Top-tier firm Fangda Partners continues to be a frontrunner, singled out for its strong track record and robust presence across the market. The firm focuses on handling high-profile, high-stakes and complex litigation with particular expertise in multi-jurisdictional disputes including international arbitration. The firm also enjoys pre-eminence in the IP, regulatory and insolvency space.
Key figures in the dispute resolution team include Pu (Alexandra) Yang, Helen Shi, Nuo Ji and Kate Yin who specialise in IP, international arbitration, insolvency and government and regulatory matters respectively. Benjamin Miao, Daniel Huang and Peter Yuen are other key practitioners.
In commercial and transactions, the firm is representing Xi'an Huahong Investment Partnership in an ongoing Rmb2.6 billion capital increase dispute before the Supreme People's Court against Xi'an High-tech Wanda Plaza Co and two affiliated real estate companies. The case involves alleged collusion with a former Shaanxi provincial party secretary, subsequently imprisoned, who facilitated the undervalued transfer of a state-owned shareholder's equity. After the Shaanxi High People's Court confirmed the resolution's invalidity but refused to restore the commercial registration, the firm took over on appeal, deploying novel strategies including identifying notarisation defects, reporting the state asset transfer to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and applying to add Shaanxi Coal Group as a third party.
The firm's intellectual property practice has produced three landmark matters spanning AI, gaming, and navigation software. The firm represents Apple in ongoing patent proceedings before multiple courts against Zhizhen Network Technology over its iRobot patent, a dispute of nearly a decade involving Apple's Siri system across multiple product lines; the second-round lawsuit before the Shanghai High Court seeks Rmb10 billion in damages, the highest IP damages claim ever filed in China. Acting as global lead counsel to Moonton, the firm defended and advanced a multi-jurisdictional series of actions against Tencent and its affiliate Riot Games across six jurisdictions in a dispute over copyright infringement and unfair competition in the mobile MOBA gaming market, with the Shenzhen Intermediate Court conducting over 100 first-instance hearings — unprecedented in Chinese civil litigation history. The firm also represented NavInfo Co in a copyright infringement claim against three Baidu entities found to have used substantially similar navigation software without authorisation; the Beijing Intellectual Property Court awarded Rmb64.5 million in damages, the highest copyright infringement award in China to date, along with an injunction and an order for a public apology.
On the insolvency front, the firm has handled two significant restructuring matters in the agriculture and consumer goods sectors. As administrator member, the firm led the substantive merger reorganization of Dehong Hogood Coffee Co and 24 affiliated companies, involving debts exceeding Rmb10 billion — the largest restructuring case in Yunnan Province and the first large-scale restructuring in China's coffee industry. Dehong Hogood operates China's first indigenous coffee brand and the only China Famous Trademark in the coffee industry, with the reorganisation affecting over 6,000 creditors and some 5,000 farming households across Yunnan; the court-approved plan achieved full cash repayment for over 98% of creditors. The firm also acts as administrator in the prepackaged reorganisation of listed company Flower King Eco-Engineering (603007) and the consolidation reorganisation of its controlling shareholder Flower King Engineering and four subsidiaries, with combined debts of approximately Rmb6.7 billion. The case marked the first prepackaged reorganization of a convertible bond issuer in China and the first listed company reorganisation in Zhenjiang.
“The team demonstrated a high level of professionalism and responsiveness, with defense materials that are well organised, logically robust, and excellently expressed.” – Government and regulatory
“Lin possesses strong professional capabilities, underpinned by deep expertise and extensive practical experience. She is able to quickly understand the client’s needs and propose effective and actionable service solutions. Ms. Lin places great emphasis on talent development, maintaining a well-structured team with sufficient talent reserves at different levels of seniority. Each team member performs their role effectively, working together with strong cohesion to form a sound talent pipeline and a collaborative team culture. Her team is capable of delivering a wide range of legal services, including cross-disciplinary complex matters and international legal work.”
