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Introduction
In the bustling city of Wuhan, Dewell & Partners is one of the few domestic law firms in central China which offers comprehensive legal services to both major foreign companies and leading Chinese enterprises. Established in 1980, Dewell & Partners is one of the oldest established Chinese law firms. Dewell & Partners advises clients in all major areas of law but its practice is especially known for litigation and dispute resolution, foreign direct investment, and corporate and securities.
Awards and Recognition
Dewell & Partners was named as a Preeminent Law Firm in 1998, 2000, and 2002 by the PRC Ministry of Justice and as an Outstanding Provincial Law Firm in 2005 and 2007 by the All China Lawyers' Association (ACLA) because of its high level of service in central China.
Representative Clients
The firm's representative clients include Siemens, Alstom, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Bank of East Asia Ltd., Hong Kong Gold Lion Holding Co., Electricité de France, Central China Power Network, Hubei Tobacco, Donghu Development Zone's Development & Reform Commission and Hong Kong New World Department Store.
Founding and Offices
In 1980 Dewell & Partners was established with a capital contribution from the government to provide legal services to clients. Reorganized as a partnership law firm in 1995, Dewell & Partners now has 120 legal professionals in its Wuhan office. In 2007, Dewell & Partners established branch offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
Qualifications and Background of Lawyers
Dewell & Partners provides services in both English and Chinese to a variety of high-profile domestic and foreign clients. Seven Dewell & Partners lawyers have received at least one year of foreign legal education or training in Europe or the United States, representing nearly one half of the lawyers in Hubei Province who have had an overseas education.
Lawyers at Dewell & Partners also have received professional certifications as tax specialists, accountants, engineers, securities-related legal specialists and as certified advisers on the sale and tender of state-owned assets, contributing a broad-based knowledge, which Dewell & Partners to more effectively address many multi-disciplinary legal issues that arise in corporate, IP and securities law matters.
Government Relations
Dewell & Partners maintains close working relationships with a wide base of national and regional government agencies. Among Dewell's lawyers, there is currently one serving in the standing committee in the Hubei People's Political Consultative Conference, three members serving in the Wuhan People's Political Consultative Conference and another three serving at the district level. Additionally, several partners and lawyers are serving as current advisors to the local government.
The firm also acts as legal counsel for a variety of government agencies, including the Wuhan Municipal Foreign Investment Office, the Hubei Development and Reform Commission, the Hubei Province Tax Bureau, the Wuhan Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Wuhan Development and Reform Commission.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Dewell & Partners' Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group stands ready to help clients with legal disputes by offering seasoned expertise in handling multifaceted issues in a manner which best protects their client's interests. Dewell & Partners' Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group advises clients on litigation, arbitration, and mediation in civil, administrative, financial, securities, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), asset restructuring, real estate, and securities issues. Many of the firm's lawyers have substantial experience in multiple areas, allowing Dewell & Partners to provide its clients with the highest level of service in complicated and high-pressure contentious matters.
Key partners in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group of Dewell & Partners are Wang Haiman, Zhang Tianwu, Ji Jiansheng, Chen Jing and Hu Yanzao (see bios of key partners below).
Representative litigation and dispute resolution matters include:
- Acted for Shanghai Lotus Co., Ltd. on multiple supermarket lease contract disputes
- Acted for Hubei Tobacco against De Long Group
- Acted for Wuhan Huayuan against Hubei Hengtian International Container Co., Ltd. regarding commercial and residential building contract disputes
- Acted for Wuhan Urban Commercial Bank on its bank settlement contract disputes
- Acted for Gold Lion Co., Ltd. against Shanghai Xingchi, and Changshou Haofeng Dressmaking Co., Ltd. in a trademark infringement dispute
- Acted for Hunan Professional Workers' Travel Service against Southern Airlines Stock Company in an air transport contract dispute
- Acted for China Lanxing Corporation against Hubei Lanxing Corporation on a trademark infringement and unfair competition dispute in the first intellectual property case in Hubei.
