The Legal 500

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a first tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices was among the first Chinese law firms to advise in the banking and finance arena and remains at the forefront of the market. A number of major domestic and multinationals have instructed the team, including Standard Chartered, Bank of East Asia and East West Bank. The team, including James Miao, has expertise assisting banks with acquisition strategies and restructuring projects, as well as advising financiers on the preparation of security for a range of facilities. Additionally, it has a wealth of experience in the disposal of non-performance loans for foreign-invested banks. The firm advised on a RMB4bn syndicated loan in connection with a large energy project, and acted for four major PRC banks on a RMB1.4bn syndicated loan. For East West Bank, it advised on the disposal of RMB309m-worth of non-performing loans in connection with its acquisition of United Commercial (China) Bank. Fang Yi left to join Jun He Law Offices

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a first tier firm,

The ‘large team’ at Allbright Law Offices is widely recognised as a market leader in capital markets, acting for both issuers and underwriters. The securities practice covers stock and bond issuance, and acts for Chinese companies on IPOs. The firm is consistently ranked as a leading advisor on small and medium cap boards and Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) listings. It has advised a number of state-owned enterprises and private companies in capital-raising activities on other exchanges such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NASDAQ Global, Euronet, ASX, AIM and SGX. These are typically through IPOs, reverse public offerings, reverse merger transactions, follow-on and secondary offerings as well as private investments in public equities (PIPEs) and alternative public offerings (APOs). Highlights included advising on the first Paris listing of a Chinese health food producer at Euronext Paris, and acting for China Commercial Aircraft on a RMB3bn bond issuance. It is also strong in fund formation and in advising hedge funds and other international funds on Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) issues. Recommended practitioners include Steve Zhu, Guoquan Shen and Lawrence Zhu.

Within Beijing Other recommended firms

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a first tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices covers the full range of services from general corporate transactions, commercial agreements and compliance to inbound and outbound investments and advising on projects and infrastructure. A key component of the practice is its M&A capability; it regularly advises multinational and listed companies, state-owned enterprises and professional investment institutions on asset acquisitions and strategic minority investments, and on sale of assets. In addition to conventional M&A work, the group often acts for special committees of board of directors and advises on MBOs, buyout funds, mezzanine debt funds and mezzanine debt funds. Clients include Shanghai Industrial Holdings, which instructed the firm on its HK$2.74bn acquisition of 45% equity interest in Neo China. Julia Zhu and Victor Wang are recommended.

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a second tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices has a strong track record of litigation and now represents clients both in China and abroad, bolstered by the firm’s national presence and international referral network. It has strong capabilities in CIETAC and international arbitration, having represented clients in a number of high-profile cases. The types of disputes range from maritime matters and white collar crimes to employment and IP disputes. Another prominent area is international trade disputes such as anti-dumping regulations in China, Europe and the US.

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a third tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices has a range of expertise and acts for both domestic and international clients including Nike, GE and Microsoft. The firm frequently prosecutes and defends on infringement cases, unfair competition actions, internet and technology-related disputes, franchise disputes, false advertising claims, trade secrets litigation and restrictive covenants and various other intellectual property claims. It also provides non-contentious advice. Senior partner David Chen heads the department.

Within Legal market overview,

Movement continues between international and domestic firms in mainland China. Former Beijing Lovells partner Robert Lewis went to Allbright Law Offices in 2010, but has since joined Beijing’s Zhong Lun Law Firm; and Michael Yu left Global Law Office for Norton Rose LLP in 2010, but rejoined Global Law Office in 2011.

Within Shanghai, Allbright Law Offices is a second tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices’ Frank Cao is a specialist in maritime and admiralty law as well as insurance. The practice is particularly strong in contentious work and shipping finance; it advised a minerals company on a chartering and sales dispute and acted for a major shipping company on a RMB2bn ship finance project. The firm is also legal consultant to COSCO.

Within Beijing, Allbright Law Offices is a third tier firm,

Allbright Law Offices is praised for its responsiveness and quality of work. The team recently welcomed Kevin Wang from Mayer Brown JSM to leads its Beijing tax practice, which currently primarily supports the corporate department in large-scale M&A, and private equity investment or divestment transactions. Praised for his ‘sound professional knowledge’, Wang has a Big Four accountancy firm background as well as a history of managing and developing tax practices in law firms. Corporate and tax specialist Haifeng Yang leads on tax-related matters from Shanghai.