The Legal 500

Fangda Partners’ highly regarded dispute resolution team expanded in 2012 with the hire of Peter Yuen from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Yuen joined to set up the firm’s new Hong Kong office; his broad dispute resolution practice covers arbitration, litigation and dispute resolution, and he has particular experience in cross-border multi-jurisdictional matters. The team’s work includes disputes arising in joint ventures, corporate dissolution, international trading, banking, and shipping. Xiang Ji specialises in disputes involving corporate financial transactions, including financial derivatives and professional liability. Gordon Gao and Daniel Huang undertake significant intellectual property-related litigation and arbitration work.

Global Law Office has a large dispute resolution team of over 20 partners, with experience representing multinational and domestic clients in international commercial arbitration, complex commercial and civil litigation and labour dispute arbitration and litigation. Disputes range from foreign direct investment and M&A transactions, insurance and maritime claims, and claims under construction and real estate contracts, to enforcement of IP rights. Ming Zhou has recently advised Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Packaging Machinery on a number of matters at the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC). Xiusong Xing and Yifeng Gao are also recommended.

King & Wood Mallesons represents numerous clients across a range of industries, including mining, textiles and chemicals. Ariel Ye heads the cross-border dispute resolution team and was recently appointed to the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA); Ye’s clients include multinational corporations, international financial institutions, large-scale domestic enterprises, and foreign-invested companies. Qian Yaozhi leads the firm’s domestic dispute resolution practice; his expertise includes litigation and arbitration relating to finance, corporate structure and securities, foreign direct investment, international trade and real estate development. Zhang Shouzhi specialises in cross-border trade and investment, banking and finance, infrastructure, intellectual property and product liability disputes. Liu Xiangwen has a broad corporate litigation practice.

Jun He Law Offices’ 21-partner dispute resolution team handles disputes over matters including equity investment, trade and anti-dumping, maritime, financing, foreign direct investment and intellectual property. Recent highlights include representing Nantong Fuhao in a dispute over a joint venture with Heineken-APB (China), involving issues over the indirect assignment of shares. The team also represented client BMW in a trade mark infringement and unfair competition case against Guangzhou Century Baochi Apparel; the case is being heard at the Beijing High court. Other clients include Shunlong Physical Therapy Equipment, Linhai Yongci, and Tianrui, reflecting the trend for more and more Chinese companies to be involved in complicated and high-profile, cross-border disputes. Honghuan Liu, Luming Chen and Ning Fei are recommended.

Zhong Lun Law Firm’s highly experienced dispute resolution team includes a number of former judges and sitting arbitrators. The group represents a range of industries, including real estate, financial services, information technology, media, and energy. Wilson Huo specialises in cross-border arbitration and commercial litigation, and has represented a major US pump manufacturer in arbitration at China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC). Lei Niu has expertise in international dispute resolution, particularly in relation to international trade matters. He has represented clients in a number of arbitral forums, including CIETAC, China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC), Beijing Arbitration Commission and Shanghai Arbitration Commission. Niu recently undertook a number of high-value shipbuilding and general maritime disputes.

Commerce & Finance Law Office’s clients include international companies, major state-owned enterprises (SOEs), departments of central and local governments, non-commercial entities and private-owned enterprises. Work undertaken includes disputes in connection with the international sales of goods, joint ventures, maritime matters, guarantees, securities and real estate and intellectual property. The team recently lost Song Dihuang to Wang Jing & Co. Jin Saibo handles disputes on guarantees, collection and international trade and Zhang Wei undertakes litigation and arbitration relating to contracts, general corporate matters, investment, maritime law and maritime trade law. Highly experienced litigator Li Hongji has knowledge of a range of areas such as commerce, finance and maritime disputes; and Yang Ting is recommended for labour and human resource disputes.

