firm’s growth between May 11, 2011 and May 11, 2012. Only firms that made submissions were considered. After the results were collated and the quantitative data analysed, a top 10 list was created that honoured those firms that achieved the highest balance between increased headcount and office locations, and strong revenue growth. The list featured here is not a ranking, but rather a collection of China’s top 10 fastest growing firms, with one honourable mention.

Beijing DHH Law Firm Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai, Nanjing, Handan, Hong Kong, Seoul, Berlin, Washington New offices opened: Two Headcount growth: 169 percent Revenue growth: 60 percent The nationalisation strategy brought Beijing DHH Law Firm (DHH) two new offices and 58 more lawyers this year, representing a 169 percent headcount increase. The firm also earned 60 percent more than the year before. A dual brand with the Shandong Deheng Law Firm, DHH sets its home base in the capital city of Beijing because of its vision of nationalisation, says Jiang Qi, DHH’s managing partner. The year 2012 is going to be the “year of nationalisation” again. New offices are lined up, with two to be opened in the second half of the year in Henan, Tianjin, and Shanxi provinces that surround Beijing and Shandong. “Our nationalisation will expand further,” says Jiang. “Unlike others, our branches are tightly bound together as one brand, one management and one team.” Between the two approaches of increasing volume or specialisation, DHH has chosen scaled development instead of the boutique strategy. By the end of 2013, the firm should have eight offices in mainland China and its headcount should double again to over 150. But the expansion should never be hasty or blind, notes Jiang. Following a clear road map, the opening of new offices will be step by step and pragmatic. “We will work hard to push the profile of the headquarters to cover all the branches nationwide with our brand, management and team; the three concepts we raised,” he says. Meanwhile, DHH is part of leading national firm network Elite Chinese Legal Alliance (ECLA) that now has nine members across China. Another part of the DHH nationalisation plan is working through ECLA to enlarge the organisation to 20 firms with over 1,000 lawyers by the end of 2013. The target member firms are regional leaders,

each sized at around 30 lawyers with about 10 million yuan in annual revenue. “We position this league as the combined fleet of the cruisers in the legal industry. By combined, we mean the firms are independent, and by cruisers, we mean they are medium-sized, not the super big aircraft carrier groups,” says Jiang. “Together in the fleet, the cruisers can fight the aircraft carriers.”

Fast 10

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Llinks Law Offices Headquarters: Shanghai Branches: Beijing New offices opened: Nil Headcount growth: 17 percent Revenue growth: 45 percent

Zhang Liguo

Grandway Law Offices Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an New offices opened: Three Headcount growth: 72 percent Revenue growth: 120 percent Grandway was created by one of the most noticeable mergers in the past year. In October 2011, two Beijing-based firms, Grandfield and Kaiwen, began talks of a merger and quickly reached an agreement in March this year. The combined new firm saw the number of partners rising from 22 to 48, and the overall headcount increasing by 72 percent. The number of offices also doubled to six. In the first two month after launching, it recorded magnificent growth, with 120 percent more revenue from the same period last year. Zhang Liguo, former managing partner of Grandfield and chief executive partner of the new firm Grandway, says the merger was initiated by several partners of both firms who had long histories of cooperation, and who shared a common goal of creating a bigger and stronger firm. “The two firms had complementary advantages in terms of talent, practice areas and management,” he says. Former firm Grandfield focused on the capital markets, and was one of the key leading firms in China handling A-share initial public offerings. Meanwhile, the former Kaiwen was strong in banking and finance, as well as insurance and litigation. “After the smooth merger, our key task this year is to put together our strengths and bring out the chemistry of the combination to make one plus one greater than two,” says Zhang. The new Grandway is aimed at increasing the standard of practice with upgraded management and training. While establishing an integrated system, the partners would also like to forge a new firm culture that is accepted by lawyers from both sides in order to pave a solid foundation for long-term growth, according to Zhang. With deepening specialisation in the legal industry, Zhang believes that successful growth for a firm means expansion that can only be based on strengthened expertise. “Globally, outstanding firms do have significant size; but not all significantly sized firms are outstanding,” says Zhang. “Our dream is to make our firm an outstanding one.”

