The U.K.-based Holman Fenwick Willan LLP (HFW) and the U.S.-based Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP were approved to set up their new offices in Shenzhen, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Justice on Sunday.

Established in 1883, HFW is a world-leading international law firm in the field of shipping, maritime and aviation. In 2022 it was named by The Times as one of the best maritime law firms in the U.K.

The HFW Shenzhen office, located in Qianhai, is the law firm’s 21st office worldwide and its third in China, which shows HFW’s confidence in its long-term and stable development in the Chinese market.

In March, the Ministry of Justice formally approved Qianhai to pilot joint operations of Chinese and foreign law firms, allowing qualified firms to provide Chinese and foreign clients with legal services involving the application of Chinese and foreign laws in matters of labor division and cooperation, and to cooperate in the handling of cross-border and international legal affairs.

According to Justin Sun, a partner of HFW and chief representative of HFW’s Shenzhen office, HFW takes Qianhai as a new platform and will rely on its advantages in global legal resources to provide services for multinational companies to enter the Chinese market as well as complementary services for Chinese companies. “The development trend of Qianhai as an international legal services area is a perfect match with the development goals of our law firm,” Sun said.

Since its official operation in January 2022, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal-services District as of June has gathered 175 legal service institutions. Seven Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao joint venture law firms have been established in Qianhai, and 74 overseas lawyers are approved to work in Qianhai.

The other law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP was founded in 1873, and its main service scope covers economic, trade and investment consulting and contract mergers, labor services, and intellectual property litigation. The law firm ranked eighth on the 2022 A-List of American Lawyer, an annual list published in July that provides a collective measurement of the most successful and committed law firms in the United States.

Thus far, a total of five foreign law firms have set up offices in Shenzhen.