Guangdong‘s first joint office operated by a Chinese and a foreign law firm was launced recently in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen, marking a significant milestone in the legal services industry in the region.
The office is jointly operated by Guangdong Zhiheng Law Firm and Celeblaws, P. A. in the United States. It is the first in Guangdong to be granted a license to serve as a joint office by a domestic and foreign law firm.
Guangdong Zhiheng Law Firm is one of the earliest partnership law firms in China, with its headquarters in Shenzhen and 15 branches nationwide. It has been listed as one of the Top 15 Growing Law Firms in China by Asian Legal Business (ALB) 2023.
Celeblaws, P.A. is a law firm with offices in Florida and New York, where several of its lawyers have been consistently recognized as Super Lawyers in the United States. The law firm specializes in cross-border intellectual property disputes, interpretation of cross-border e-commerce policies.
The joint office will leverage its strengths in areas such as cross-border investment, mergers and acquisitions, data information security, cross-border e-commerce, intellectual property protection, litigation and arbitration involving the United States, as well as U.S.-related marriage, real estate, and immigration matters. It also aims to provide professional legal solutions Chinese firms looking to expand into the U.S. market, focusing on areas like 337 and 301 investigations.
Legal services in China have long been limited to Chinese lawyers in cross-border legal service, with foreign law firms and their representatives restricted to providing foreign legal services.
Exploring new ways and mechanisms for closer business cooperation between mainland law firms and those from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries has become essential in promoting the further opening up of the legal service industry.
Qianhai is currently the only region in Guangdong approved by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice to pilot joint venture between Chinese and foreign law firms. This pilot program aims to make full use of the strengths of both Chinese and foreign law firms to provide more comprehensive, high-quality, and efficient one-stop legal services to clients both domestically and internationally.
Currently, a total of 223 legal institutions across six categories have settled in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal-services District, which will further optimize its foreign-related legal systems, comprehensively enhance the level and international influence of foreign-related legal services, so as to create a hub for foreign-related legal services and further promote the opening up in the legal services.