Beijing

Anli Partners is known for its work in commercial disputes. It focuses on disputes in the fields of securities, equity, investment funds, and so on. The key partner is Jinrong Hou, who is active in banking and finance.

During the research period,  the team provided legal services for China National Investment and Guaranty Corporation on a dispute over trusts and financial lending. The structure involved in this case was complex.

The firm’s clients are in the automotive, energy, industrials and manufacturing and TMT sectors and regularly seek out the firm for advice.

Beijing Cyan Law Firm is a widely recognised boutique firm in the construction and real estate fields. With years of experience in handling complex disputes in domestic and foreign-related litigation and cross-border disputes, the firm has continuously obtained favourable results on behalf of its clients in large-scale infrastructure work and real estate-related disputes.

Wanhe Ye and Yinli Gao are leading individuals at the firm and both are respected figures in the market.

Although the firm’s case highlights remain confidential, it has handled many significant cases related to construction and real estate issues, such as involving the South-North Water Transfer Project and the construction of Daxing Airport.

Client feedback

“The firm can proactively learn and understand our company’s business development, and better protect our company’s interests and reduce legal risks. At the same time, as a third party, it can calmly give accurate judgements from legal and technical aspects.” – Construction and real estate

“Strong professionalism, rigorous and responsible work.” – Construction and real estate

Wanhe Ye

“He provided timely and accurate legal and professional support and assistance.” – Construction and real estate

Founded in 1993, Beijing DHH Law Firm is a full-service law firm that was established by DeHeng Law Group. Over the years, the firm has pursued an aggressive expansion, targeting strategic locations throughout the country, and now it has 26 offices across China. The firm’s best-performing areas within disputes practice are commercial, real estate and construction disputes. Its commercial disputes team is active in bankruptcy and insolvency, while the real estate and construction group has experience in representing real estate companies in various contractual disputes.

Key partners in Beijing include Cheng Ji, Hongtao Mao and Yang Lu. They all specialise in commercial disputes.

One of the highlighted cases is its role advising CNPC Offshore Engineering on a commercial litigation involving Iranian tax payment. The accuser is Minsheng Yangjia Shipping Leasing Company. This is a rare case involving a dispute between a central enterprise and a heavyweight private enterprise over tax payment outside China, involving complex tax law issues. The firm also advised Shenzhen Neptunus Group on its invoice issues, which were audited by the Tianjin Taxation Bureau. This case relates to the financial and taxation situation of both parties. The determination of false invoices is complicated and involves complex legal relationships.

In the real estate and construction area, the firm represented China Construction First Bureau against Tianjin Longsha Culture in the dispute about the Tianjin Yitianyuan Project. The amount involved in the case is more than 100 million yuan. The reason for the dispute is that Lonsha has repeatedly failed to make the payment on time. With the help of DHH, the Tianjin court finally supported most of China Construction First Bureau's claims. At present, the case has entered the enforcement stage.

Founded in 2003, full-service Beijing Docvit Law Firm is particularly known for its commercial disputes strength, especially in financial litigation and investigations and corporate and insolvency litigation matters. The firm is also active in construction and real estate disputes, intellectual property disputes and international arbitration. Guanghu Shi is a senior partner of the firm’s dispute resolution team.

During the research period, the firm represented various corporations in disputes concerning equity transfer, contractual issues and corporate bond trading.

As one of the oldest law firms in Beijing, Kangda Law Firm is widely known for its commercial criminal defence practice and has a well-respected commercial disputes practice backed by highly recognised practitioners. Junxi Lu is a key partner in its Beijing commercial disputes department.

In one noteworthy case it is acting for Everbright Securities' wholly owned subsidiary against Baofeng Group. Due to the large amount of subject matter and the complex legal issues, this case has attracted the attention of the securities market, financial market and legal circles for several years. The firm also acted for its client Tiantu Industry against Zhunxing Heavy Duty Expressway on a contract dispute. The firm recovered huge losses for its client.

Key clients include China Development Bank, China Construction First Bureau, Second Hydropower Bureau and China Resources Gas.

