Lifang law firm news

Lifang lawyers have successfully defended client China Unicom in China’s first anti-monopoly case.

Lifang & Partner’s IP expertise has long been heralded in the local market, but with China’s extended efforts on imposing the importance of IP rights the firm has developed greater ambitions. With its extensive experience in IP management for clients, the firm sees an opportune moment to establish related practice areas.

Recent amendments to the anti-pricing monopoly and rules on administrative enforcement procedures will put pressure on in-house legal teams to ensure their corporate compliance systems are exhaustive, and will challenge private-practice lawyers, according to expert in the area.

中国国家发改委近日发布了《反价格垄断规定》和《反价格垄断行政执法程序规定》。 两部规章是对《反垄断法》的细化。其中，《反价格垄断规定》对价格垄断协议、滥用市场支配地位和滥用行政权力排除限制竞争等三类价格垄断行为的表现形式和法律责任作了规定。这两部规章将于２０１１年２月１日起实施。

China Unicom’s latest US$1.8bn convertible bonds issuance is the world’s largest international convertible bond issuance by a PRC company to date. Freshfields, Sullivan & Cromwell and Herbert Smith advised on the transaction.

中国联合网络通信近日通过其全资子公司成功发行总额达18.39亿美元附息可转换债券。本次可转债发行是中国境内企业有史以来最大规模的国际可转债发行。

China’s smaller law firms, especially those leading regional firms which are profitable and have enviable client lists, are being inundated with merger proposals from larger firms in first-tier cities. Many of them, however, have spurned these advances… and for good reason.

目前，国内的中小型律师事务所，尤其是业绩优异且客户资源丰富的区域型律所，正面临来自一级城市大型律所铺天盖地的合并提议。但许多这样的中小型律所，出于对律所自身发展的考虑，却断然拒绝了这样的“合并机会”。

Over 8,000 IP lawyers from all over the world attended the132nd annual conference hosted by the International Trademark Association (INTA) in Boston recently. For a regular attendee like King & Wood patent partner Shi Yusheng, what becomes immediately noticeable is the growing number of legal representatives from Chinese firms.

Lifang lawyers have successfully defended client China Unicom in China’s first anti-monopoly case.

The growth of boutique firms has been one of the main themes seen in China’s legal industry over the past 12 months. While the financial crisis presented a heavy burden for larger full-service law firms to shoulder, it proved to be a blessing in disguise for burgeoning boutique practices.

Lifang & Partner’s IP expertise has long been heralded in the local market, but with China’s extended efforts on imposing the importance of IP rights the firm has developed greater ambitions. With its extensive experience in IP management for clients, the firm sees an opportune moment to establish related practice areas.

Stephenson Harwood has sought to boost its IP capacity by appointing two new IP practitioners, Audrey Shum and Wong Ka Wai, to keep up with the evolution of they country’s new IP legislation.

为了应对中国新修改的专利法，Stephenson Harwood近期聘请了Audrey Shum 和Wong Ka Wai两位资深知识产权律师。

Grandall Legal Group has gained six more IP lawyers including Zhang Xuequn and Yuan Hongli, by merging with another IP agency, Beijing Xinzheng Zhitong.

Lifang & Partners’ Guangzhou office has merged with local IP specialist firm Liu and Partners. Roy Liu, managing partner of the six-lawyer firm, will head Lifang’s newly expanded Guangzhou office.

Strong growth in client demand for IP legal services have intensified competition for IP talent, and the past few months have seen many firms broaden their IP expertise through lateral hires. Beijing-headquartered Lifang is the latest firm to expand its IP practice.

Longan has steadied its footing in the Pearl River Delta region of the PRC by setting up its second Guangdong office in Guangzhou.

Over 250 delegates from companies and organisations across a wide range of sectors attended ALB's Beijing in-house legal summit on 6 November, to discuss the role of legal counsel in globalizing businesses and in the current global financial turbulence.

The government's plan to transform Guangzhou into a regional innovation and financial centre, combined with the strengthening cooperation between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, have meant that local firms are snapping up opportunities brought in by the city's new stage of development.