Zhong Lun Law Firm is pleased to announce the official opening of its new London office with the joining of a team of five solicitors and a total staff of nine legal professionals and support staff. Zhong Lun, one of the China “Big 3" national full-service law firms in the PRC, is the first top-tier Chinese law firm to enter the London market.

The new London office is headed by partners Haibin Xue, Linna Li and Emily Wang (brief CVs are attached below). The lead members of the new team in London are all fully bilingual and include solicitors who are qualified both in England and in China. The London office will focus on both inbound and outbound China-related matters in the UK and European markets.

The new London team has extensive experience in a broad range of corporate, commercial and financing matters as well as dispute resolution matters, including AIM listings for Chinese clients and M&A projects for Chinese clients in the UK and Europe and for UK and European clients in China. In order to better leverage the overall market-leading practice capabilities of Zhong Lun in China, the London team will draw upon the extensive resources of the firm’s more than 700 legal professionals in mainland China as well as in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Leading partners in key practice areas in the firm will also regularly travel to London to work closely with the London team.

Zhong Lun managing partner Zhang Xuebing led the initiative to set up the new London office. Zhang issued the following statement: “This is an important strategic step for Zhong Lun as part of the continuing expansion of our firm’s international reach. We are very pleased to have such a strong team join us to help establish our presence in this key legal market and leading global financial center."

Zhong Lun international managing partner Robert Lewis commented: “Our new London office will provide an important platform for us as a firm to develop closer ties with London-based law firms as well as UK and European clients for China-related work. At the same time, working in coordination with partner firms in the local London and European markets, we will be able to provide the full range of legal services for our Chinese clients going to the UK and Europe. Our goal is to use this new platform to facilitate deeper cooperation, and not competition, with our partner firms in the London and European markets."

New London office managing partner Haibin Xue stated: “It was critically important to us to join one of the truly elite Chinese law firms so that we are better positioned to offer UK and European clients top-shelf service for China legal matters. Because our London partners are all qualified solicitors, we can work with our counterparts in local London firms on a peer-to-peer basis, but at the same time we can draw upon our own extensive experience in China-related projects to provide both direct support as well as seamless coordination with our Zhong Lun colleagues in China for China law issues."

The Zhong Lun London office will be relocating to new offices in Austin Friars in the central area of the City of London in May 2012. A launch event for the new London office is tentatively scheduled for the last week of April 2012; details to come.

ABOUT ZHONG LUN

Zhong Lun Law Firm is a full-service national Chinese law firm with approximately 150 partners and over 600 lawyers in total. In addition to the new London office, the firm has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan as well as in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Zhong Lun was named national law firm of the year for China for 2011 by Chambers Asia, which ranked the firm in band 1 in ten core practice areas and as a leading law firm in five additional practice areas. For 2012, Chambers Asia ranked Zhong Lun in band 1 in eleven categories, the highest number of band 1 rankings awarded to a Chinese law firm, matched only by Jun He. Chambers also ranked an additional four Zhong Lun practices in band 2 and three more in band 3, for a total of 18 Zhong Lun practice areas receiving awards from Chambers Asia, tying King & Wood and Jun He for the most total awards from Chambers for 2012. Legal 500 and PLC Which Lawyer? similarly place Zhong Lun in this same leading group of top Chinese law firms.

Zhong Lun’s leading practice areas include corporate finance/capital markets, M&A, private equity and venture capital, competition/antitrust, foreign direct investment, real estate and construction, banking and finance, structured finance and securitization, international trade and WTO, technology/media/ telecommunications, intellectual property, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, dispute resolution, employment, compliance, tax, private client and trusts, among others.

SHORT BIOS OF KEY LONDON PARTNERS

Haibin Xue studied law at Renmin University in Beijing as well as University of London and The College of Law. He qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in 2006. He is also a qualified engineer. His core practice areas include cross-border M&A and corporate finance as well as international dispute resolution. He has acted for Chinese companies in connection with listings on AIM and NASDAQ and assisted Chinese companies on acquisitions of target companies and assets in Australia and Africa. He is fluent in English and is a native Chinese speaker.

Linna Li studied law at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing and The College of Law in London. She qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1999. Her principal areas of expertise include real estate, cross-border M&A, foreign direct investment and capital markets. Linna acts for institutional investors, investment funds and property investment and development partnerships both in the UK and abroad. Projects include residential and commercial property portfolio acquisitions and disposals, including acquisitions and disposals of London city centre office blocks and hotels. Her corporate experience includes JVs and M&A projects as well as AIM listings. Linna is fluent in English and speaks native Chinese.

Emily Wang studied law in Zhongnan University of Economics & Law and received her LLM from the University of London (1998). She completed her CPE and LPC with The College of Law (1999 and 2000, respectively). She is qualified in both England (2002) and China (1994) and worked for seven years in City firms such as Simmons & Simmons, SNR Denton and Hogan Lovells. Emily advises financial institutions and major commodity trading houses on structured trade finance and project finance transactions and also works with major UK corporates on China-related M&A and trade and investment matters. Her clients also include a wide range of European and Chinese companies. Emily is fluent in English and with native Chinese.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact:
Xuebing Zhang, Managing Partner: zhangxuebing@zhonglun.com, +86 10 5957 2288
Robert Lewis, International Managing Partner: robertlewis@zhonglun.com, +86 10 5957 2288
Haibin Xue, London Office Managing Partner: haibinxue@zhonglun.com, +44 20 7623 8889
Also, please visit our website at www.zhonglun.com.