On December 29, 2023, a roundtable seminar on "Current and Future Practice of Foreign Lawyers" organized by King&Capital International Legal Service Center (hereinafter referred to as "KCI") was successfully held in King&Capital Law Firm.
The seminar was organized by Tian Wenchang, Director of Criminal Practice Committee of All-China Lawyers Association and Honorary Director of King&Capital, Chu Changzhi, Managing Partner and CEO of King&Capital, who made a welcoming speech, and Zhang Libin, Partner-in-Charge of Foreign Affairs Department, who presided over the meeting and introduced the relevant situation of King&Capital to the attendees. Beijing Tianda Republic Law Firm, Beijing Jindu Law Firm, Ovar & Partners, Weikeng Law Firm, Kidd Law Firm, Sinopec and CNOOC were invited to attend the meeting, and the main partners of King&Capital attended the meeting.
Scene of the meeting
Mr. Tian Wenchang delivered a speech through video, he said that in today's changing international environment, foreign-related business is facing new challenges as well as new opportunities, and to be prepared and to cope with the challenges is the best choice for foreign-related lawyers to cope with the changes. In his speech, Mr. Chu Changzhi briefly introduced the development history of King&Capital and the development goal of internationalization of King&Capital. Mr. Zhang Libin reviewed the founding process of KCI and briefly introduced the purpose of the establishment of KCI, its business areas, composition, business planning and classic cases done by the foreign-related business team.
Mr. Tian Wenchang
Chu Changzhi
Zhang Libin
The roundtable mainly focused on the two topics of "Current Situation and Demand of Foreign Legal Service Market" and "Challenges and Development of Foreign Lawyers in China", and the discussion was carried out freely and warmly in the upper and lower halves of the roundtable. Mr. Xiao Yong, International Partner and Head of China Energy and Resources Practice of Beijing King & Wood Mallesons, pointed out that the current development of foreign lawyers in China is both the worst and the best time, with both opportunities and challenges, and that the international cooperation of law firms and the construction of talents are the key points of attention in the internationalization of China's foreign lawyers.
Li Dajin, chairman of the partnership meeting and founding partner of Beijing Tianda & Gonghe Law Firm, member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former president of Beijing Municipal Lawyers' Association, believes that the state supports the development of foreign lawyers, and that China's foreign lawyers need to be redefined. Chinese lawyers should speed up the construction and layout of foreign-related organizations, deepen the level of foreign-related services in specialized fields, and actively participate in the formulation of international rules, so as to further enhance China's international discourse.
Mr. Zhang Libin, with his personal experience of participating in the development of international compliance standards, agrees with the views of the above experts on the expansion of overseas organizations, the improvement of professional capacity and the development of international rules.
Mr. Li Dewei, Chief Representative and Managing Partner of the Beijing Representative Office of Hill & Knowlton LLP, introduced the current development of foreign law firms in China. He said that foreign-funded law firms should grasp the pulse of the development of the times, and under the overall development strategy, clarify their own positioning, expand their professional advantages, attach importance to human resources, and give full play to the advantages of foreign firms, so as to make a good bridge between Chinese and foreign exchanges, and be the vanguard of the development of the market. Chen Xi, senior consultant of France Kidder Law Firm and practicing lawyer in France, combined with his personal experience, expressed his insights on how to develop international business, pointing out that foreign lawyers should prioritize clients and market demand, choose the layout according to the conditions of the firms and the market characteristics, and flexibly develop the mode of cooperation. Mr. Liu Yu, Marketing Director of Oval Partnership Greater China, shared his experience on the market development trend of foreign-related business, pointing out that Chinese corporate clients have become more mature, which puts forward higher requirements on the professional level and ability of foreign-related lawyers, who should distinguish their own strengths and position themselves clearly, and pay attention to the market trend to seize the opportunities.
