16 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS CHINA • 亚洲法律杂志-中国版 JANUARY 2024 YEAR AHEAD 2024 At Guangdong Lianyue, corporate compliance, data compliance and legal services for new economies were last year’s highlights. According to Liu, “Lianyue’s compliance team handled the first compliance pilot case in Guangzhou. In 2023, we set up a data compliance team which is dedicated to providing data rights confirmation, compliance assessment and other services for all parties involved in data circulation.” Co-effort, at the same time, established three major professional committees in 2023: enterprise compliance, labor law, and digital economy and data compliance, and achieved breakthroughs in the fields of data compliance, data security and personal information protection. The firm was selected as one of the first batch of DEXCA registered members by the Shenzhen Data Exchange and was awarded the certificate of Thirdparty Data Service Provider - Data Compliance Assessment Service Provider by the Shanghai Data Exchange. Faced with changes such as lower willingness to pay and higher service demand from clients, firms have put in place countermeasures. Zhu tells ALB that “Co-effort did not deliberately lower fees. However, we are willing to negotiate more flexible payment models with clients. We are also happy to provide more diverse legal services so that our clients can enjoy more services and better experiences.” Zhang He also shares that Tiantai has made available various payment models, including hourly rates, valuebased rates or contingency fees, which “helps clients choose what are suitable for them. In terms of value-added services, we have made available online live courses, video course subscriptions, interpretations of new laws and regulations, mock hearings, etc..” Guangdong Lianyue has offered the option of deferred payment or payment by installment where appropriate based on the actual situations of clients and the market to alleviate the financial pressure on clients. When it comes to value-added services, the firm not only provides solid legal training and advisory services, but also continuously upgrades its service experience. BRAINS TRUST In addition to overseeing business development, law firm leaders must also tap their management wisdom amid the uncertain environment. If “resilience” was the topic of the past few years, the theme for 2023 has changed to “flexibility” - that is, when “uncertainty” becomes the norm for future development, how should firms allocate internal resources more quickly and effectively, and on a more frequent basis. In Wang’s view, the cost management reform undertaken by East & Concord in the past year is precisely aimed at achieving “flexibility,” which is to cut investment in sunset business and increase investment in growth and emerging areas. “The external environment is changing. If we remain unchanged, we are being insensitive to the market. The new system will be able to respond flexibly to market changes.” In addition, the firm has added supportive policies to enable the continued development of strategic practice areas that have yet to generate good returns. Zhang Liguo points out that for Grandway, the foundation of “flexibility” is its integrated system. For the allocation and sharing of internal resources, the firm has established a business management department practicing integrated communication and collaboration, “emphasizing business collaboration and knowledge sharing, and focusing on the management of legal services projects progress.” In addition, improving efficiency is an important way to achieve flexibility. “With the continuous development of artificial intelligence and big data technology, we have also introduced smart tools such as Grandway online search and Grandway internal control system, and are committed to leveraging technological means to improve the efficiency of legal services,” says Zhang Liguo. While putting in place more flexible measures for the development of their firms, the leaders have not overlooked the importance of “new drivers,” which includes setting up new offices in key domestic regions. In the past year and more recently, all the firms interviewed have made moves in this respect: East & Concord established a Hong Kong joint venture, Grandway set up its Hangzhou office, Tiantai opened an office in Qingdao, Co-effort set up shop in Hefei, and Guangdong Lianyue established presence in Shenzhen and Dongguan. The new offices have provided the firms with broader regional reach and created more business opportunities. Moreover, as Chinese companies accelerate their pace of going global, Chinese firms are also actively thinking about expanding global services and opening offices overseas to seize new opportunities. In January 2024, East & Concord commenced operations of its Canada office, “aiming to create a service line with funds travelling from Mainland China, to Hong Kong and then to Canada in the future.” To Wang, “Chinese firms have reached the stage where it is necessary to think about international expansion. When clients venture abroad, we must follow. Internationalization will also increase the difficulty of law firm management and business operations.” In the past year, Tiantai beefed up the strength of its international business by recruiting lawyers specializing in crossborder business, while encouraging lawyers to further their studies at overseas law schools. “We continue to progress the establishment of our Hong Kong joint venture, and have also made plans for the establishment of offices overseas to better serve our clients,” says Zhang He. CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM As 2024 arrives with “confidence” as a key theme, what is the level of confidence among law firm leaders when it comes to the industry’s development? Wang, Zhang He and Zhu all give the “cautiously optimistic score” of 80. “We can all see challenges in the macro environment, but opportunities also emerge amidst difficulties. It depends on whether a firm has the ability to seize those opportunities. East & Concord has the confidence to be among the few when it comes to seize opportunities for the development of cross-border business,” says Wang. According to Zhang He, “with fluctuations of economic activities, people
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