Client feedback

“Serious and responsible, good professional and strong business ability.” – Commercial disputes

Boutique firm Chance Bridge Partners is most active in the corporate, commercial and financial disputes areas. The firm regularly acts for clients in matters concerning securities, shareholders, construction, foreign-related litigation and arbitration, insolvency and intellectual property.

Yuxiang Hu and Ye Qiang are key partners in its commercial dispute resolution team.

One highlight saw the firm advise on the execution of Huaxin International Trust's notarised creditor's rights documents. The firm also acted on a dispute over a stock pledge repurchase between CITIC Securities and a listed company; and handled an entrusted loan contract dispute between Ping An Trust and a leading company in Nanjing.

Notable clients of the firm include China Construction Bank, China CITIC Bank, China Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank and Xiamen International Bank.

China Patent Agent (HK) is an intellectual property boutique with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as other countries. It provides a full range of IP services to its clients, with expertise in drafting, filing, prosecution, litigation, mediation, licensing, assignment and counselling in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyright, domain names and anti-unfair competition. The firm is one of the oldest and largest IP litigation firms in China.

IP specialists Yuhe Wu and Jingzhao Wang are key names in the firm.  

One recent firm highlight blends elements of intellectual property and biopharmaceutical. The team on behalf of Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, a Dutch university, and Roger Kingdon Craig, a UK scientist, received a favourable second instance judgement from the IP tribunal of the Supreme Court. The case was a hard battle to fight, as very few cases to date have been able to overturn the China National Intellectual Property Administration’s re-examination decisions in patent administrative litigation. This case was included in the annual report on IP cases of the Supreme People's Court 2019, selected as one of the 12 patent administrative cases on the list.

The firm also acted for Darwin Technologies, a European manufacturing company that won its case over an indirect patent infringement in Beijing Higher People's Court. The victory in this case received great attention because Chinese courts rarely support indirect infringement. In addition, the judgement element of aiding infringement has developed greatly in recent years. The entire litigation lasted for six years, and witnessed the changes in the rules for the establishment of aiding infringement during this period. This case has reference value for future similar cases.

Key clients for the firm include Darwin Technology International, Honeywell International, Intel, KPN and Powertech Industrial.

Commerce & Finance Law Offices is known for its capability in commercial disputes. The firm especially has deep expertise in disputes relating to banking and finance, fund and trust, and international trade. In recent years, the firm has also been covering international arbitration.

Hongji Li is a key partner at the firm’s Beijing headquarters. Qiang Cui is another notable lawyer who specialises in commercial disputes.

During the research period, the firm represented Vanke and Jinxiu against some companies based in Qingdao on a contract dispute; represented China Construction Bank’s subsidiary CCB Trust against CSGC and Baobian Electric on a contract dispute; and represented China National Offshore Oil Corporation against Biolux on a sino-foreign joint venture dispute.

Client feedback

“Among the law firms we have worked with, the professional level, professional dedication and communication skills of the lawyers at Commerce & Finance Law Offices are all at the leading level in the industry.” – Commercial disputes

“Commerce & Finance Law Offices has worked with our company for many years and is always able to respond to our needs in a timely manner. It is a very good and reliable law firm.” – Construction and real estate

DeHeng Law Offices is a full-service law firm with a national presence in a variety of practice areas in China. The Shenzhen office of DeHeng was founded in 2002, with a specialised litigation division in five practice areas, including general litigation and arbitration, corporate securities, real estate and infrastructure, intellectual property, and labour relations. The IP group has an especially excellent reputation in the local market.

Senior partners Jun Cui and Menglong Li are key names within the Shenzhen office. Both of them are experts in IP.

During the research period, the Shenzhen team represented UCloudlink against Skyline and Sperwells on a series of lawsuits, including patent infringement, patent ownership lawsuits and patent invalidation. Different from other cases of ownership disputes caused by service inventions and creations, this case is an ownership dispute caused by suspected infringement of trade secrets. Such disputes over ownership are rare in judicial practice.