Llinks Law Offices managed to obtain significant growth plus high average revenue per partner and per fee-earner figures without a large number of new hires. Its two offices in Shanghai and Beijing saw the exit of a few junior lawyers, but the firm substituted them by bringing experienced partners and senior counsels on board. The annual growth of 45 percent to reach over 110 million yuan with a total of 62 lawyers strongly proves Llinks’ philosophy of development with caution and quality. “What I want is to build a firm that lasts for centuries. When evaluating from the scale of a hundred years, the short-term speed does not matter that much,” says Yu Weifeng, the founding partner of Llinks. “I always emphasise that we are taking a steady pace to grow. We have our long-term goals. We have our core values , which are specialisation and teamwork.” Since being established in 1998, Llinks has been developing a distinct strategy by dividing up highly specialised services whereby each lawyer only focuses on his or her own specific area. According to Yu, Llinks’ lawyers have benefited from this strategy as their capabilities and competencies improved. Greater efficiency saves clients’ time and costs, and deeper understanding and knowledge strengthens clients’ confidence. Llinks’ reputation of being professional and specialised has been well recognised and welcomed by the market. After effectively homing in on practice areas such as M&A, equity, banking and finance, asset management, tax and customs, and real estate, Yu says his firm has now set its eyes on three new areas: dispute resolution, debt markets and intellectual property. With Llinks’ strategy, Yu says he would look for a few really outstanding partners in the industry to join and lead the practices towards growth. He set the partner target number over the next couple of years to reach more than 20 partners with a mild two-year growth of 50 percent, given the uncertainty of the economy. “We are not seeking a merger with other firms in the near future, and we will not increase our size dramatically. We value the quality of growth over quantity,” he says.

Llinks Law Offices

Fast 10

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Yingke Law Firm Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Tianjin, Kunming, Xiamen, Wuhan, Nanjing, Qingdao, Suzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, Hohhot, Jinan, Shenzhen, Changchun, Dalian, Taiwan, New York, London, Verona, Budapest, Sao Paolo, Seoul, Warsaw, Istanbul New offices opened: 10 Headcount growth: 31 percent Revenue growth: 100 percent

Zhu Xiaohui

Tian Yuan Law Firm Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai New offices opened: Nil Headcount growth: 49 percent Revenue growth: 25 percent Thanks to a strategy of stable development, Tian Yuan Law Firm reached the 200 million yuan revenue mark with a 25 percent annual growth last year. Managing partner Zhu Xiaohui describes the firm’s key word as “balanced”. Traditionally specialising in securities, M&A and dispute resolution, Tian Yuan has managed to find the perfect point where the different combinations of practices can grow through different stages of the economic cycle. It has also delicately balanced the domestic and overseas markets. “We only pursue steady growth,” says Zhu. “Service quality control comes first.” In Tian Yuan’s plans for the future, defending and increasing its market share in three traditional practices ranks first. But it does not mean that the firm would not seek an entry into new areas like funds, which is naturally derived from existing practices. Apart from its two existing offices in Beijing and Shanghai, Tian Yuan partners are deliberating opening new offices elsewhere. But there will never be an explosive increase of branches or headcount, according to Zhu. Tian Yuan’s third office will likely be somewhere in South China, and a setup in the Southwest region could follow. “We insist that any branch has to been established and run directly by ourselves,” says Zhu. The expansion has to be based on the market demand and the clients’ needs, he emphasises. Speed does not matter; practice quality and risk control do. In spite of its quickly growing international-related business, Tian Yuan has still not yet thought about having branches abroad. “However, a partnership with a foreign firm is definitely worth doing. Leveraging the networks of foreign local firms to serve the needs of clients is a good option,” says Zhu. “Each firm has its own strategy and we welcome all kinds of attempts by other firms, which might provide good examples for the entire industry’s future development. However, we have our own situation and choices. ”

