Chinese dispute powerhouse Zhong Lun Law Firm dominates the litigation space with its solid experience in handling a wide range of domestic and overseas litigation and arbitration matters. The firm’s litigation bench is stocked top-to-bottom with talent ranging from senior statesmen to up-and-comers, all of whom elicit praise from peers and appreciation from clients. Its practitioners have expertise spanning a range of industries including banking and financial services, energy, real estate and manufacturing. Prominently active in significant cross-border dispute cases, the firm is also known to have appeared in the largest number of cases before the Supreme People’s Court of China. It also provides a top-tier international arbitration service seated across the globe.
Prominent figures include commercial disputes star Lijun Cao, insolvency lawyer Shengfeng Xu, regulatory expert Gary Gao, international arbitration specialist Huawei Sun, employment focused Carol Zhu and construction lawyer Yueping Zhou. Other notable lawyers include Changyu Fu, Baosheng Zhang and Wei Bao.
Across its banking and finance practice, the firm has handled two landmark matters representing some of China's most complex financial disputes. Acting for the Beijing Branch of China Great Wall Asset Management, the firm pursued recovery of approximately USD241.43 million in distressed debts from Evergrande Real Estate Group through extensive asset investigation and more than 40 rounds of negotiations, ultimately securing a debt-offsetting plan and completing the first batch of property transfers by mid-2024. Separately, the firm represents Ping An Securities in defending against claims exceeding Rmb6.531 billion arising from Leshi Internet's fraudulent issuance, the largest securities misrepresentation litigation by claim amount in China to date, with the first-instance judgment ordering Ping An Securities to bear only 10% joint liability and making it the first case where a sponsor was not held fully jointly liable.
Beyond its financial dispute work, the firm acted as counsel to EDP Renewables (Shanghai) in a sales contract dispute seeking recovery of outstanding payments and fees totalling Rmb1.87 million against two construction and energy companies, along with joint and several liability against the debtor's sole shareholder. Despite procedural complexities including the addition of a third-party mid-trial, the Changning District People's Court of Shanghai rendered a judgment in full support of the client's core claims.
The firm's financial services regulatory practice has been equally prominent, handling three landmark transactions and matters of significant national impact. The firm represented Dongxing Securities in responding to a CSRC investigation arising from Essence Information Technology's fraudulent IPO, achieving China's first-ever securities special representative lawsuit settlement and securing termination of the CSRC's investigation in April 2025, with the case named one of the Supreme People's Court's Top Ten Cases of 2024. The firm also advised Guangzhou Automobile Group Finance Leasing in a Rmb2.13 billion transaction marking the first introduction of a foreign strategic investor into a state-owned financial leasing enterprise under the new National Financial Regulatory Administration framework. Additionally, the firm acted for Payoneer in its Rmb550 million acquisition of Easylink Payment, the first successful foreign acquisition of a licensed Chinese payment institution, securing regulatory approval in under six months.
Complementing its financial services work, the firm's insolvency practice has handled three significant matters. Appointed as administrator in August 2024, the firm led the reorganization of two Evergrande automotive subsidiaries carrying combined debts of nearly Rmb12.87 billion, with both plans approved with near-unanimous creditor support and concluded in July 2025. The firm also successfully defended Wonders Information against a Rmb280 million clawback claim by persuading the court to apply securities law protections for minority investors over standard bankruptcy provisions. The firm additionally acted as administrator in the substantive merger and settlement of 33 Haihui Group companies with debts exceeding Rmb16 billion, currently in its execution stage.
