On January 22, 2025, the legal media China Business Law Journal released its A-List 2024-25: The Growth Drivers, and four lawyers from Zhong Lun were recognized for their expertise.

* Changyu Fu, Partner

Having practiced law in cutting-edge areas for more than twenty years, Ms. Changyu Fu has accumulated ten years of experience representing clients in trials concerning commercial issues. Equipped with a profound understanding of procedures relating to case filing, preservation, trial, enforcement, and retrial, she has handled various major and precedent-setting commercial disputes and provided clients with comprehensive solutions to civil, criminal, and administrative issues as well as corporate disputes. Ms. Fu has represented large state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and multinational corporations in a large number of highly complex corporate disputes involving a wide range of issues, including corporate control disputes, shareholder disputes, and disputes over joint ventures and cooperation. Among them, dozens were corporate control disputes, involving hundreds of billions of yuan in total. In the field of compliance and investigation, Ms. Fu has assisted many well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises in handling various Chinese and cross-border compliance matters. She is particularly adept at helping clients deal with compliance crises and timely mitigating challenges. By virtue of her rich practical experience and profound professional knowledge, Ms. Fu has developed many practical and feasible solutions for Chinese and foreign clients, winning unanimous praises from them.

* Nafisa Nihmat, Partner

Ms. Nafisa Nihmat has been focusing on areas such as bankruptcy reorganization and liquidation, non-performing asset mergers and acquisitions and disposals, out-of-court debt restructuring and pre-reorganization, and public relations concerning corporate and institutional debt crises. She has presided over several large-scale and complex cases relating to bankruptcy reorganization and non-performing asset merger and restructuring that have had a significant impact both nationally and internationally. Thanks to her outstanding legal services, Ms. Nihmat has earned recognition and trust of clients and recommendations from industry watchers. She has been lauded by Chambers in the field of restructuring/insolvency for six consecutive years and honored for five times on the A List of legal elites compiled by China Business Law Journal. In addition, she made to the list of the 2023 Forbes China Top 100 Young Returnees and was named as one of the 25 Influential Figures. Ms. Nihmat holds master's degrees in law from East China University of Political Science and Law and Emory University in the United States. With a profound professional background and extensive influence, she currently serves as arbitrator of Shanghai Arbitration Commission and Hangzhou Arbitration Commission, member of the expert database for legislative work of Pudong New Area Justice Bureau, and member of International Insolvency Institute. In 2020, she was included in the National Consultation Expert Database for Civil and Administrative Cases by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China.

* Yi (Josh) Xue, Partner

Since Mr. Yi (Josh) Xue started to practice, he has been focusing on the sector of foreign direct investment (FDI). As China’s economy evolves and client needs diversify, he has expanded his expertise to cross-border investment and mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, antitrust, and compliance. As one of the first lawyers in China to specialize in antitrust and competition law, Mr. Xue has been deeply engaged in this field for over 20 years since his keen involvement in legislative research for the Anti-Monopoly Law. His extensive expertise spans across merger control filings, antitrust and unfair competition investigations, compliance management, and litigation in relevant fields. He is also adept at managing cross-jurisdictional antitrust and competition law matters. Renowned for his exceptional professional skills and ability to stay at the forefront of industry developments, Mr. Xue is highly regarded for delivering customized legal solutions tailored to clients’ unique needs. In emerging areas such as data compliance, digital market governance, and AI regulation, his extensive industry knowledge, keen insights, and forward-looking perspective have earned widespread acclaim. Mr. Xue has been consistently recognized by leading legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, and IFLR1000.

* Allen Zhao, Partner

Mr. Allen Zhao has been deeply engaged in areas such as financial asset management, investment mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, litigation and arbitration. He excels in providing clients with comprehensive legal services covering the entire process of fundraising, investment, management, and exit in heavy-asset industries (real estate, infrastructure, new energy, manufacturing, etc.). These services include the establishment of various investment vehicles, fundraising, project investment and mergers and acquisitions, asset management, REITs issuance, etc. Mr. Zhao’s clients include Chinese and foreign private equity funds, insurance and insurance asset management companies, trust companies, real-estate/new-energy investment and asset management companies, etc. With profound industry know-how and practical experience, Mr. Zhao provides clients with targeted and forward-looking legal support, helping them achieve business goals in a dynamic and ever-changing business environment. Over the years of his practice, Mr. Zhao has repeatedly been recognized and recommended by international authoritative rating agencies. He has been honored on lists such as The Legal 500’s recommended lawyers in the Asia-Pacific - Greater China region in 2025 and recommended by Chambers in the fields of corporate M&A and insurance law.

(* in alphabetical order)

Zhong Lun keeps pace with regulatory developments and market trends and rises up to new opportunities for integration of legal professionalism and industries. By virtue of excellent expertise, Zhong Lun has consolidated its business foundation, extended its service network, and developed a comprehensive service system that meets diversified market demands. In terms of emerging markets, Zhong Lun has thoroughly integrated various resources and formulated a comprehensive, systematic, and customized service model to effectively respond to the complexity and variability of markets and cater to clients’ needs, thereby empowering enterprise development.

After extensive market research, China Business Law Journal announced The A-List: Growth Drivers, which is intended to recognize the mainstays of law firm development. The senior lawyers that have made to the list have extensive practical experience and profound legal literacy, stay on the forefront of legal markets, and possess excellent reputation and strong revenue generation capabilities.