Yet again, Yingke recorded a 100 percent revenue growth this year with four domestic and six international office openings. Sao Paolo, Seoul, London, New York, Warsaw and Istanbul were added to Yingke’s international map over the past 12 months. There are now 1,698 lawyers working for Yingke; a figure which is 31 percent more than last year. The continuous high speed of growth is a result of market demand and client recognition, according to Mei Xiangrong, the managing partner of Yingke. The wide-ranging network of Yingke means it is able to offer a one-stop service with access to large amounts of integrated business resources and opportunities. “More Chinese companies are going out. They need an international law firm to escort them, and Yingke is capable of serving high end clients with our international network,” says Mei. Yingke’s internal management and talent have also contributed to the quick growth. A combination of professional lawyers, managers and marketing experts have coordinated together on many projects. Since talent has always been a basic concern, the firm is planning the “Yingke 300” scheme which aims to produce its own famous lawyers in the next two years. For the upcoming year, Yingke has identified eight domestic spots and several foreign locations it wishes to have a footprint in, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Johannesburg, Mexico, Tokyo and Moscow. “Globalisation is an irresistible trend of law firm development…those who manage to put themselves in position first will occupy the future market,” says Mei. “The expansion and merger of firms is the necessary path to that goal.” Citing that the top 50 largest firms in terms of size now earn 70 percent of the fees in the Beijing market, Mei suggest that the degree of concentration is increasing in the industry. “Sustainable development can only be achieved through expansion and merger,” says Mei.

Mei Xiangrong

Fast 10

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Zhonglun W&D Law Firm Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Chengdu, Wuhan, London, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Riyadh, Lyon, Hong Kong New offices opened: Five Headcount growth: 52 percent Revenue growth: 50 percent

Wang Guangren

Shandong Zhongcheng Renhe Law Firm Headquarters: Jinan Branches: Beijing, Dezhou, Zibo, Laiwu, Binzhou, Dongying New offices opened: One Headcount growth: 13 percent Revenue growth: 54 percent Following an average growth of over 30 percent since 2008, Zhongcheng Renhe (Zhongcheng) enters the Fast 10 with a 54 percent increase in revenue growth compared to a year ago. The Shandong-based firm also opened its fifth branch in the province, and subsequently hired 30 more lawyers. In terms of practice areas, Zhongcheng also registered at the Tianjin Equity Exchange and kicked off its IP-related services over the past year. “The firm concentrates on key regions, authorities, companies, projects and practices, and lifts practice standards, service quality and profits,” says Wang Guangren, managing partner of Zhongcheng. This year is expected to be Zhongcheng’s “year of expansion and leveling up”. Things to be levelled up include internal management, the firm brand, and its standard of service. Expansion refers to practices areas and new offices. The firm’s Qingdao and Yantai offices are currently in a preparatory period prior to opening. Moreover, Zhongcheng’s goal of “stepping out from the state border” has strategically been raised. It is sending lawyers for training in the U.S. and in Hong Kong, and building partnerships with overseas firms, according to Wang. Addressing the firm’s strategy of “expansion” more specifically, Wang predicts that the time has come when the gap between big and small firms is enlarging dramatically. “It is for sure that the next 10 years will be a decade of industry consolidation,” says Wang. “Law firms should quickly react to this trend, speeding up the development of its size, brand and professionalisation to build the ‘air craft carrier’ of the industry.” He also stresses that in order to match the clients’ geographical or business expansions, such as international investment or entry into sectors like finance, IT, property, energy, etc., law firms should upgrade their own capabilities to be able to provide a full-service practice cross regionally. “The Chinese market has great potential. Only the big and strong ones can take the most market opportunities,” he says. “The best sized, most specialised, strongest branded and internationalised firms need to be created by mergers.”

With three of its five new offices located in Berlin, Hamburg and London, Zhonglun W&D has, over the past year, kept pioneering the international adventures of Chinese firms. The Beijingbased firm now has seven offices outside mainland China in addition to its 11 domestic ones, with a total of over 400 lawyers globally – more than one-fifth of whom are located overseas. Its s y n chr onis e d high speed growth of headcount and revenue has given Chen Wen, the firm’s managing partner, more confidence in international development. “Wherever the Chinese companies go, we go,” says Chen. “In the future, we will open more new branches in other countries, according to Chinese companies’ overseas development.” That China is stretching its economic power globally has created a surging need for international law services. Chen reckons that the overseas investments and acquisitions by Chinese companies have offered Chinese law firms unprecedented growth opportunities. The dominance of the major international law firms and accounting agencies is the result of their previous development accompanying the expansion of Western multinationals, says Chen.“Chinese firms have to go international just as the Western firms did. It is inevitable and necessary,” he says. Chinese firms should never miss this historical opportunity, according to Chen. A few major Chinese firms have opened overseas, but the number is still far from enough, especially in contrast to how many foreign forms are operating in China. “The biggest challenges for a Chinese firm in going abroad are the cultural and language differences. Becoming localised is crucial, but first of all, there has to be market demand for your services, as well as available talent,” he says. However, Zhonglun W&D has been doing well. Although the domestic market will remain the firm’s core market, Germany, the UK, Middle East and Southeast Asia are all promising lands. Over the past year, Zhonglun W&D has added private equity as its 16th practice area. The widening of practices reduces risk in an economic downturn, enhances its ability to resist cycles, and enables a stable growth of the revenue. As more and more branches open up, a good internal mechanism with effective interaction in practice and efficient management is the next task for Zhonglun W&D. “Our goal is to become a big, full-service, international, and first class firm,” says Chen.

