With China's tax regime becoming increasingly sophisticated, law firms ought to acquire more tax expertise and skills to be able to offer value-added corporate legal services and optimise clients' success.
Shanghai-based Llinks has now secured the services of experienced tax partner Clare Lu, who was previously a senior partner at Shanghai firm Richard Wang & Co. Lu, qualified as a lawyer, a certified public accountant (CPA) as well as a certified tax agent, is responsible for leading and building the tax legal service team at Llinks. Prior to Richard Wang & Co, she worked with Deloitte's a tax and business advisory group as a senior consultant and tax manager. Lu also serves as vice-chairman of the finance and taxation committee of Shanghai Bar Association.
Tax practice has been identified by many firms as an emerging area, where an increasing demand for legal services is occurring. Jun He, for example, appointed tax expert Liu Dingfa in 2007 from US firm Bryan Cave as a partner to build up its tax legal service group. King & Wood, Lehman Lee & Xu, JunZeJun and Tian Chi, among others, have also established a tax team. A number of law firms are striving to be tax specialists, such as Beijing Hwuason and Shanghai Zuo Quan.
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