11 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM/CHINA BROUGHT TO YOU BY HIWAYS LAW FIRM 马靖云 Ma Jingyun 主任 Director majingyun598@hiwayslaw.com Established in Shanghai in 1995, Hiways Law Firm is one of the first law firms in China to be approved as a “Special general partnership” law firm. With a national presence and global reach, Hiways offers clients comprehensive high-quality legal services through a professional, branded, international, and large-scale legal service team. This year, Hiways won the ALB China Regional Law Awards 2023: East China, International Trade Law Firm of the Year: East China – Local. The firm’s director Ma Jingyun shares its strategic planning, development goals, and cultural principles with ALB. COUNTERACTING THE MARKET TRENDS Over the past year, the legal market in East China showed a downward trend due to international relations and economic trends, but Hiways still managed to maintain a steady growth. Ma tells ALB that in addition to their traditional strengths in international trade, Hiways achieved outstanding results in various sectors, such as real estate, intellectual property, criminal law, compliance, anti-corruption, and dispute resolution. Furthermore, the continuous addition of young professionals has also enabled Hiways to deepen its efforts in emerging fields such as STAR MARKET, new energy, culture and media. “Seeking market hotspots, especially in some traditional business sectors that are shrinking, is very challenging. Therefore, lawyers need to adapt and provide innovative legal services to achieve growth against the current trends,” says Ma. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION While ensuring steady progress in business, Hiways also undertook a comprehensive internal system improvement and construction. Building on their strengthened national integration strategy, they further expanded their international deployment. According to Ma, Hiways’s strategic trajectory begins with boutique practice and the transition from state-owned to private, ensuring a certain market share. After experiencing a second round of reforms, the firm transitioned to a partnership model, began to attract talent, and embarked on the path of scalability. The third stage involves developing into a strong international firm. With the establishment of offices in Seattle and Los Angeles, Hiways gradually formed its strategic goal of building a Shanghaibased international mega-firm. Hiways has completed its national presence essentially with 30 domestic branches, with five more in the process of establishment. In addition to Seattle and Los Angeles offices, the firm has also set up offices in Paris, London, Sydney, and Houston. Besides, the Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and other offices are also in preparation, with the aim of further expanding the international legal services market. PEOPLE-CENTRIC PHILOSOPHY Besides professional cooperation in various branches, a culture of harmony and inclusiveness is equally vital within Hiways. Ma tells ALB, “ The sea refuses no river” is the most distinctive feature of the firm. Due to the emphasis on talent, the firm has more than 2,000 professional talents nationwide after 28 years of development. Besides, the firm also requires its lawyers to possess not only professional competence but also refined, modest and tolerant. “The firm has always adhered to a concept of democratic equality internally. There is no ‘big brother culture,’ and seniority is not the sole determinant. Especially regarding young talents, as the saying goes, ‘Many hands make light work.’ The firm hopes to provide young lawyers with more opportunities, leading to positive talent accumulation,” Ma states. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Speaking of the challenges, Ma points out that the first challenge arises from the economic downturn, tightening regulations, and geopolitical tensions. Second, investment ability in the market is not as strong as before, and investment attitudes are becoming more cautious. Third, clients have gained deeper insights into legal regulations, judicial judgments, and the legal industry, which also places higher demands on lawyers’ professional capabilities. Therefore, facing the increasingly fierce market competition, the firm’s professionalism, brand, and indispensability are more crucial than ever. Lawyers must have the confidence to take on projects and earn clients’ trust through high-quality legal services. Looking ahead, Ma expresses that Hiways will continue to enhance its professionalism, cultivate talents, and accumulate client resources. Simultaneously, the firm will adhere to its beliefs, formulate strategies, pass on its culture, strengthen integration, accelerate internationalization, and strive to become an international mega-firm. 海纳百川、儒雅谦和，打造一流海派国际大所 ——专访2023 ALB中国区域市场法律大奖：年度华东地区国际贸易律师 事务所大奖– 本地获得者海华永泰律师事务所 Embracing diversity, cultivating humility: building a first-class international law firm —Interview with the ALB China Regional Law Awards 2023: East China, International Trade Law Firm of the Year: East China - Local winner, Hiways Law Firm 总部位于上海的海华永泰律师事务所成立于1995年，是中国首批获准成 为“特殊的普通合伙”律师事务所。立足全国、辐射全球，海华永泰以专业化、 品牌化、国际化、规模化的法律服务团队为客户提供全方位的优质法律服务。 今年，海华永泰捧得2023 ALB中国区域市场法律大奖：年度华东地区国 际贸易律师事务所大奖–本地。这样优异的成绩离不开每一位律师的奋斗，海 华永泰律师事务所马靖云主任向ALB分享了律所独特的战略规划、发展目标 与文化理念。 逆势增长 过去一年，受到国际关系和经济走势的影响，华东地区法律市场整体 呈现下行的态势，但海华永泰依旧保持了较为平稳的发展。马靖云主任告诉 ALB，除了国际贸易的传统强项领域之外，海华永泰在房地产、知识产权、刑 事业务、合规反腐败、争议解决等板块也都取得了较为突出的成绩。 与此同时，年轻专业人才的不断加入也使得海华永泰对一些例如科创 版、新能源、文化传媒等新兴领域展开了深耕。马靖云主任直言：“从传统的 一些业务领域，尤其是正在萎缩的板块寻求市场热点非常难，因此这需要律 师及时变换赛道，开拓突破性及创新性的法律服务，从而实现逆势增长。” 海派部署 在保证业务领域平稳前进的同时，海华永泰内部也进行了制度的全面 完善和建设，在加强全国一体化战略的基础上，进一步拓展国际海派部署。 马靖云主任介绍道：“海华永泰的战略脉络是从精品所做起，从成立初 期的合作制转向私营制，确保了一定的市场占有率；经历第二次改革后，海 华永泰真正形成了合伙制，开始广纳人才，走上规模化的道路；迎来第三阶 段，便是发展国际专业强所，随着西雅图、洛杉矶分所的设立，海华永泰也逐 渐形成了打造海派国际大所的战略目标。” 目前，海华永泰在国内共设有30家分所，还有5家在手续办理的过程当 中，基本完成了国内布局。此外，继西雅图、洛杉矶分所之后，海华永泰也已 先后在巴黎、伦敦、悉尼、休斯顿等地设立办公室，新加坡、日本、香港、马来 西亚等分所也正在筹备当中，以期进一步拓展国际法律服务市场。 人和理念 各分所之间，除了业务方面的专业合作，人和的文化理念也同样是海华 永泰尤为重视的一环。对此，马靖云主任告诉ALB，“海纳百川”是海华永泰最 为鲜明的特色，经过28年发展，事务所在全国范围内已经拥有了2000余名专 业人才。而正是得益于早期对于人才的重视，以及海派文化当中的兼容性，事 务所也要求律师在具备专业能力的同时，兼具儒雅、谦和、包容的特性。 马靖云主任表示：“事务所内部也一直贯彻实行民主平等的概念，没有 所谓的‘大佬文化’，不会论资排辈；尤其是对年轻人才的注重，俗话说‘众人 拾柴火焰高’，事务所也希望给予年轻律师更多机会，形成正向的人才累积。” 机遇与挑战 谈及面临的挑战，马靖云主任指出，首先，经济下行、监管趋严，地缘政治 的紧张也在方方面面影响着国际经贸的发展。其次，市场投资能力不如从前， 社会投资心态也日趋观望和保守。第三，客户对于法律法规、司法审判、律师 行业都有了更为深入的了解，这也对律师的专业能力提出了更高的要求。 因此，面对愈发激烈的市场竞争，律所的专业、品牌及不可替代性也就 更为重要，律师则需要具备足够的底气来承接项目，通过优质的法律服获得 客户的信任。 展望未来，马靖云主任表示，海华永泰将保持专业的提升、人才的培养 和客户资源的累积，探索细分领域，打造多领域的专家律师团队。与此同时， 事务所也将继续坚持自身信仰、制定策略、传承文化，加强一体化、加快国际 化，以造就百年大所为目标，让大船继续平稳航行。
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