28 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 JUNE 2024 华北地区包括了北京、天津、内蒙 古、山西和河北五省市，在地理区位、政 治、经济等领域都扮演着重要角色。2023 年，北京、河北各自以超4万亿元的GDP总 量扮演华北地区的“双核心”；山西则见 证了光伏、电子信息、生物制药等新产业 的发展；内蒙古在精准政策引导下实现 了7.3%的GDP增长；天津也继续发挥港 口城市对外贸、物流等产业的带动作用。 较为雄厚的经济基础奠定了华北法律服 务市场的可观体量，但该地区发展不均 衡、各地经济特色差异大、北京“虹吸效 应”过于显著等特点，也构成了该地律所 与律师的独特生长环境与挑战。 道可特律师事务所是一家典型的总 部位于北京，同时拥有若干华北布点的综 合性律所，目前开设了天津、太原两家办 公室。道可特总部管委会委员、北京办公 室管委会联席主任、高级合伙人林蔚律师 告诉ALB，这两家华北办公室的设立，“是 基于客户需求、区域经济发展、战略考量 等因素综合决策的结果。有利于我们贴 近市场、深耕当地，更好地为客户提供及 时、高效、优质的法律服务”。 他进一步解释道：“天津作为环渤海 经济圈和京津冀都市圈的重要城市，区位 优势明显，产业结构多元。”2018年，道可 特的第一家分所就在天津落地。 此外，“太原作为山西省会，是全国 重要的能源基地和工业城市，近年来加 快产业转型升级步伐，战略性新兴产业 蓬勃发展，营商环境不断优化，法律服务 市场潜力巨大”。 林律师说，近年来，华北市场在道 可特总体营收中的占比呈现稳中有升的 态势。“一方面，北京作为道可特总部所 在地，北京办公室在总体营收中占据举 足轻重的地位；另一方面，天津、太原两 家办公室经过几年培育，业务规模不断 壮大，营收贡献持续提升，成为拉动华北 市场营收增长的新动能。华北市场已经 成为道可特的核心阵地和重要增长极。” 敬海律师事务所是华北市场上另一 类具有代表性的律所：品牌设立于广州， 但基于业务特点考量，很早便进驻华北， 设立了天津办公室。 敬海天津分所合伙人郭新伟律师对 ALB讲述道：“敬海所以处理海商海事业 务起家，非常注重沿海港口城市的布局， 天津港作为华北最重要的港口，早在20 世纪90年代，敬海的第一代合伙人们就 活跃在天津的海商海事法律服务市场。 经过数年积累，敬海天津分所于2004年 正式挂牌，天津分所成立之初，就已通过 处理当地多起重大复杂的海商海事案件 建立了领先优势。” REGIONAL REPORT small and micro private businesses in the construction industry recover huge losses.” “In the financial field, the Taiyuan office has been advising many banks and asset companies for a long time. For example, we assisted a bank recover deposit in huge sum. For non-performing asset business of banks and asset companies, we have also made use of both criminal and civil law methods to successfully help clients recover part of their losses when acting in litigations and enforcement proceedings.” When it comes to new developments on the Shanxi market, Wang admits: “Shanxi is a province rich in resources. Energy companies engage in a wide range of operations such as mining, coal, steel, thermal power, electrolytic aluminum, petrochemical, metallurgy and chemical. While serving the country, they have also caused serious damage to the environment.” “In recent years, a large number of cases triggered by environmental protection concerns have emerged, which is sure to create new opportunities for the legal services market. However, legal services should be provided in a more preemptive manner. At the same time of resolving issues such as tort liability and liability for damages due to environmental pollution caused by enterprises or individuals, lawyers can also provide services for governments and other administrative agencies by participating in environmental protection legislation, conducting legal reviews, issuing legal opinions, etc.,” shares Wang. STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES The uneven development in North China leads law firms to adopt a strategic approach of establishing key offices to support their business across the region, rather than setting up offices everywhere. This means that a firm’s North China offices typically handle matters spanning a wider geographical area. For instance, the Tianjin office of Wang Jing & Co. serves clients not just in Tianjin but also in the broader regions of Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia. According to Guo, “at present, our business focus for the inland hinterland is still mainly traditional maritime and shipping practice, which revolves around disputes caused by trade import and export and shipping cargo transportation. However, we are also working hard to develop new practice areas or respond to clients’ demand for new services, such as ship financing leasing.” “In addition, we also partnered peers some time ago to dip our toes in anti-dumping and countervailing investigations, and had a good start by winning the first case. We are also exploring practice areas related to the digital economy,” he adds. Lin shares with ALB that for Hebei and Inner Mongolia where Docvit does not yet have presence, “on the one hand, we leverage offices in Beijing and Tianjin to serve clients there; on the other hand, our team of lawyers regularly visit local clients to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs. At the same time, we also make full use of online legal services platforms to provide clients with remote legal advisory, online contract review and other services.” Talking about challenges, Guo mentions that “non-local firms, especially boutique firms, indeed face tremendous pressure and challenges in their development in North China and Beijing. Compared to full-service outfits, we have an even greater imperative to seize opportunities, showcase our professional capabilities and increase our visibility in traditional practice areas that are highly specialized”. Faced with the market environment in North China in the past few years, Wang Jing & Co. has also “done a lot of thinking and taken many measures. On the one hand, we actively tap new publicity channels, and focus on sharing insights on the Internet such as our WeChat account. Compared to traditional offline business development activities, this is more efficient, reaches a wider audience and is also more cost-effective.” “On the other hand, we also actively participate in the management of litigation sources by relevant local departments, get involved in lawyer mediation, and tap those platforms to gain a more comprehensive understanding of market demand. We have also set up presence in the Business Welcome Centre of the Tianjin EconomicTechnological Development Area. Our lawyers on duty will not only provide market players with on-site advisory services, but also actively participate in the series of business-related activities organized by the Centre itself,” says Guo.
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