18 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 DECEMBER 2023 REGIONAL REPORT Traveling from north to south, ALB explores four central Chinese cities — Taiyuan, Hefei, Wuhan, and Changsha — engaging in discussions on the theme of “innovation” with local lawyers. BY HU YANGXIAOXIAO Is it conceivable for law firms to introduce innovation in the conventional legal services market? If the answer is affirmative, what approaches can firms adopt to achieve this? Keeping this query in focus, ALB engages in conversations with law firm leaders from four central Chinese cities. These leaders provide examples to affirm the feasibility of innovation, explore strategies to overcome challenges, and outline their prospective plans for future innovation. TAIYUAN, SHANXI: THRIVING ALONGSIDE CLIENTS Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, serves as the initial prominent city visitors encounter when entering the central China region. In recent years, the city, where the energy industry has been the primary driver of development, has actively pursued transformation, laying the groundwork for the innovation of local legal services. Xin Rui, the executive director of the management committee at Dacheng Law Offices (Taiyuan), informs ALB that the Taiyuan office has established its most competitive services locally in the fields of trust, non-performing assets disposal, and wealth management and succession. In the realm of trust services, Shanxi Trust stands as the sole trust firm within Shanxi province, with Dacheng Taiyuan office providing legal services for 95% of its business. These valuable opportunities have propelled the Taiyuan office to become a market leader in the trust field, allowing it to “gradually achieve the refinement and professionalization of trust legal services, form its own service standards and processes, and realize the productization of legal services.” Regarding non-performing assets disposal, Dacheng Taiyuan office leverages its distinctive advantages gained from over a decade of in-depth services to relevant clients. According to Xin, from the early days serving the Shanxi branches of four major asset management companies to recent years covering the Shanxi and Taiyuan branches of significant banking and financial institutions, Dacheng Taiyuan office has achieved nearly full coverage of clients in this field. Xin notes, “We have accumulated professional legal knowledge and practical experience and developed a deep grasp of laws ALB CHINA REGIONAL REPORT: PROMOTING INNOVATION
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