Grandall Legal Group has reached a long-awaited milestone in 2008 after being granted a licence, by the Law Society of Hong Kong, to open a Hong Kong branch office.

Since August 2004, Grandall Legal Group has been in association with Hong Kong firm Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, and has worked on a large number of Hong KongMainland related transactions and projects. With the support of its Hong Kong associate firm, Grandall started preparing the Hong Kong opening from October 2006.

The chief executive partner of Grandall, Lv Hongbing, could not hide his excitement when talking to ALB about the prospect of the new Hong Kong office.

"Because of the association with Woo Kwan Lee & Lo over the past three years, we have built up a solid foundation in terms of client base, government relationships and transaction experience. The Hong Kong office is able to be up and running upon its establishment," Lv said.

The Hong Kong office will primarily focus on capital markets practice, where Grandall has traditional advantages.

"The Hong Kong exchange will keep attracting more mainland companies to list there, and an increasing number of domestic companies will evolve into multinationals through Hong Kong. So having an office in Hong Kong is of strategic importance," Lv said.

The alliance with Woo Kwan Lee & Lo will remain. Grandall is the sixth PRC firm, and the third Shanghai firm to open an office in Hong Kong.