Introduction

As China's capital, Beijing is home to the Supreme People's Court, the highest state judicial organ, and many other government entities and judicial offices. Beijing-based Tiantong & Partners is an eminent litigation boutique, which for years has served top-end clients, including government entities, regulatory bodies, state-owned banks and enterprises, as well as China's major national financial institutions. Tiantong & Partners has an established track record of success in resolving second instance trials and retrials of complex and high-value civil and commercial disputes at the Supreme People's Court and the Higher People's Courts. With a substantial number of its cases having been reported in official law reports and publications, the firm has a record of establishing judicial precedents and has played a leading role in the development of litigation practice in China.

Awards and Recognition

Tiantong & Partners was awarded Outstanding Provincial Law Firm by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice in 2004, and has been named as Outstanding Law Firm by the Beijing Lawyers' Association since 2004. Additionally, with its client-oriented and sophisticated case assessment and management system, Tiantong & Partners was recognized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice as a model law firm.

Representative Clients

Representative clients of Tiantong & Partners include the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Huaxia Bank, Minsheng Bank, China Cinda Assets Management Company, China Orient Assets Management Corporation, China's Trust and Investment Corporation, Guotai Junan Securities, Xiangcai Securities, Century Securities, Zhongshan Securities, Sinochem Corporation, China Minmetals Corporation, Haier Group, Changhong Group, China Steel Group, Beijing Tourism Group, China Machinery Import & Export Group, China Railway Construction Engineering Group, China Railway Construction Group, FAW-Volkswagen, Wanda Group, Sogo Group, Nanyou Group, Beijing Urban Construction, Lanzhou Huanghe Group, Chengdu Railway Bureau, Fuji Xerox and Macao First Laser.

Founding and Offices

Tiantong & Partners was established in 2002 by three original partners, following approval from the Ministry of Justice and currently has over 14 legal professionals. Clients, many of which have engaged Tiantong & Partners as their trusted legal advisors since our inception, come to the firm for its mature, reliable and commercially prudent advices.

Qualifications and Background of Lawyers

Tiantong & Partners has four partners and 10 associates, 90% of whom have obtained masters degrees from leading universities in China. With a combination of specialist expertise and a capacity for sheer hard work, lawyers of Tiantong & Partners are well versed with Chinese laws and regulations, have excellent advocacy skills, and are active in all aspects of litigation to achieve the best result possible our clients, whilst maintaining the highest of ethical standards.

In June 2008, Tiantong & Partners was invited by Law Press China to publish a book, Selected Collection of Cases at the Supreme People's Court and the Higher People's Courts, which excerpted 50 significant cases handled by Tiantong & Partners at the upper levels of the People's Courts in China.

Government Relations

Tiantong & Partners maintains close working relationships with key local and provincial government departments, regulatory authorities, judicial officials, professional associations and leading academic institutions. Lawyers at Tiantong & Partners include former judges and legal counsels to government entities, statutory bodies and stated- owned banks and enterprises. One of its partners also currently serves as an associate director of the Public Centre for Public Participation Studies and Supports at Perking University and a tutor of L.L.M. courses at the Tsinghua University.

Tiantong & Partners is the trusted advisor of many government agencies, regulatory authorities, state-owned banks, major financial institutions and public listed companies, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Sinochem Corporation, China Minmetals Corporation, Changhong Group, China Steel Group, Beijing Tourism Group, China Machinery Import and Expert Group, China's Trust and Investment Cooperation and the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Main Practice Areas

"Creating value by establishing mutual trust" - the value statement of Tiantong & Partners speaks for itself. Over the years, Tiantong & Partners has established a sophisticated case assessment and management system, together with a comprehensive and up-to-date database containing all the major decisions and judgments of the upper levels of People's Supreme Court. Lawyers of Tiantong & Partners have well-rounded capabilities to provide clients with solutions and accurate assessments of litigation risks through their in-depth analysis of past judicial decisions and interpretations and their solid theoretical foundation.

In addition to its mainstream litigation practice, Tiantong & Partners also advises clients on pre-litigation matters as risk management to meet its clients' needs in seeking alternative legal remedies to enforce or defend their commercial positions.

Tiantong & Partners has a represented clients in a wide variety of disputes, including banking and finance, corporate and commerce, real and estate and construction and intellectual property.

Banking and Finance Litigation

Banking and finance litigation is one of Tiantong & Partners' core strengths. Lawyers at Tiantong & Partners have particular expertise in handling complex commercial disputes where the amounts at stake and the issues involved are of critical significance to its clients.

Key partners in the Banking and Finance Group include Jiang Yong, Chen Yaoquan, Li Guobin and Song Yu (See bios of key partners below).

Representative banking and finance matters include:

• Successfully acted for one of the largest stated-owned banks in a second instance trial at the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on a loan agreement dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 150 million. This case expanded the scope of application of the Notice of the Supreme People's Court on the Guarantee Period for Guarantees which Occurred before the Guarantee Law Took Effect.
• Successfully acted for one of the largest stated-owned banks in a second instance trial at the SPC on a dispute involving a certificate of deposit, which involved a subject amount of RMB 30 million and was reported in the Gazette of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 12, 2004).
• Successfully acted for one of the largest stated-owned assets management companies in a second instance trial at the SPC on a loan guarantee dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 72.22 million and was reported in the Guides on Trials of Civil and Commercial Cases of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 1, 2003).
• Successfully acted for one of the largest stated-owned assets management companys in a second instance trial at the SPC on a loan guarantee dispute, which involved a subject amount of 30 million. This case overturned one of the internal guidelines concerning the trial procedure in the Higher People's Court of Shandong Province.
• Acted for a credit company in Beijing in a second instance trial at the SPC on a deposit contractual dispute. This case overturned the first instance judgment made by the Higher People's Court in Guangdong Province and was reported in the Guides and Research on Supervision of Trials of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 3, 2003).
• Acted for one of largest stated-owned banks in a second instance trial at the SPC, reducing the first instance judgement award by RMB 10 million.
• Successfully acted for a logistics company in a second instance trial at the SPC on a loan guarantee dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 240 million.
• Successfully acted for one of the largest stated-owned commercial banks in a second instance trial at the SPC on a loan guarantee dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 110 million.