In another key case, the team acted for Tencent in disputes over articles generated by artificial intelligence. This is the first case in the country where an AI-generated object constitutes a work. The case is listed in the top 10 classic cases selected by the Supreme People's Court in 2021.

Other key clients include Hewlett-Packard (China), Ping An Bank, China Merchants Bank, Vanke, Shenzhen Airport, Nike Sports (China), Universal Medicine, Louis Vuitton Malletti and Tencent.

Founded in 2001, the Guangdong office of Dentons is one of the largest law firms in south China. With more than 330 lawyers in its Guangzhou office, the disputes team is experienced on the full spectrum of matters ranging from corporate and government to arbitration proceedings and cross-border issues.

Senior partner Yuefeng Lu and partner Yunguang Lu are key contacts for commercial and construction disputes.  

During the 12 months, the firm represented Sinopec Engineering Company against Fude Energy and Chemical Company in a contract dispute; acted for a branch of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank against Guangdong Fubon Financial Leasing in a financial loan contract dispute; and also represented a Chinese company against the US Sangraf International in an international trade contract dispute.

Key clients include Procter & Gamble, Philips, Renfu, China Overseas Land, Sino-Ocean Land, Guangdong Insurance Regulatory Bureau and Zhongshan Municipal People's Government.

East & Concord Partners is mainly recognised for its arbitration work, and many lawyers from its Beijing office are senior arbitrators of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and other arbitration institutions. The firm is also experienced in commercial disputes and IP disputes, leading several significant cases in various industries such as finance, energy, education and insurance. The firm regularly provides litigation services for central enterprises, financial institutions, and domestic and foreign enterprises.

Qi Zhou, a key partnerin the dispute resolution department of the firm, focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration. 

Over the past year, the firm advised Nationsync Electrical and Machinery Equip on an arbitration case against China National Machine Tool Sales and Technical Service Corporation; acted for Tishman Speyer China Fund on an international arbitration against ARA in China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission; and represented China Citic Bank Beijing branch on a series of arbitration against investors.

Notable clients include China Banking Association, CITIC Bank, Pacific Insurance Group, Vanke Beijing and Zhejiang Longsheng Group.

Fangda Partners has risen steadily from its Shanghai roots to become a national powerhouse in China and it has also been earning a first-class reputation in the Beijing market. Its Beijing office has hundreds of lawyers with expertise in a number of practice areas, with prominent strengths in commercial litigation, intellectual property and international arbitration work.

Key figures in the dispute resolution team include Peibing Qi, Alexandra Pu Yang and Helen Shi, who are prominent in commercial disputes, IP litigation and international arbitration, respectively.

Over the past year, the firm has represented Rolls-Royce Holdings before the Beijing Chaoyang Court in cases brought by multiple Chinese individuals, who claim a total of Rmb431 million in compensation in relation to the air transportation damage disputes. It also represented Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fiber, a fiber manufacturer, in a series of PRC litigations against several cable producers. This case demonstrates the team’s strength in handling complicated disputes under the context of liquidation and potential equity acquisition between the parties. 

In intellectual property, the firm acted for Apple in a series of litigations against iRobot. The main case before the Shanghai High Court involves the highest damages request so far in all IP fields in China. Also, the firm represented NavInfo, a market-leading Chinese navigation software and map company, on its successful copyright infringement claim against three Baidu companies found to be using “substantially similar software” without permission. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court awarded NavInfo Rmb64.5 million in damages. It is the highest damages award for copyright infringement cases in China to date.

Alibaba Group, Giorgio Armani, Nanjing Skytech Technology and Watson Pharmaceuticals are the firm’s other key clients.

Client feedback

“Overall excellence. Continuously beyond expectation.” – Commercial disputes

“Pretty good and very professional.” – Intellectual property

Melody Wang

“Very hands-on, responsive and professional.”

“Excellent in establishing strategy in the arbitration proceedings, communicating with arbitration association and arbitrators, and responsively communicating with clients.”

