Clifford Chance partners with Shanghai He Ping in FTZ

Clifford Chance has tied up with #He Ping# Law Firm in the Shanghai free-trade zone (FTZ) to further strengthen its presence in China. This makes Clifford Chance the ninth foreign law firm to form a joint operation with a Chinese law firm under the FTZ regulations.

The new joint operation, known as “Clifford Chance and Shanghai #He Ping# Law Firm (FTZ) Joint Operation Office”, enables Clifford Chance to provide clients with integrated services covering both Chinese and international law.

Connie Heng, Clifford Chance’s Asia-Pacific regional managing partner, told China Business Law Journal that the joint operation builds on the firms’ longstanding collaboration and shared values.

“Since 2022, we have been working with them on a number of joint client mandates,” said Heng. “The success of this collaboration is what led to discussions for the joint operation. Importantly, the #He Ping# partners share the same strategic vision with us to develop its talent and client offerings.”

According to Clifford Chance, the joint operation will focus on corporate, M&A, financial regulatory, antitrust, IP and dispute resolution.

#He Ping# has been in operation for 32 years and specialises in cross-border and dispute resolution matters, led by founding partners Cheng Jingwen, who focuses on dispute resolution and litigation, as well as Guo Huiming, who specialises in cross-border and civil matters.

Among #He Ping#’s three practice area leaders, two of them, Glen Ma and Kimi Liu, previously worked with Clifford Chance.

Ma, the head of #He Ping#’s corporate practice, was formerly a partner at Clifford Chance’s Shanghai office. He is qualified in both China and New York, and has extensive experience in cross-border acquisition.

Liu, #He Ping#’s head of regulatory and compliance, was previously a counsel at Clifford Chance’s Beijing branch, and specialises in financial regulation and data protection.

#He Ping#’s head of IP, Julia Peng, has more than 15 years of experience, focusing on patent and trade secret civil litigation, patent invalidation and copyright enforcement. She was a partner at Hogan Lovells and Fujian Fidelity Law Firm’s Shanghai joint operation office, Hogan Lovells Fidelity.

Heng said that China’s ambition in technology and innovation was expected to attract more foreign investment. “China continues to be a crucial strategic market for many of our clients, and we remain committed to supporting their evolving needs,” she said. “As China focuses on stabilising the economy and boosting domestic consumption, this may encourage more inbound investment.”