10 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 JULY 2024 COVER STORY Wang of TianTai notes that Xi’an’s legal services industry is developing rapidly. In 2023, lawyers’ fees in the city reached 3.389 billion yuan ($0.47 billion), an increase of approximately 45 percent from the 1.89 billion yuan ($0.26 billion) recorded in 2022. By the end of 2023, there are over 12,000 practicing lawyers in Xi’an and more than 510 firms, including 21 firms that have more than 100 practicing lawyers. Further, in recent years, many large firms have set up offices in Xi’an, with the offices of those large firms accounting for about 40 percent of all firms in Xi’an with over 100 practicing lawyers. “Competition is fierce on Xi’an’s legal industry, but competition is also relatively fair and compliant. This is healthy competition and is conducive to the social and economic development as well as the legal industry development in the region. Xi’an has the largest number of enterprises and population across the entire northwest, and the concentration of resources is also relatively high. Therefore, it enjoys a large market demand, which means that the legal industry still has a lot of room for development.” Zhang Zitan, Senior Partner of the Xi’an office of Hai Run Law Firm and a West China Rising Lawyer, says that Xi’an’s legal services industry provides the platform for outstanding lawyers and firms to showcase their talents, and has largely formed a favorable ecological environment. “We have been praised for our professional competency when working with peers and clients in tier-1 cities, although some information gaps and even misunderstandings continue to exist. Many people still have the impression that Xi’an’s legal industry is rather backward. In fact, however, Xi’an has a solid talent pool with supplies from top law schools, boasts business areas with comparative advantages such as energy and technology, and enjoys policy guidance from the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ as well as rule of law for cross-border matters. Many lawyers can get extensive exposure and stand out in Xi’an. They are capable of establishing themselves in the local market, competing on the national stage, and gaining the respect and trust of partners.” Rising Lawyers – Non-Local Law Firms 西部地区律师新星-非本地律所 LIU YUANTAO 刘元涛 Grandway Law Offices 国枫律师事务所 SHI FENGJIE 施峰杰 DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所 WANG DONGDONG 王东东 Global Law Office 环球律师事务所 YE FEI 叶飞 AllBright Law Offices 锦天城律师事务所 ZHANG HONGZHANG 张洪章 SGLA Law Firm 中联律师事务所 ZHANG LINA 张丽娜 Duan & Duan Law Firm 段和段律师事务所 ZHANG RUNDING 张润丁 W&H Law Firm 炜衡律师事务所 ZHANG SHU 张树 King & Wood Mallesons 金杜律师事务所 ZHANG ZITAN 张紫檀 Hai Run Law Firm 海润天睿律师事务所 Client Choice 西部地区客户首选律师 AN HUAN 安欢 Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm 金诚同达律师事务所 CHEN JUN 陈军 Commerce & Finance Law Offices 通商律师事务所 CHENG DICHANG 程地昌 Tahota Law Firm 泰和泰律师事务所 GUO XUEPING 郭雪平 Tian Yuan Law Firm 天元律师事务所 HU XIAOFEI 胡晓菲 K&H Law Firm 重庆坤源衡泰律师事务所 LA CHENGLIN 喇成霖 Qinghai Shuren Law Firm 青海树人律师事务所 LAI SIQI 赖思奇 Chongqing Baijus Law Firm 重庆百君律师事务所 LIAN GAOBO 廉高波 Kangda Law Firm 康达律师事务所 LUO JUN 罗俊 Chihkao Law Firm 四川致高律师事务所 PENG SONG 彭松 DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所 SHI QI 史琦 JunHe LLP 君合律师事务所 SU SHAOKUI 苏绍魁 Dacheng Law Offices 大成律师事务所 TANG HAO 唐浩 City Development Law Firm 建纬律师事务所 XUE YUTING 薛玉婷 Grandway Law Offices 国枫律师事务所 ZHU HONGJUN 祝红军 Shaanxi Jiaxuan Law Firm 陕西稼轩律师事务所 economic development, but also promoted the optimization of the ecosystem for the legal services industry. For example, the Tianfu Central Legal Services District in Sichuan and the Upper Yangtze River Legal Services Center in Chongqing are not merely initiatives to build a robust legal services industry in the west. They also serve to develop a highly open legal services market environment where resources congregate and competition is orderly.” Wang Yiren adds that national policies have given more targeted support to the development of the legal industry in the west, such as the work by the Ministry of Justice to optimize industry pairing and targeted assistance among lawyers in the eastern, central and western regions. GROWING MATURITY IN CITIES As mentioned above, the development of the legal services industry in various places in the west varies greatly. Xi’an and Chengdu are respectively the most representative city in the northwest and southwest, with advanced economic development levels. The winning firms have shared trends of the legal services market in different cities.
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