Gen Law Firm is a newly founded boutique law firm that focuses on intellectual property practice. The firm has solid experience in patent and trademark areas and covers the full spectrum of sectors, including automotive, banking and financial services, wireless communications, semiconductors, computing, medicine, retail, publishing, software, sports, chemicals, social media and advertising.

Jing He and Kefeng Zhao are key contacts at the firm.

Case highlights include representing Beijing Baocaisheng Catering Management Company in trademark infringement and unfair competition disputes; advising on a series of trademark infringement and unfair competition litigation cases for American Sentry; and acting for Mingyang Smart Energy Group in a trade secrets case.

Client feedback

“They could establish a regular rhythm to inform the client of progress or lack of thereof.” – Intellectual property

Global Law Office’s litigation and arbitration practice has a good reputation in commercial disputes, including antitrust and competition, finance, insolvency and real estate-related litigation. The Beijing office mainly specialises in representing international companies in foreign-related commercial litigation, and complex transactional disputes.

Yifeng Gao is a key partner at the firm who specialises in international trade, commercial contracts and corporate matters. Jingye Jiang is another name to note who is active in international arbitration disputes.

The firm’s disputes capability is among the most highly respected in the market. During the research period, the firm acted for Zhongrong International Trust against Qinghai Huaxin Hydropower Development on a litigation. This case involves complex legal issues regarding the identification of real debts with nominal shareholder’s identification and triggered big controversies. In addition, the firm advised TC Pharmaceutical Industries on a trademark litigation. The dispute involves cutting-edge legal issues such as trademark value-added compensation and application of addition theory in the field of intellectual property, which has attracted great attention from the legal profession. As a landmark case in IP protection, the case was selected by the Supreme Court as one of the Top 10 Intellectual Property cases in China.

Key clients include Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank, Hang Seng Bank, Red Bull, Budweiser and OPPO.

In 2021, the firm welcomed dispute resolution partners Guangming Liu and Lei Niu from JunHe and Zhonglun Law Firm respectively.

Client feedback

“Professional and very good at communication.”– Commercial disputes

“The firm delivered good litigation results. We won the first and second instance of the case. The litigators of this firm are very experienced in contractual disputes. They are familiar with China’s local litigation practice and can offer practical advice.” – Commercial disputes

Grandall Law Firm’s Beijing dispute resolution team consists of 30 partners and more than 100 lawyers and fee earners. It is best known for its commercial disputes work, covering from arbitration, banking and finance, and equity capital markets to aviation, real estate, competition and insurance.

Senior partner Zhengyu Yang is a key partner who specialises in commercial disputes.

During the research period, notable cases include acting for the Taiyuan branch of China Merchants Bank against Shanxi Property Group in a dispute over the right of recourse of negotiable instruments; acting for Guizhou Kaili Rural Commercial Bank against the Nantong branch of Hengfeng Bank in a dispute over the negotiable instruments financing; and acting for China Huateng against Shanxi Jianbang Group and Shanxi Tongcai Industry in a circular trade dispute.

Client feedback

“The law firm has served our company's contract review work for a long time, and has extensive experience in handling aviation leasing, purchase, equity transfer and other types of contract review. Feedback is fast and opinions are comprehensive. In addition, the firm is also responsible for our company's business consultation and claims dispute settlement and it is very familiar with relevant laws in the aviation industry. The combination of professional legal affairs and business legal advice helps our company solve many problems.” – Commercial disputes

Dispute resolution is one of the core practice areas of Grandway Law Firm and is particularly good at handling commercial disputes. Gang Xie heads the dispute resolution team at the firm.

During the last 12 months, the firm advised Chengdu Santai Holding Group on an Rmb560 million arbitration case against an individual; represented Xingke Electronic Technology on an Rmb3.2 billion lawsuit against an individual; and advised Zulong (Tianjin) Technology on an Rmb2.3 million arbitration case against Jingqi Technology (Hong Kong).

The litigation and arbitration department of Guantao Law Firm is widely recognised by its peers. The firm handles a variety of complex disputes matters, being especially known for commercial and transactions-related disputes, such as high-value, complex corporate and commercial disputes and insolvency, as well as regulatory matters.