Corporate and Commercial Litigation

The firm's Corporate and Commercial Litigation Group advises clients on shareholder disputes, share transfers and acquisitions, investment trust disputes, contract disputes, securities issues, insolvency and government bonds, etc.

Key partners in the Corporate and Commercial Group include Jiang Yong, Chen Yaoquan, Li Guobin and Song Yu (See bios of key partners below).

Representative corporate and commercial matters include:

• Successfully acted for one of the largest securities companies in China in a second instance trial at the SPC on an investment trust dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 200 million. This was a case of first impression at the SPC, which issued opinions on the definition of an investment trust dispute and was reported in the Gazette of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 8, 2004) and the Guides on Trials of Civil and Commercial Cases of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 1, 2004).
• Successfully acted for a stated-owned assets management company in Hunan Province on a share transfer dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 70 million. This case was reported in the Guides on Trials of Civil and Commercial Cases of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 1, 2003).
• Successfully acted for a publicly listed company based in Hunan on a share ownership dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 50 million. This case was reported in Guides on Trials of Civil and Commercial Cases of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 1, 2003).
• Acted for a listed company in a second instance trial at the SPC on an investment trust dispute. This case overturned the first instance judgment and was reported in the Guides on Trials of Civil and Commercial Cases of the Supreme People's Court (Vol. 2, 2006).
• Acted for a paper manufacturing company in Anhui Province on a dispute with the provincial government over a loan agreement, resulting in an early admission of liability by the provincial government by way of a settlement agreement.
• Successfully acted for an investment company in Beijing against an enterprise based in Shanxi Province on a government bonds acquisition dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 100 million.

Real Estate and Construction Litigation

Tiantong & Partners represents clients in a wide range of contentious real estate and construction matters, including acquisitions, financing, development, construction, management, operations, leasing and sales of office, retail, industrial and residential properties.

Key partners in the Real Estate and Construction Group include Jiang Yong and Li Guobin (See bios of key partners below).

Representative real estate and construction matters include:

• Successfully acted for a national railway corporation on an appeal to the SPC over a construction contract dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 20 million
• Successfully acted for a leading construction company on a construction contract dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 180 million
• Successfully acted for a developer in an arbitration concerning a contractual dispute on the transfer of land use rights, which involved a subject amount of over RMB 400 million
• Successfully acted for a large state-owned construction company on a construction contract dispute, which involved a subject amount of RMB 90 million.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Intellectual property is an area of vital importance for commercial clients in all fields of activity. Lawyers at Tiantong & Partners have in-depth experience in handling contentious IP disputes, including patents, copyright, trademarks and passing off and collective licensing disputes.

Key partners in the Intellectual Property Group include Jiang Yong, Chen Yaoquan and Song Yu (See bios of key partners below).

Representative intellectual property litigation matters include:

• Successfully acted for an electrical appliance company based in Sichuan Province in defending multiple cross-provincial trademark infringement claims brought by a national electrical appliance company.

Biographies of Key Partners

Jiang Yong is a Partner and the Director of Tiantong & Partners. Mr. Jiang received an L.L.B. from China University of Political Science and Law and an E.M.B.A. from Tsinghua University, and has been qualified to practice law since 1995. Prior to commencing his private practice, Mr. Jiang worked at the SPC and the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission. Mr. Jiang is an experienced litigator and a member of the management committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association. Mr. Jiang is a prolific author and editor, with publications consisting of more than ten legal books, and currently serves as the associate director of the Public Centre for Public Participation Studies and Supports at Perking University and a tutor of L.L.M. courses at Tsinghua University. Recently, Mr. Jiang collaborated with the Peking University to organise a discussion forum and publish a biweekly review on Chinese laws, politics and public policies.

Chen Yaoquan is the leading partner in the firm's Corporate and Commercial Litigation Group. Mr. Chen received an L.L.M. in civil and commercial law from Beijing University of Technology and Business, and has been qualified to practice law since 2000. Prior to commencing his private practice, Mr. Chen was an in-house counsel with a large stated-owned enterprise for four years. Mr. Chen has extensive experience in handling civil and commercial disputes.

Li Guobin is the leading partner of the firm's Real Estate and Construction Litigation Group. Mr. Li received an L.L.B. from the Law School of Peking University, and has been qualified to practice law since 1999. Prior to commencing his private practice, Mr. Li served as the chief legal counsel to government entities and advised on government investment projects.

Song Yu is the leading partner of the firm's Banking and Finance Litigation Group. Mr. Song began his career with the judiciary and served as a chief justice at an Intermediate Court. Prior to commencing his private practice, Mr. Song served as a special project legal counsel for the National Development Bank to advise on financial litigation related matters. He focuses his practice on the recovery of non-performing loans, liquidation and debt restructuring. Mr. Song received an L.L.B. from the China University of Political Science and Law, and has been qualified to practice law since 1991.

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