Top talent from some of China’s most prestigious law firms have joined forces to form AnJie Law Firm, which opens its doors for business and launches its official website at the end of October.
Twelve founders, including 10 lawyers and two senior counsel, come from the top tier of Chinese firms, including Grandall Law Firm, Zhong Lun Law Firm, Mingtai Law Firm, Jin Tai Law Firm and Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, as well as foreign counsel, a former judge and a former ministry undersecretary.
Zhan Hao, the new firm’s managing partner and former executive partner at Grandall, said many of the founders were managing or executive partners in their previous positions and most had attained an overseas education or experience with international firms, while some were also admitted to the bar in the US, UK and South Korea.
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“Some of our partners are ranked by Chambers, Who’s Who and Legal 500 as band one lawyers in their specific sectors, and some participate in legislation events sponsored by the PRC government,” Zhan said.
“In the beginning stages, we will focus on antitrust, insurance, real estate, IPO, energy, IP, mergers, outbound investment and dispute resolution. With the development of AnJie, we will expand our business scope, especially to explore new fields in the legal market.”
AnJie is the pronunciation of the Chinese name 安杰. In Chinese, an means security and peace, which the firm’s founders say is the intention of law enforcement. Jie is 杰出, which means distinction. An with jie also means a distinct firm, a different participant in the relevant market.
Zhan said AnJie comprises about 80 staff including partners, counsel, associates, legal assistants and support staff. The new office is located in the Central International Trade Centre on Chang An Street, in the heart of Beijing.
Top staff at the new firm, apart from Zhan, include: Michael Gu, from Zhong Lun, who focuses on antitrust, mergers and outbound investment; Cheng Bing, from Zhong Lun, who focuses on intellectual property (IP) and class litigation; Zheng Xilin, from Grandall and also former second secretary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who focuses on energy and private equity; He Yu, from Mingtai Law Firm, who focuses on mergers, corporate legal affairs and real estate; Soochul Lee, a foreign counsel and Korean lawyer, who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, investment and M&A in South Korea, banking and finance; Gao Ping, from Jin Tai Law Firm and a former judge with Beijing Second Intermediate Court, who focuses on litigation and arbitration; Chen Bin, from Zhonglun W&D, who focuses on energy and mining, real estate and construction, infrastructure and PE; Huang Zaizai, from Grandall, who focuses on insurance, IPOs and energy.
Other partners are still in the process of departing from their current companies and their information could not be disclosed.
“The PRC legal market is in the process of developing from an infant phrase to a semi-mature stage, and PRC firms can seek and explore plenty of new opportunities,” Zhan said.
“In the forthcoming days, PRC lawyers are to enjoy a most prosperous time, and AnJie wants to take advantage of this opportunity.”
■ See Let’s get together, page 23
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