A key figure in the Beijing office is Shaosong Sun, who advises on commercial dispute matters, such as post M&A-related cases. 

Last year, Guantao handled several important cases, including acting for Xiamen Weiken Commercial Factoring against Dalian Huisheng Investment in a lending dispute and enforcement disposal; acting for Liaoning branch of China Huarong Asset Management against Liaoning Huishan Dairy Group in the bankruptcy proceedings of the latter; and acting for Kaiyuan Securities against Gangtai Group on a bond transaction dispute.

Key clients include China Energy Reserve and Chemicals Group, LG Electronics, China Pacific Insurance and Ping An Trust.

Beijing-headquartered Hai Run Law Firm was formed in January 2018 by the merger of two former longstanding law firms, Beijing Hairun Law Firm and Beijing Tianrui Law Firm. The firm now is home to more than 300 lawyers across six offices in China. Its dispute resolution team is active in several practice areas, such as commercial, intellectual property and insolvency.

Notable firm contacts include managing partners Ming Yao and Jinlong Zhou, who specialise in commercial disputes matters.

Last year, the firm advised China Nuclear Investment on a financial loan contract dispute against China Nuclear (Pingtan) Science and Technology Park Investment Partnership Enterprise, Beijing Shunhua Real Estate and Bank of Beijing. This case will be a precedent for other similar cases if the plaintiff wins, given the fact that cases of this kind are rare, despite support found in laws and regulations. 

In 2021, the firm welcomed senior partners Huanwei Zhang and Mei Fang. Both joined from Anli Law Firm and specialise in asset management.

The firm has many notable clients in banking, including Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Minsheng Bank, Hua Xia Bank and China CITIC Bank.

Han Kun Law Offices has grown from its Beijing origins and has pursued an aggressive development. It not only rapidly expanded the number of lawyers, but is recognised in various industries, such as telecommunications, healthcare and retail. It is especially well known for its high-quality work and regularly advises clients in commercial disputes, especially in private equity and venture capital fields.

Notable figures within the team in Beijing include commercial guru Yaxing Zhang and Dong Liu, and IP expert Yan Wang.

In the past 12 months, Han Kun has represented Bitmain Technologies, a well-known chip company with a market capitalization of more than $15 billion, in handling a cross-border battle for corporate control and helped the client successfully regain control over the group company. The case is significant because the disputes are complicated, concerning the control rights of dozens of domestic and foreign companies, and involving administrative, commercial, criminal and other legal proceedings.

Notable clients include Baidu, Estee Lauder, Kraft Heinz, Sandvik and Sohu.

Client feedback

“This is a law firm with highly qualified lawyers. The lawyers who provided our company with legal consultation and litigation defence have shown extremely high professionalism and professional ethics. Their patience, care, love, sense of justice, responsibility and professionalism allow our company to receive maximum legal protection, and the company is also moved by the lawyers’ selfless dedication and rigorous and dedicated attitude. In our hearts, they are the best law firm!” – Commercial disputes

Jun He

“He has demonstrated extremely high professional standards in the company’s foreign-related legal consulting services and contract disputes. He adheres to principles, works efficiently, takes responsibility, keeps the bottom line, safeguards the interests of clients, and allows international partners to see China. He is a very good lawyer!”

Founded in 2010, Hengdu Law Firm is a comprehensive law firm that provides various legal services in 47 practice areas. The firm hosts more than 600 attorneys with 42 offices across China, which positions it to properly serve both domestic and international clients. The firm mainly devotes itself to commercial and transactional disputes, particularly active in areas such as capital markets and corporate and M&A.

Founding partner Fengtao Jiang specialises in litigation and IP and senior partner Chao Xi is an expert in commercial transactions and construction-related disputes.

During the research period, the firm acted for Nanjing Kuozhi against Xiamen Runjing in investment agreement and repurchase agreement disputes; and also acted for Henan Haiyun against Eagle Property and Eagle Real Estate in a premises lease agreement disputes.