Concord & Partners has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and covers a full range of litigation and arbitration matters, including contract, foreign investment and real estate disputes, and finance and insurance claims. The team includes a number of arbitrators and has represented clients before the Supreme People’s Court and at the CIETAC. Zhou Qi is the name to note.

Dacheng Law Office is experienced in litigation, arbitration and compulsory enforcement proceedings, as well as in handling emergency situations on behalf of their clients. Jie Wang has dispute resolution experience in a range of matters including investment, financing, liquidation, restructuring, bankruptcy and intellectual property. Dennis Deng specialises in disputes involving M&A, Sino-foreign joint ventures, real estate, construction and employment, as well as shareholder and derivatives disputes. The team is highly experienced in undertaking international arbitration in both international and domestic forums, including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Commission (HKIAC), CIETAC, and the Beijing Arbitration Commission.

DeHeng Law Office has particular experience in appeal cases before the Chinese Supreme Court, and represents clients across a range of industries in all Asia’s major arbitral institutions. The teams work includes claims for breach of contract, gross negligence, fraud, IP violations, product liability and insurance coverage, as well as IP issues and engineering disputes. Qi Jiang is recommended for banking and finance and international trade disputes, and Xiaoling Wang has represented a number of state-owned and private corporations in commercial and labour disputes.

Guantao Law Firm’s eight-partner litigation and arbitration department is led by Yang Guang in Beijing. It has particular expertise in real estate disputes, and recently represented Beijing Huadu in a shareholders dispute with Beijing China Water Investment Management Centre. The team handles disputes concerning investments, equity, international trade and IP matters, among others.

Haiwen & Partners’ dispute resolution practice focuses on cases arising from matters including international and domestic trade, foreign direct investment, securities trading, construction projects and intellectual property. The team has acted for a number of high-profile clients including Bayer, Deutsche Bank, Procter & Gamble and IBM. Jie Tao and Xinguang Cao are recommended for commercial dispute resolution.

Jingtian & Gongcheng’s litigation and arbitration team is led by Xuejun Peng. The group has recently been acting in one of the largest ever (in terms of scale and amount of claims) product-liability actions against Chinese enterprises in the US courts. The team also has expertise in investment disputes, having recently advised ECO Environmental Investments and its affiliates on investments and investment disputes with mainland partners in Inner Mongolia and Hubei province. Chungang Dong, Yue Liu and Xuejun Peng are highly regarded litigation and arbitration practitioners.

Llinks Law Offices’ ‘extremely good’ team recently advised Hua An Fund Management on a $96.4m professional liability and contractual claim against Lehman Brothers International (Europe) before the Shanghai High Court. Clients ‘admire the sophistication in handling cases’. David Yu leads the ‘energetic’ team, which was recently bolstered by the hire of Peiming Yang. Founding partner Charles Qin is ‘easy to communicate with’ and ‘has a good insight into the judiciary in the PRC’.

Run Ming Law Office undertakes considerable disputes work, covering areas including foreign investment, contracts, labour and intellectual property. The team has particular experience representing foreign companies in their direct or indirect investments in China, as well as significant expertise in enforcement proceedings. Executive partner Yadong Wang specialises in disputes work for multinational companies relating to joint venture projects, product quality, contracts and labour matters; he has particular expertise in IP disputes. Wen Qin is also recommended.

Specialist litigation firm Tiantong & Partners has significant experience of representing SOEs, banks and financial institutions in the Supreme People’s Court and other higher courts of China. The team undertakes commercial, corporate, IP, and finance-related litigation, and also represents developers and contractors in real estate, construction and engineering disputes. Jiang Yong is the name to note.

United Zhongwen Law Firm is praised for its ‘timely responses, business acumen, profound legal knowledge and appropriate legal advice’. The team recently represented a domestic goods supplier in an action against Chinese supermarket chain group Wumart concerning unfair competition. Other work includes acting for Beijing Internet Transmission in a series of copyright infringement claims against a range of public internet service providers. Xu Qinglin leads the team.