King & Wood

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = King & Wood PRC Lawyers
firm_
headquarters = Beijing, China
num_offices = 15
num_attorneys = 650
practice_areas = General Practice
date_founded = 1993
company_type = Law Firm
homepage = [http://www.kingandwood.com/]

King & Wood PRC Lawyers is among the first law firms established when law firms were repermitted in the People’s Republic of China during the modern era and is now the country’s largest. In 1993 King & Wood’s founding partners were still working with a state-sponsored organization, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, when the central government permitted private ownership of law firms allowing them to create the firm.To advance its policy of market-based reforms in the 1980s, China had adopted foreign approaches to legal regulations, particularly in the area of commercial law. For example, the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Law, the first law governing foreign investment, was passed in 1980. Since then, more than 300 laws and regulations, most of them in the economic area, have been promulgated. To meet increasing growth in the sophistication of Chinese law, Chinese firms began to incorporate in the late 1980s to meet demand for domestic legal services. King & Wood was among the first private law firms among a cohort of Commerce & Finance Law Offices, Fangda Partners, Haiwen & Partners, and Jun He Law Offices.. These early firms have since grown to become the largest domestic law firms in China handling most of the nation’s domestic commercial legal work. The name of the firm is an example of Western-oriented marketing by a Chinese firm. There is no "Mr. King" or "Ms. Wood" among the founders of the firm, the names having been chosen for their "ear appeal" among prospective Western clients. The corresponding portion of the Chinese name, is 金杜 ("jin du").

Profile

King & Wood currently employs nearly 650 attorneys throughout China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States and has now grown to become the largest law firm in China by number of lawyers. [ [http://www.legal500.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1136&l5country_code=ch&l5directory=as500&Itemid=343 http://www.legal500.com - Default Recommended Firms ] ] These lawyers are spread throughout 15 offices throughout the world, but predominantly on the mainland. [ [http://whichlawyer.practicallaw.com/which/firmListing.do?poid=:20270139&jurisdictionId=:22248 PLC Which lawyer?: King & Wood: China - National profile ] ] The firm claims it specializes in assisting foreign companies do business in China. Its main practice areas includes banking, foreign investment, international trade, litigation and arbitration, and securities. [ [http://www.martindale.com/King-Wood/law-firm-1646399.htm King & Wood - King & Wood Law Firm Profile - martindale.com ] ]

Clients

The firm’s major clients include Citigroup, China Life, the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, Wal-Mart, PetroChina, the Bank of China among others. [see the Chambers Global 2008 Client’s Guide. www.chambersandpartners.com] King & Wood advised on the largest IPO in Chinese history for PetroChina, allowing the company to temporarily become the highest valued company in the world at over $1 trillion. [ [http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/11/05/now-from-china-the-worlds-biggest-company.html Now, From China, the World's Biggest Company - US News and World Report ] ] [ [http://www.secinfo.com/d12Um2.z233.9.htm SEC Info - Petrochina Co Ltd - SC 13E3/A - Jilin Chemical Industrial Co Ltd - On 12/23/05 - EX-99.(C).5 ] ]

Locations

*Beijing, (headquarters)
*Shanghai
*Shenzhen
*Chengdu
*Guangzhou
*Xi'an
*Chongqing
*Hangzhou
*Tianjin
*Suzhou
*Qingdao
*Hong Kong
*Tokyo
*Silicon Valley
*New York City

References

External links

* [http://www.kingandwood.com/ King & Wood's website]
* [http://www.chinalawinsight.com/ King & Wood's China Legal Blog]

See also

*Legal History of China
*Chinese law
* http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bw/2008-03/10/content_6521062.htm