Notable clients include Sinopec, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Construction Bank, CITIC and China Construction Bank.

Client feedback

“The feedback is timely and problem-solving ability is professional, and also the service attitude is very good. Overall, the firm can effectively solve our doubts and problems.” – Intellectual property

Hylands Law Firm is a full-service firm founded in 1990. With more than 20 offices in China, the firm serves its clients across commercial litigation, IP disputes and construction and real estate disputes.

Partner Yu Xu is a key partner in the firm’s dispute resolution practice and has extensive experience in commercial disputes, especially active in banking and finance-related matters.

In 2021, the firm acted for Tahoe[WC(1]  Investment Management against Zhongfu Holdings and Jinggong Group in a corporate bond transaction dispute, and acted for Pangzeng Investment Management Center against Guangzhou Ruifeng and Lin Yongfei in a contract dispute.

Full-service firm Jincheng Tongda & Neal represents a diverse group of clients in key litigation areas, such as commercial litigation, international arbitration, real estate and construction.The Beijing headquarters is especially active in finance, investment and general business-related disputes.

Zhen Zhao is one of the key contacts to note in its Beijing office and he mainly focuses on commercial disputes and construction and real estate. 

Last year, the firm represented Dongxing Securities and Shin Kong Holdings Group in a securities pledge repurchase dispute, and acted for the China Consumers Association in handling litigation against Lovol Heavy Industries, which was the first consumer public interest litigation of the China Consumers Association.

The firm’s key clients include Fivestar Holdings Group, Guangzhou Yunshuo Technology Development, Hanlin Hui Information Industry and Tianjin Haitai Investment Guarantee. 

Jingtian & Gongcheng’s Beijing headquarters has won praise from the market as one of the leading commercial disputes firms. Its litigation team specialises in resolving legal matters relating to trade, investment, corporate business, finance and insurance. The firm is also growing its presence in the real estate and construction space.

Partner Chungang Dong is a key name within the dispute resolution group, and he is known for his capability in commercial disputes and international arbitration.

Last year, the firm represented China Hi-Tech Group in its securities fraud litigation. In this case, the People’s Court in Beijing accepted the role of systemic risk for the first time and reduced the amount of compensation paid by listed companies to investors.

Also, the firm represented OPPO in its litigation against Sharp and ScienBizip in a standard-essential patent licence dispute. This case clarifies for the first time that the Chinese court has jurisdiction over global licensing fees for standard-essential patents. It is a milestone for China to actively participate in the rule-making of global intellectual property rights governance.

Key clients of the firm include Beingmate, Guangdong Oppo Electronics Industry, Jiangsu Yabaite Technology, Kangde Xin Composite Material Group and Shenzhen Capstone Industrial.  

Client feedback

“Excellent, professional and good at communication.” – Commercial disputes

JunHe, a Beijing-headquartered full-service law firm, is highly regarded for its commercial and intellectual property disputes. The commercial disputes team regularly acts for banking, investment, and insolvency litigation matters, while the IP team is active on trademark, copyright and anti-unfair competition.

Key partners include commercial dispute specialists Yanli Zheng and Weining Zou.

In 2021, the firm represented Amazon against the infringement litigations involving essential patents in the communications field and won two administrative litigations before Beijing Intellectual Property Court. The firm also assisted Shangri-La Group in combating fake or infringing websites.

Client feedback

“Excellent communication skills, highly responsive and focus on the needs of the client.” – Commercial disputes

Beijing-headquartered JunZeJun Law Firm is a full-service law firm that has a total of 11 offices in China. Its dispute resolution team is active in commercial and contract-related conflicts, cross-border matters, local arbitration proceedings and government procurement disputes.

In its Beijing office, notable key contacts include partner Weigang Shi, who is active in commercial disputes matters, and managing partner Xiuming Tao, who is active in financial litigation and international arbitration.

In commercial disputes, the firm acted on a dispute over the bankruptcy revocation right between the Bank of China Shenzhen Longgang sub-branch and Shenzhen Fuchang Electronic Technology. The court verdict in this case was selected by the Shenzhen Court as a national exemplary judgement.