Real Estate and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
With a wealth of experience in real estate and foreign investment law and an extensive history of negotiations for domestic and international clients on large development projects, Dewell & Partners' Real Estate and Foreign Investment Practice Group has helped many clients complete major projects in China, including power generation facilities, bridge construction, and highway construction. Dewell & Partners has the ability to advise on these transactions from beginning to end, including all aspects of financing, planning, drafting contracts, obtaining governmental approval and advising on international investment issues. Dewell & Partners provides its clients with the highest level of service in real estate foreign direct investment.
Key partners in the Real Estate and Foreign Investment Practice Group of Dewell & Partners include Zhang Kefeng (see bios of key partners below).
Representative real estate and FDI matters include:
- Advised Hubei Jingdong Highway Construction and Development Group Co., Ltd. in an offshore financing project in Singapore
- Advised Hong Kong PYI CORP on its acquisition of a famous domestic group
- Advised Wuhan Changjiang Power Group in negotiations with Siemens, advising Wuhan Boiler Company in negotiations with Alstom, and advising Wuhan Public Transportation Group in negotiations with Hong Kong New World Department Store Bus Co.
- Advised Potary Engineering Limited in an acquisition of Beijing Zhongxing Henghe Energy, Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
- Advised on the Wuhan Yangluo Power Plant
- Advised on the Puqi Power Plant
- Advised on the Wuhuang Highway
- Advised on the Wuhan Changjiang River Second Bridge
- Advised on the Wuhan Golf City Garden International Container Co., Ltd.
- Advised Lida International Container Co., Ltd.
- Advised Huijinjiuchen International Container Co., Ltd.
- Advised Meijia Real Estate & Property Co., Ltd.
Corporate and Securities
Legal issues in corporate and capital market transactions are some of the most challenging legal issues in China. Clients seeking solutions to their capital markets and corporate issues in China can be confident in the advice provided by Dewell & Partners' Corporate and Securities Practice Group. Dewell & Partners advises clients on planning and managing M&A, corporate restructuring, Sino-foreign joint ventures, project financing, IPOs, and regulatory issues for listed companies. Dewell & Partners provides its clients with a high level of service in these complex areas of the law.
Key partners in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group include Charlie Cai, Leng Chunyan and Gong Shunrong (see bios of key partners below).
Representative corporate and securities matters include:
- Advised on restructuring state-owned enterprises, including Wuhan Industrial Holding Co. Ltd. and Wuhan Transportation Holding Co., Ltd.
- Acted for Wuhan Boiler Group in connection with the sale of a 51% interest in Wuhan Boiler Company, a B-share listed company, to Alstom
- Provided legal services on the initial public offerings of Hubei Happiness Group, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd, Huangshi Kangsai Group, Hubei Changyuan Electric Power Development and Hubei Xingfa Chemical Group
- Advised Techfaith Holdings Group with respect to its listing on the Hong Kong stock market
- Advised a variety of publicly listed companies, including Fenghuo Communications, Routon Electronic Co., Ltd., Sinosteel Tiancheng Environmental Science Technology Co., Ltd. and Daye Steel and Changzheng Rocket Technology Co., Ltd.