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Fast 10

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS june 2012

Dacheng Law Offices

Jia Yuan Law Offices

Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Changchun, Changsha, Changzhou, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Harbin, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Jilin, Jinan, Kunming, Nanchang, Nanjing, Nanning, Nantong, Inner Mongolia, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Sichuan, Suzhou, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Wuhan, Urumqi, Wuxi, Xiamen, Xi’an, Xining, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou, Zhoushan, Huangshi; Chicago, France, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Taiwan New offices opened: Eight Headcount growth: 80 percent Revenue growth: 19 percent

Wang Zhongde

Dacheng’s comfortable stay for another year on the Fast 10 list is guaranteed by its 949 new hires and the launch of its eight new offices in the past year. There was more than just an increase in headcount by 80 percent - the firm’s increasingly developed network building also brought in a 19 percent income growth. There are now 37 Dacheng offices that cover most of China’s provinces after the recent openings in Jilin, Nanchang, Zhoushan, Hefei, Nanning, Suzhou and Huangshi. Chicago became the seventh overseas base of the Chinese firm. “Dacheng believes that a global legal service network is the necessary path of making a firm big and strong,” says Dacheng managing partner Wang Zhongde. He believes in the necessity of mergers and consolidations of firms. “A merger can solve the conflicts between specialisation and full-practice,” he says. The diverse client needs, unpredictable market, scaled projects, complicated cases, and specialised practices have made it difficult for any single law firm to perform alone. However, whenever a firm merges, the combined entity has to be under a standardised management system, Wang adds. “We gradually improved our network platform by make our management and resources consolidation better between headquarters and branches, and among the branches,” he says. Dacheng has had a successful year in terms of its specialised practice team building and proactive market development. In 2012, the firm celebrated its 20th anniversary. After the completion of its three strategic goals over the previous decade, namely size expansion, market occupation, and international entry, Dacheng would like to work out a new growth plan for the next five years.“We will change our working style, target becoming an international big, strong and good firm, and push forward all reform and development measures,” says Wang.

Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Hong Kong New offices opened: One Headcount growth: 22 percent Revenue growth: 27 percent Thanks to its skillful and efficient teamwork and loyal clients, capital market specialist firm Jia Yuan Law Offices, entered its fifth straight year of around 30 percent growth and recorded over a doubling figure of its revenue from 2007 in 2012. “In our previous development, there has been no sudden increase. But we have always experienced continuous and sustainable growth,” says Yan Yu, the founding partner of Jia Yuan. “We do not prioritise the size, but take consolidated steps of development.” “The real challenge for a firm’s long-term development is not about the size. Whether the standard of management and the structure of personnel can match the need of the market is the very test of our development,” she says. Since its establishment, the firm has focused on capital markets and developed vertically throughout the entire chain of the industry. Each step of its expansion was in accordance with the geographical or cross business development of existing clients, most of which are large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or other industry-leading companies. According to Yan, by the end of last year, about 70 percent of Jia Yuan’s revenue was derived from long-time clients, which shows a virtuous circle of good services and a high level of trust. But she was also aware of the risk of excessive reliance on these clients. “As a result, we have diversified our businesses in different regional markets with extended practices,” she says. Sensing the SOEs’ increasing demands for transactions in overseas markets, Jia Yuan has also set a goal of international development. The first step was the setting up of a Hong Kong office in April. “We are changing our image of being just a domestic financing firm...The Hong Kong office demonstrates to our clients that we do have an international plan. We hope that a significant part of our future growth comes from the international practice.” Jia Yuan has partnered with over 30 foreign firms to share resources, and exchange talent and information. However, it has no precise plan of opening an overseas branch yet because of its prudent hesitation to engage in a “leapfrog” strategy. Another key source of growth lies in finance practices, particularly, the bank-related services, which Jia Yuan has not fully exploited in the past, according to Yan. She says the firm’s main task now would be to maintain its client base with an in-depth exploration of business potential. “I believe that specialised firms like us will always have an important role to play in the future. The market is still maturing. The room for growth is so huge that we have enormous opportunities,” she says.