In construction and real estate, the firm acted for a real estate company in Shenzhen in an equity transfer dispute involving land transactions. The case involved complex disputes over the ownership of compensation rights after the adjustment of land planning.

King & Wood Mallesons maintains its position as one of the dominant players in China’s legal market, and its Beijing headquarters is highly praised by its peers and clients. The Beijing litigation teams are particularly sought after by major domestic and international banks, leading financial institutions, government-linked companies and other multinational companies in China. The firm is also well-recognised for its work in international arbitration, asset management and securities litigation and compliance.

Key Beijing partners include commercial disputes partners Shouzhi Zhang and Yuwu Liu and IP disputes partners Zhongsheng Li and Jing Xu. 

During the research period, the firm represented CTF’s affiliates in a series of cases in relation to the invalidity of the contracts in the Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court and the Beijing High People's Court. It also represented Guosen Securities in a lawsuit concerning civil compensation arising from misrepresentation in the securities market between relevant securities investors, Chengdu Huaze Cobalt & Nickel Material, Ruihua Certified Public Accountants and Guosen Securities, and relevant individuals.

In the insolvency space, the firm advised on the Bohai Steel Group reorganisation project, J&R reorganisation project and Zhongyin Cashmere reorganisation project.

Lantai Partners is a Beijing-based full-service firm dedicated specifically to commercial and financial litigation legal work. Its dispute resolution practice covers various types of contractual disputes, commercial and corporate disputes, bank loans and guarantee disputes, and construction contract disputes. The firm has also established a compliance department, which is a cross-departmental team dedicated to the legal work of compliance-related research and businesses.

Xiaoming Yao and Qing Wang are key figures for commercial disputes. 

During the research period, the firm advised on financial loan contract disputes between the Xiamen branch of China CITIC Bank and Xiamen Yuansheng Real Estate; and acted on a business trust dispute between Ankang and Antong Holdings.

Key clients include China Development Bank, China Construction Bank, CITIC Trust and Minmetals International Trust.

Known for its stellar intellectual property practice, Liu Shen & Associates has breadth and depth of capability to provide clients with the full spectrum of intellectual property-related legal services, including patents and trademarks, copyright and anti-unfair competition. The firm is well-placed to advise clients across an adequately balanced spread of contentious and non-contentious IP work, with exceptional strength in patent-related matters.

Fengbo Tao heads the team that includes partners Qing Ge, Kai Yang and Guanyang Yao.

The firm acted for Samsung against Huawei in patent licensing litigation. The case dealt with complex legal issues such as the identification of patents and trademarks, the appraisal of communications and software technologies, and the application of FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) rules. The firm also represented Aux against Gree in patent infringement litigation; and advised Luxemburg Aegis in a dispute regarding patent invalidation.

Full-service law firm Tian Yuan Law Firm is active in the space of commercial, intellectual property and construction disputes. In Tian Yuan, there are about 100 practitioners in the litigation department nationwide, while the Beijing office holds the largest number of lawyers and handles the most complex, high-stakes matters. The Beijing office is highly regarded for its expertise in dealing with corporate, regulatory, securities and insolvency disputes.

Xiaodong Zhu is a key contact for commercial disputes in the Beijing office.

In commercial litigation, the firm has worked on various noteworthy cases, including a series of contract disputes of CITIC Guoan Group; the disposal of Beijing Huashang Jingwei Asset; and a tort liability dispute among Huainan Mining and other companies.

In intellectual property, the firm acted for the Medical Center of Erasmus University Rotterdam in handling the first-ever biomedicine patent case before the intellectual property court of the Supreme People's Court of China. This case involved the controversy of biomedical patent creativity, which has a significant impact on the medical industry.

Key clients include Beijing Education Star Technology, HengTai Securities, Hongjun Industrial Development and NavInfo and Shengjing Bank.  