Biographies of Key Partners
Wang Haiman is the director and a senior partner of Dewell & Partners. He received his education from Zhongnan College of Economics and Law and has been practicing law since 1989. He currently serves as a councilman on the China Maritime Law Association and the Wuhan Law Association, as an arbitrator of the Wuhan Arbitration Committee, as an associate commissioner of the Foreign and Maritime Law Commission of the Hubei Lawyers Association and as a mediator on the Wuhan Conciliation Center of the China Chamber of International Commerce. He has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Lawyers of Hubei province and of Wuhan. His practice focuses on real estate projects, M&A and international trade. In his practice, he often deals with major disputes, involving maritime cargo shipments, unfair competition and trademark infringement of internationally famous brands. He has advised on offshore corporate stock listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, international private equity investments and projects and asset acquisitions in Singapore, Egypt, Yemen, Thailand, India, the Republic of Georgia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. He has worked closely with legal counsel from the United States, Belgium, Greece, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Charlie Cai is the chief executive partner of Dewell & Partners Law Firm. He received an L.L.M. from China University of Politics & Law and is a doctoral candidate of Wuhan University Law School. He was a visiting scholar at NYU from 2000 to 2002. Charlie has been practicing law since 1988 and is currently serving as vice-chairman of the Hubei Lawyers Association, is a member of the standing committee of the Hubei People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the Hubei People's Government. He has been recognized as one of Top Ten Lawyers and Ten Outstanding Youth of Hubei Province, as a Model Worker of Wuhan municipality and as an Excellent Arbitrator by the Hubei Provincial government. He was also awarded the Personal First-Class Merit Citation by the Hubei Department of Justice in May 2005. His practice focuses on M&A, corporate, securities and foreign-related legal matters. He has advised Coastal International (an A-share listed company) on the acquisition of Wuhan Zhisheng Group and jointly advised three listed companies (Wuhan Zhongbai Group Co., Ltd., Wuhan Zhongnan Commercial Group Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Department Store Group Co., Ltd.) on the reorganization of their State-owned shares. He also successfully acted for Wuhan Industry Holding Company in connection with American IIC's withdrawal of capital from the acquisition of Wuhan Machine Tool Works and for Hubei Tobacco against Shanghai Delong International with regard to a trust financing dispute. He currently serves as legal counsel of the Development and Reform Commission of Hubei Province, the State-owned Assets Supervision Administration Commission of Wuhan Municipality, the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone and other government agencies.
Zhang Tianwu is a senior partner at Dewell & Partners. He received a B.A. in 1984 and an L.L.M. in 2002 from Zhongnan University of Economics & Law. He has been practicing law since 1992 and focuses his practice on large scale infrastructure projects, real estate investment and development, commercial property leases and intellectual property rights matters. He has advised on negotiation and litigation services in connection with over ten lease contracts of large scale shopping mall projects, of which the total investment amount exceeded RMB 1 billion. Mr. Zhang also served as legal counsel of Wuhan Metro Group Co., Ltd. and rendered legal services in the development of large scale infrastructure construction projects and subway projects with a total investment amount of RMB 10 billion. He successfully acted as co-counsel in the case of the copyright violation of the Red Guards of Lake Honghu, a famous literary work and has extensive experience in trademark infringement suits. He is currently a member of the Wuhan People's Political Consultative Conference and serves as an independent director of Huaxin Cement Co., Ltd. He was successively recognized as a Top Ten Lawyer of Wuhan Municipality and an Excellent Arbitrator of the Wuhan Arbitration Commission in 2002, 2003 and 2004, as well as an Excellent Arbitrator in 2004 by the organizing committee of Arbitration Law in their 10th anniversary issue. Mr. Zhang is also an editor-in-chief of the book Enterprise Management Strategy for Intellectual Property Right Protection (published by Legal Press).
Gong Shunrong is a senior partner at the firm. He received an L.L.M. from Zhongnan University of Economics & Law, and has been practicing law since 1992. He is currently a member of the Wuhan Municipal Lawyers Advisory Group, the director of the Intellectual Property Commission of the Wuhan Lawyers Association, the deputy director of the Civil Commission of the Hubei Lawyers Association, the standing director of the Trademark Association of Hubei Province, as well as a part-time L.L.M. supervisor at Huazhong University of Science & Technology, a part-time professor of the Hubei Police Academy and an arbitrator on the Wuhan Arbitration Commission. His practice focuses on banking, real estate and intellectual property rights matters. Mr. Gong has experience representing banks on nearly one hundred civil cases, as well as on major civil disputes related to real estate and construction projects. He acted as the lead counsel for Hubei Lanxing (Group) Co., Ltd. and other companies against China Lanxing (Group) with regard to trademark violations and unfair competition practices in the first intellectual property rights case in Hubei province.