Chang Mingxia, Deputy Manager of Contract Project Office of Sinopec Enterprise Reform and Legal Department, shared frankly from the point of view of state-centralized enterprises, pointing out that the high-quality development of state-centralized enterprises requires lawyers to provide higher-quality services, and that the improvement of business of lawyers involved in foreign affairs should pay close attention to the national strategic orientation and the needs of state-centralized enterprises for the development of their business involved in foreign affairs, and pay attention to the real demand in the areas of Belt and Road, foreign-related disputes and corporate compliance, and focus on the important and difficult areas such as the energy and environmental protection, anti-monopoly, countervailing Focusing on energy and environment, anti-monopoly, countervailing, anti-dumping and other important and difficult areas, we will provide more local foreign lawyers with rich experience, security and professionalism for the state and central enterprises. Hong Hao, General Manager of Legal Compliance Department of CNOOC Gas & Electric Group, put forward his viewpoints on the needs of enterprises, the current situation of foreign lawyers and the path of enhancement, pointing out that with the development of international business, there will be a greater demand for foreign legal services from state and central enterprises in the future, and that foreign lawyers can pay attention to the whole process of the industry, plough into the specific links, accumulate experience in the industry, cultivate professional talents, and strive for the right to make international speeches in the specialized fields.
Mr. Wei Hong, former CEO of Guanghui Petroleum, combined with his experience in foreign-related projects, pointed out that foreign-related projects of enterprises have hidden opportunities, and often a project will lead to the development of the whole industry chain, and that Chinese foreign-related lawyers should consider the issues of whether to do it or not, for whom to do it and how to do it to adapt to, integrate into, and lead the international business, and promote the upgrade of lawyers' business dimensions. Mr. Xiao Feng, former General Manager of Legal Affairs Department of China Minmetals Corporation, pointed out that China's lawyers are facing a change in the overall pattern of the industry, and foreign lawyers should clarify their own footholds, improve the quality of their talents, and gain a deeper understanding of the industry, so as to truly help their clients to solve their problems.
Afterwards, the participating partners of King&Capital shared their views and feelings. Mr. Sun Yanhui, Managing Partner of Corporate and Compliance Department, believed that the future of foreign-related business is promising, and foreign-related lawyers should improve their business ability from the perspective of specialization, fully satisfy the needs of clients, and integrate resources to expand their business areas. Mr. Wang Chunjun, Senior Partner of Real Estate and Infrastructure Department, pointed out that the current growth in the number of disputes in international engineering cases provides more room for the development of foreign lawyers' business. Mr. Chen Zhihui, senior partner of the Civil and Commercial Litigation Department, believed that it is necessary to further consolidate the basic skills of literature search and document writing in foreign-related legal services, so as to provide professional, process-oriented and standardized services for clients. Mr. Du Yu, a senior partner of the Corporate and Compliance Department, believed that the internationalization transformation of law firms should be combined with the actual situation and their own characteristics, and that the layout of key areas, institutions and talents should be carried out in a reasonable manner. Mr. Sun Jianli, Senior Partner of Corporate and Compliance Department, believed that foreign lawyers should strengthen communication with lawyers of other departments and overseas law firms on the basis of a full understanding of the industry they serve, and explore more opportunities for cooperation. Mr. Lv Zhixuan, Managing Partner of the Government and Public Service Department, pointed out that overseas projects of finance, government and banks need the services of foreign lawyers, and foreign lawyers should further improve their specialization, strengthen the cooperation and interface with foreign law firms, and provide good compliance training for enterprises. Mr. Jin Yi, the partner-in-charge of the Antitrust Department, believes that Chinese foreign lawyers should raise their political stance, clarify their strategic objectives, and escort Chinese enterprises going abroad.
At the end of the meeting, the moderator, Mr. Zhang Libin, pointed out in his concluding remarks that all the participants had extensive exchanges and in-depth discussions on the current situation and future of foreign lawyers based on their practical experience, and that the meeting had achieved fruitful results. In the future, Chinese lawyers should be on a par with high-level international lawyers, rooted in the needs of clients, and seize the opportunity to improve their business capacity, so as to promote foreign-related legal services to a new level.
With warm applause, this roundtable seminar was successfully concluded in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Group photo
