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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

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China

    China

    Hong Kong SAR

    A top-tier track record and extensive resources

    We opened our Hong Kong office in 1980, our first in the Asia Pacific region, and today we are the leading international firm in Asia Pacific.

    Our track record of top-tier deals is built on substantial resources – clients have access to more than 150 lawyers in our Hong Kong office, and 250-plus lawyers in our seven other Asia Pacific offices in Australia, China, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

    When projects involve jurisdictions outside Asia Pacific, or the input of specialist lawyers, we can call on the wider resources of our 3,400-lawyer firm.

    Experience that delivers for domestic, regional and international clients

    We use our experience of complex cross-border deals to manage multi-office teams efficiently and work effectively with local law firms in Asia Pacific countries where we don't have an office.

    International clients value our on the ground regional network, particularly if they want to develop business in China or the region's other fast-growing economies. They know that our advice is based on hands-on local market experience.

    Domestic and regional clients draw upon our teams' local and regional know-how – we in turn utilise our international network to help them with their activities outside the region. Our people are well known for their work with clients who want to access Hong Kong's financial markets.

    A team that mirrors Hong Kong's role as a regional hub

    Hong Kong is a hub for Asian business and we reflect this – we combine regional reach and deep sector expertise in a single office.

    We do this in a number of ways. For example, our teams in Hong Kong all have strong links with, and first-hand experience of, the intricacies of the markets in mainland China, Japan, Korea, South East Asia and other parts of the region.

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    China

    We have been in China for more than three decades. We use our know-how, experience, and full-service capability to get the best possible results for clients.

    Our view has always been that if you want to succeed in China then you have to know China well. We've had a Hong Kong office since 1980 and we were the first international law firm to open an office in Beijing in 1985, followed by our Shanghai office in 1993. We have since built a full-service capability - our team includes lawyers in corporate/M&A, capital markets, banking and finance, real estate, employment, intellectual property, competition/antitrust, anti-corruption, dispute resolution and financial regulatory. We find that international and Chinese clients value this on the ground commitment because it delivers results. They can see that our in-China capability is built on the solid know-how that comes from more than three decades of experience.

    We work with international and Chinese clients

    Chinese clients know that we understand their business culture and that our international network gives them the reach and depth to make the most of international opportunities, whether it's an investment in a new energy project, expanding into a new market, or raising capital in foreign markets.

    Greater China and beyond – China Desks

    All three of our Greater China offices (Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai) often work together on inbound and outbound deals, and our Hong Kong office has a dedicated mainland China team.

    We have also established the China Desks, a cross-practice network of over 60 lawyers with mainland China experience within the firm, to make sure that Chinese clients get the full benefit of our global network. These China Desk lawyers give clients a first point of contact in their own jurisdictions. We have desks in Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.

    Recent highlights

    Awards and milestones

    Our China practice frequently wins industry awards from various independent legal publications for its extensive experience and ever-growing prominence.

    As an acknowledgement of our market-leading position in China, we have been awarded:

    • China practice of the year - International law firm
      IFLR Asia Pacific Awards 2020
    • Asia Pacifc Law Firm of the Year
      Chambers Asia Pacific Awards 2020
    • China (International Firms) Corporate & Finance Firm of the Year
      Chambers Asia Pacific Awards 2020
    • International Law Firm of the Year
      IFLR Asia Awards 2019
    • International Law Firm of the Year
      Asia Legal Awards 2019

    Recent assignments

    Directory listings and client comments

    Chambers Asia Pacific 2018, 2019, 2020

    • Tier One in Aviation: Finance (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Banking & Finance (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Banking & Finance: Leveraged & Acquisition Finance (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Capital Markets: Debt (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Capital Markets: Equity (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Competition/Antitrust (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Corporate/M&A: The Elite (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Dispute Resolution: Litigation (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Financial Services (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Investment Funds (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Projects & Infrastructure (International Firms)
    • Tier One in Restructuring/ Insolvency (International Firms)

    Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018, 2019, 2020

    • Tier One in Banking and finance: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Corporate and M&A: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Private equity/venture capital: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Projects and energy: Foreign Firms

    IFLR 1000 (2018, 2019, 2020)

    • Tier One in Banking and finance: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Capital markets: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Private Equity: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Project Development: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in Project Finance: Foreign Firms
    • Tier One in M&A (including Private Equity): Foreign Firms

    Client comments

    • "The team is excellent, they provide good responses and appropriate advice in every respect."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Aviation: Finance (International Firms)
    • "Their professionalism and commercialism won us over, and since then our partnership has grown."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Banking & Finance (International Firms)
    • "Clifford Chance is clearly a market leader in the Hong Kong IPO market, and is highly reputable and experienced as both issuers’ and underwriters’ counsel. They are always one of the firms we recommend, considering their reputation, quality, experience, and resources in the Hong Kong IPO market."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Capital Markets
    • "What's impressive is that they have a very good sense of the commercial, which is not necessarily the case for all lawyers. They are able to advise us on commercial goals and give suggestions for outcomes, which is refreshing to see."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (International Firms)
    • "The team is very good at both strategic planning and execution."
      Chamber Asia Pacific 2020 – Dispute Resolution: Litigation (International Firms)
    • "They give very comprehensive advice. You ask them a question and they are able to understand exactly where you are coming from and to advise beyond the book of law."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Financial Services (International Firms)
    • "They have good knowledge of the funds industry and have very good resources across the firm, if we have any issues that need broader expertise we can get that moving on pretty quickly."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Investment Funds
    • "solid and dependable"
      "great depth of experience in cross-border transactions."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment (International Firms)
    • "It's a broad team with broad disciplines who are able to respond in a very short time and are very client-focused, as well as understanding of the commercial drivers of a deal."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Projects & Infrastructure (International Firms)
    • "They are one of the few teams in the region who have sufficient bandwidth to cope with complex multi-jurisdictional matters."
      Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 – Restructuring/Insolvency (International Firms)

    Mainland China

    高伟绅律师事务所扎根于中国大陆超过三十年，凭着专业知识、经验和全面的实力，为客户创造最大可能的佳绩。

    三十余载情，同一中国梦

    “要在中国有所成，必先了解其国情”，这是我们一路走来深信的道理。早在1985年，我们便开始在北京执业，随后于1993年开设了上海办公室（香港办公室设立于1980年）。我们在中国大陆建立了全面的实力，网罗公司事务/并购、资本市场、银行与金融、基金和投资管理、房地产、雇用、知识产权、竞争/反垄断、反腐败、争议解决和金融监管融资、资本市场、公司事务/并购、诉讼和争议解决等领域的法律专才。客户不论中外，同样重视地利的把握，这样才能取得佳绩。经过实战三十多年厚积薄发的经验和知识，我们在中国的实力，正好是客户看准的合作对象。

    中外客户，国际业务并肩同行

    我们既了解中国企业文化，又有完善的国际网络，客户知道这样的国际优势是他们赖以充分抓住和深挖国际商机的要素，不论是投资新的能源项目、拓展新的市场，还是在海外市场募集资金等，这都是不可或缺的条件。

    立足大中华，放眼看世界 – 海外中国业务部

    我们在大中华区的三个办公室（北京、香港、上海），经常在各类中国境内外的交易中协同合作，其中香港办公室也设有专门负责中国大陆相关交易的律师团队。

    此外，我们还在全球多个办公室分别设立了专门的中国业务部，由擅长不同法律专业领域的60多位律师组成，大多数成员都具备参与中国大陆交易的经验。目前我们已在非洲、北美、南美、亚太、欧洲和中东地区的办公室设立中国业务部，以便中国客户及时地联络常驻这些海外司法辖区的中国业务部的律师，确保中国客户能充分利用高伟绅覆盖全球的业务网络。

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