Commerce & Finance Law Offices is active in key areas of dispute resolution, especially commercial litigation. The dispute resolution team comprises nearly 100 lawyers with 20 partners. Hongji Li heads the dispute resolution team and focuses on complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. Other key names in the team include Jialu Wang and Qiang Cui.
In an ongoing case highlight, the firm is representing Jiangsu Sugang Group Co in a $1.39 billion dispute against Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co and its subsidiaries over a 2016 equity transaction of Suzhou Green Bank Real Estate Development Co. The case concerns allegations of undisclosed soil pollution across 17 land parcels, following the plaintiffs' failed development projects and environmental assessment issues. Led by partner Qiang Cui, the team's key challenge involves navigating complex regulatory changes in soil pollution standards since 2019, analysing thousands of documents to demonstrate that claims of concealed pollution lack factual basis. While the case remains ongoing at the Jiangsu High People's Court, its significance lies in being China's largest civil litigation case to date, drawing extensive public attention and potentially setting precedents for environmental disclosure obligations in major real estate transactions.
Key clients include China Hainan Rubber Industry Group Co, New China Trust Co and Schindler (China) Elevator Co.
The firm has significantly expanded its dispute resolution practice with the addition of seven new partners. Six of these partners, including Chengyou Gan, Zhenzhong Yang, Meihua Liang, Huiping Liu, and Xue Jiang, join from Jincheng Tongda & Neal, while Dong Liu arrives from Beijing Weiheng Law Firm. Yuli Liu also joins as a partner, strengthening the firm's dispute resolution capabilities.