Rounding out its dispute resolution capabilities, the firm's intellectual property practice has handled three notable matters. The firm represented Alipay against developers of a fraudulent app that simulated Alipay's interface, securing a preliminary injunction and a full favourable judgment awarding Rmb5.15 million, establishing a landmark precedent that injunctions can be granted even where a defendant has temporarily ceased infringing conduct. The firm also represented Gbxf Silicones at the Supreme People's Court, securing punitive damages of Rmb22 million that had been wrongly denied at first instance, with the judgment published as a typical case in the court's 2024 IP ruling principles collection. Additionally, the firm represents InterDigital in ongoing patent administrative litigation against OPPO, defending the validity of core mobile communications SEPs across multiple invalidation proceedings.The firm recently experienced several notable changes within its team. Yueping (Cindy) Zhou, a partner, departed the firm. In June 2024, Haijun Zhang joined as a partner, bringing expertise in litigation and arbitration, construction and project development, and debt restructuring and non-performing assets. In March 2024, Xiongxin Xie and Wen Dai were promoted to senior counsel, both specialising in litigation and arbitration, as well as construction and project development. Xiongxin also focuses on debt restructuring and non-performing assets.
The firm has made a series of significant lateral hires over the past twelve months, reinforcing its capabilities across dispute resolution, insolvency, capital markets, and intellectual property. On the dispute resolution and insolvency front, Tao Jiang joined as regional partner in September 2025, bringing expertise in corporate and commercial crime, litigation, and cross-border investment; Shumei Liang joined as regional partner in June 2025, focusing on litigation, arbitration, and investment; Feng Wu joined as partner in June 2025, specialising in bankruptcy, insolvency, and debt restructuring; and Li Yang joined as Partner, covering bankruptcy, insolvency, investment, and corporate crime. In intellectual property, Dongwei Yan joined as equity partner in August 2025 from Yingke Law Firm (Nanjing), bringing expertise in IP licensing, enforcement, and commercial dispute resolution. Rounding out the firm's recent additions, Renee Xiong joined as international partner, focusing on Hong Kong and overseas capital markets, debt restructuring, and investment; Gary Li joined as partner, covering private equity, cross-border M&A, and debt restructuring; and Joey Peng joined as non-equity partner in September 2025, focusing on Chinese mainland capital markets and construction. No notable departures were recorded during the period.
"Professional, understands the needs of the client, and communicates well." – Insolvency
"Zhong Lun has a very experienced leadership team and recruits from the top graduates in the PRC. They run cases in a highly professional manner, with close attention to the facts, the law, and the client's requirements, in a manner designed to appeal to the tribunal." – International arbitration
"Zhong Lun worked well as part of a team defending a substantial claim, including obtaining evidence, drafting pleadings and witness statements, and participating in cross-examination." – International arbitration
"Gary Gao is an expert in his field and one of China's most experienced lawyers; a top-quality lawyer with a wealth of experience and well-versed in cross-border matters."
"He is very responsive and knowledgeable. His expertise and experience in securities litigation are excellent. He manages his team well and together they turn around high-quality advice and work product in a short period of time. He is fluent in English, and his ability to deliver accurate, substantive advice in English has been particularly useful."
"Good communication, quite a good team, and actively provides suggestions."
"Huawei is one of the top talents at the international arbitration bar in the PRC. She is highly intelligent, has a great sense of how to run all aspects of a case, and is a strong cross-examiner."
"An excellent approach to teamwork, very good use of junior lawyers, receptive to the ideas of others, punctual in meeting deadlines, sensitive to the needs of clients, and an excellent trial advocate."
"We had difficulty closing this dormant subsidiary in China. The legal team led by Nelly Zhang was not only professional and reassuring, but their advice was also commercially practicable and comprehensive. Throughout this period, they kept us promptly updated on developments and progress. We finally closed this subsidiary in April 2025 after almost 17 months. It was very helpful that the team is effectively bilingual and was able to communicate with our local and Singapore teams."
Baosheng Zhang and Ruixuan Li
"The Zhong Lun team, led by partners Baosheng Zhang and Ruixuan Li, is user-friendly and knowledgeable. They are market leaders in the area of securities litigation and regulatory investigations. In addition, they are very responsive and efficient, while maintaining consistently high quality in their advice and work product. The team is also able to produce good-quality bilingual advice and documents, which is handy for in-house counsel in an international financial institution."
