25 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM/CHINA business and inadequate professional skills hinder our ability to compete for major and complex cases, limiting our opportunities and requiring gradual experience accumulation.” Nevertheless, the advantage of the local team in Sichuan lies in its grounded approach. Wang emphasizes, “We should take cues from Chongqing, encourage collaborative practice models, diligently cultivate internal skills, address shortcomings, leverage complementary advantages, and achieve synergistic effects.” Apart from personal qualities and team building, several bankruptcy experts highlight the practice risk for administrators as another challenge for restructuring lawyers. Wang Zhaotong, Deputy Director of the Bankruptcy Professional Committee at W&H Law Firm, brings trial experience in bankruptcy cases. With years spent in a Beijing district people’s court and subsequent transition to handling bankruptcy cases in 2014, Wang emphasizes the increasing risks administrators face in their duties, including potential compensation liabilities due to improper performance. To address these challenges effectively, what comprehensive capabilities do restructuring lawyers need? Xu Shengfeng from Zhong Lun offers four key points. First, professionalism forms the foundation. Second, they must employ business thinking to navigate complex cases. Third, compassion and responsibility are crucial in guiding struggling companies. Fourth, emotional stability is essential to manage the conflicts inherent in these cases. Wang Zhaotong focuses on mitigating practice risks by standardizing internal management systems, ensuring team stability, avoiding excessive compliance, and upholding the principle of administrator neutrality in the face of economic interests. In summary, as the landscape of insolvency and restructuring evolves, lawyers in this field must continually adapt and enhance their skills to navigate the challenges effectively while fostering positive outcomes for all stakeholders involved. GAINING RESPECT In recent years, China has actively explored and implemented pre-restructuring and personal bankruptcy measures. The bankruptcy law is undergoing further revision and improvement, with a noticeable increase in the number of bankruptcy cases accepted by the courts. This highlights the emerging functions of bankruptcy procedures in optimizing the business environment, facilitating the exit of market entities, and rescuing troubled companies. Simultaneously, the capability and expertise of restructuring lawyers in providing comprehensive legal services also influence the progress and outcomes of these procedures to a considerable extent. Zhao Jiuguang emphasizes that promoting corporate regeneration through their professional capabilities can significantly contribute to unlocking the economic and social value of the restructuring system. Due to the unique nature of insolvency and restructuring legal affairs, lawyers often bear significant social responsibility in carrying out their work. Wang Zhaotong remarks, “To fulfill this social responsibility, bankruptcy lawyers sometimes need to make decisions that may not seem economically ‘profitable.’ The social value embodied in many bankruptcy cases far surpasses their economic worth.” He identifies three main aspects where the social value of restructuring lawyers becomes evident. Firstly, they act as the “scavengers” facilitating corporate exits. Annually, numerous non-viable zombie companies in China seek bankruptcy proceedings to exit the market. Administrators serve as “scavengers,” paving the way for the normalization of bankruptcy. Secondly, they serve as the “relief valve” for social conflicts. Increasingly, social conflicts are being resolved through bankruptcy procedures. As these cases involve multiple stakeholders, bankruptcy lawyers must handle them with patience and precision to ensure fairness for those whose rights are affected, thus mitigating social conflicts and contributing to overall societal stability. TOP 15 INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING LAWYERS XU BANGWEI 徐邦炜 Jingtian & Gongcheng 竞天公诚律师事务所 XU YU 徐羽 Hylands Law Firm 浩天律师事务所 XU SHENGFENG 许胜锋 Zhong Lun Law Firm 中伦律师事务所 YANG LI 杨立 JunHe LLP 君合律师事务所 ZHANG LIJUN 张利军 Fadedongheng Law Firm 法德东恒律师事务所 ZHAO JIUGUANG 赵久光 Global Law Office 环球律师事务所 ZHENG JIANJUN 郑建军 AllBright Law Offices 锦天城律师事务所 ZHENG ZHIBIN 郑志斌 Dacheng Law Offices 大成律师事务所
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