Leng Chunyan is a senior partner at the firm. She received an L.L.M. from China University of Political Science & Law and studied abroad in France in 1990. She has been practicing law since 1990 and currently serves as a member of the Wuhan People's Political Consultative Conference, an arbitrator of the International Chamber of Commerce of the Wuhan Arbitration Committee, and as a director of the International Law Society of Hubei Province. She also advises a number of government agencies, including the Hubei and Wuhan Development and Reform Commissions, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Hubei Province, the Wuhan Municipal Government, and the Wuhan State-owned Assets Supervision Administration Commission. She focuses her practice on corporate, finance, real estate and auction, tendering and bidding matters. She has acted for the e-Government Affairs Network of Hubei Province and Wuhan Municipality, Wuhan Municipal Light Rail and Central China Power Network in over ten international tendering-and-bidding projects and for many large scale State-owned enterprises in asset transfers. She also has advised on negotiations with Siemens AG, Alstom, Mitsubishi, and EDS, as well as on the negotiation of large scale projects, including the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation project with a total investment of RMB 10 billion..
Chen Jing is a senior partner in the firm's Litigation and Arbitration Practice Group. He graduated with a B.A. from Zhongnan University of Economics & Law and qualified to practice law in 1986. He has accumulated extensive experience in enterprise management and trading from his previous work in a large scale State-owned trading enterprise. He has been practicing law full-time since 1995 and focuses his practice on real estate, intellectual property rights, banking, trade and corporate law matters.
Ji Jiansheng is a senior partner in the firm's Litigation and Arbitration Practice Group and has been practicing law since 1992. Mr. Ji's main practice areas are intellectual property, corporate, real estate, international trade and maritime affairs. He has advised a variety of major companies including China Unicom, China Southern Airlines, Gold Lion China Co., Ltd., Wuhan Plaza Management Co., Ltd. and People's Bank. He has also acted for clients in a number of high-profile litigations and non-contentious matters, including IPOs in Hong Kong, an acquisition of the creditor' rights of Great Wall Assets Co., Ltd. by a Hong Kong based enterprise, negotiating with a maritime transportation company regarding the delay expenses on behalf of a chemical import-export company and an acquisition of the assets of a domestic enterprise on behalf of a listed Hong Kong company.
Zhang Kefeng is a senior partner in the firm's Real Estate and Foreign Direct Investment Practice Group. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Zhang served as a trial judge for 16 years. His practice is focused on real estate development and operations, corporate governance and other corporate legal matters and litigation and dispute settlement. He currently advises a variety of enterprises, including Wuhan Xianglong Properties Development Co., Ltd., China United Industry Co., Ltd., Wuhan Yintai Science and Technology Joint Stock Company and Wuhan Jinxin Group.
Hu Yanzao is a senior partner in the firm's Litigation and Arbitration Practice Group. She received an L.L.M. from Wuhan University and began to practice law in 1989. Her practice areas include civil and commercial lawsuits, real estate and intellectual property matters. She has advised clients on a wide variety of matters, including infringement of reputation rights and copyrights, finance, company restructuring, M&A, bankruptcy and liquidation, and clearance of debts. She has advised many high-profile clients, including Hubei Daily, Chutian Metropolis Daily, Hubei People Press, Yum Restaurants Wuhan, Valeo Automobile Air-conditioner, Hubei Branch (Sino-France equity enterprise), Wuhan Epilepsy Hospital, Hubei Changzhou Power Development Co., Ltd. (a Sino-Foreign joint venture), Global Trade Joint Stocks Company, Wushang Group, Global Zhongxing Trade Company (Hong Kong), Far East Development Co., Ltd. and Far East Timor Co., Ltd
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