Fast 10

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Zhong Yin Law Firm Headquarters: Beijing Branches: Guiyang, Sichuan, Shanghai, Guangxi, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Jinan, Jixi, Fuzhou, Taizhou, Yinchuan, Changsha, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Quanzhou, Shenyang New offices opened: Three Headcount growth: 175 percent Revenue growth: 7 percent

Appearing for the fourth year straight in the Fast 10 list, the Zhong Yin Law Firm continues its impressive expansion with 526 more hires - a 175 percent growth - and three new office launches in Qingdao, Quanzhou and Shenyang. Although its revenue growth rate sputtered to 7 percent, the overall turnover remained more than 100 million yuan. The development strategy of Zhong Yin, says Li Ju, the chairman of the firm’s managing committee, has for a long time been “scale, brand, internationalization, and professionalisation”. Of these, “scale” comes first as the foundation of everything else, and is the most manageable and achievable approach, according to Li. “We believe size is an indicator of a firm’s practice competence and comprehensive capability, and demonstrates the ability of internal management and cooperativeness,” he says. “But excessively fast speed without a proper support system will definitely go wrong.” Having noticed the risks in such rapid growth, after an explosive expansion in 2010 when nine offices were opened across eight provinces, the firm intentionally slowed down in 2011, notes Li. “It was a bit too fast, and some problems of management and risk control emerged,” he says. “As a result, we reinforce the management system construction at the same time of expansion to ensure healthy development.” The headquarters strengthens control over its branches by administrative and financial management, firm culture building, and sending partners to connect the offices. It also works to upgrade the practice standard, and promote its brand in second and third tier cities by organising trainings and marketing campaigns. In the next couple of years, Zhong Yin plans to continue to develop steadily and soundly in size. It will be more prudent, however, as its partners have reached an agreement of reaching out to foreign shores, either by partnering with foreign firms or opening up overseas. “The size increase is not just being huge, but for the purpose of offering a more professional and specialised practice. What we want is to raise the power of our hard skills, not vanity,” says Li.

Chongqing Solton & Partners Headquarters: Central Chongqing Branches: Yongchuan District of Chongqing New offices opened: One Headcount growth: Nil Revenue growth: 32 percent

BLE HONOURA MENTION

Solton & Partners (Solton) managed to obtain an annual revenue growth of 32 percent with the same number of staff as last year, though there are 10 more partners now. The only departure was that of an associate, but this was quickly balanced by the lateral hiring of a partner and nine additional internal promotions to partnership. This has greatly improved the seniority and capacity of the Solton squad. The Chongqing-based firm occupies a high market share in the southwestern city, and it recently extended its availability by opening a branch office in one of the suburban districts. It also enjoys a strong average revenue per partner and fee-earner. With such an achievement, Solton has been awarded an “Honourable” mention in ALB’s China Fast 10. “We will continue maintaining our high profile of being a regional leading firm,” says Han Deyun, the managing partner of Solton. Solton is planning to set up more branches in other districts of Chongqing in the next year, in order to fully cover the fast growing businesses taking place in the largest municipality of China. In addition, it will proactively leverage the network of the Sino-Global Legal Alliance (SGLA), a national firm association of which it is a member and representative of Chongqing to satisfy the demand of Chongqing clients in other provinces. Han predicts a trend in the legal market - that the high-end commercial businesses would increasingly flock to the national brands, which are mainly located in the East of the country. The nationwide expansions of those magnates seem inevitable. However, such a story is likely to only take place in the Middle and the West (of the country) much later due to the imbalanced development of the market economy in China, according to Han. “Regional firms in the Middle and West still have space for development,” he says. “Thus, a West-based firm can keep an advantage in its own region as long as it finds out its market position and points of competitiveness, and innovatively improves service modes to play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.”

Han Deyun