Beijing-headquartered TianTong Law Firm is a widely recognised litigation boutique in the country. Particularly, it focuses on major and complex commercial dispute resolution before the highest level of court in China. Since its establishment in 2002, the total value of commercial cases handled by the firm has reached tens of billions of yuan, and 30 cases have been selected as landmark cases by the Supreme People's Court of China.

Partner Yaoquan Chen is a leading and respected figure in the market, mainly known for commercial disputes.

During the research period, the firm represented China Coal Geology Bureau against Zhenxing Group in a contract dispute. Other cases the firm worked on during  remain confidential but the cases highlighted the firm's strengths in commercial disputes involving major contractual disputes and shareholders’ disputes.

Key clients include the People's Bank of China, Electric Group, Dalian Wanda Group and Evergrande Group.

Tiger Partners is a young boutique law firm founded in December 2019, focusing on civil and commercial dispute resolution for Chinese enterprises, financial institutions and foreign corporations.

Founding partner Yuxuan Liu is active in litigation relating to private equity, company equity and control rights, media and entertainment, real estate and construction projects.

In 2020, the firm represented Bohai International Trust against Chuying Agriculture Group in a trust loan dispute case involving a complex structure.

Notable clients include Youdu Xiaoman Finance, Paradise Silicon Valley, Yuanjing Venture Capital, Tiger Securities, Guoke Investment and Qiqin Technology.

Zhong Lun Law Firm continues to enjoy a coveted position as one of the strongest and most in-demand litigation powerhouses in China. As the headquarters, Zhong Lun’s Beijing office has the strongest specialties and is highly ranked across all categories including commercial disputes, construction and real estate, international arbitration and intellectual property.

Key individuals include Lijun Cao, Xiangwen Liu and Ping Gu, who specialise and are known for international arbitration, commercial disputes and intellectual property, respectively.

In the commercial disputes space, the firm provided legal services to Lovol Heavy Machinery, in litigation against the China Consumers Association (CCA), including participating in civil litigation and settlement, handling professional counterfeiter hunters, and responding to administrative investigation and criminal reporting. This case is CCA’s first public interest case in China. Also, the firm represented then-directors of Jiangsu Baoqianli Video Technology Group in response to misrepresentation civil suits. This case is the country’s first case of a civil compensation dispute over fraudulent issuance of company bonds and the first case applying a representative litigation system in securities misrepresentation disputes.

In construction and real estate, the firm represented China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation in an oil pipeline construction dispute, and represented Beijing Shougang International Engineering Technology in an overseas construction letter of guarantee dispute before Xinjiang High People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Court.

In intellectual property, it represented Qiaodan Sports in several high-profile celebrity name and reputation rights civil suits against Michael Jeffery Jordan, which are now ongoing in the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court, together with several trademark administrative cases in Beijing IP Courts. This series of cases is one of the largest trademark disputes in the history of trademark administrative litigations in China.

Important clients include Beijing Benz Automotive, Cinda Financial Leasing, Founder Technology Group, Guangdong Huaxing Bank and Shenzhen Prosunpro Solar Energy.  

Client feedback

“Provided sound advice and excellent service.” – Commercial disputes

“The team I worked with have deep knowledge and rich experience in the insolvency and restructuring area. From partner to staff, different members of the team understood their own position and can provide services to the client timely and very effectively.” – Commercial disputes

“The firm has provided very excellent service. Mr Cao Lijun and Mrs Zhang Li are professional lawyers.” – International arbitration

ZhongYin Law Firm is one of the earliest partnership law firms established in China. It has 28 offices across China and is home to more than 3,000 lawyers and supporting staff. As one of the oldest law firms in the country, it has expertise across the full spectrum of dispute resolution practice areas. The most well-known area is commercial and transactions-related disputes, including financial securities, capital markets and investment.

In the past year, the firm has provided legal advice for China National Building Material Group on a dispute over a foreign-related construction project with Electrical Equipment Installation Company. It also handled a contract dispute between Beijing Jinyuan Construction Decoration Engineering and Hebei Jiarun Construction Engineering.

Client feedback

“They are familiar with various transaction structures of our company, and provide professional, timely and efficient consultation.” – Government and regulatory