4th Partner Representative Meeting of ECLA & Signing Ceremony for New Member Firms Held in Guangzhou

On September 27th the 4th Partner Representative Meeting & the Signing Ceremony for New Member Firms of the Elite China Legal Alliance (ECLA) was held at Guangdong Tongyi Law Firm in Guangzhou. Representatives of 28 law firms from 25 cities in the mainland and Taiwan, and also  lawyers from French and Hong Kong law firms, attended the Meeting.

Among the distinguished  guests were Zhu Zhengfu, Director of Dongfang Kunlun Law Firm and Vice President of the All China Lawyers Association, Luan Shaohu, Chairman of the Partners’ Meeting of Deheng Law Group, Xiao Liming, Senior Advisor of ECLA, Li Wutian, Senior Legal Counsel from the Bank of China and Liu Fangchang, Director of South China Business of Tianjin Equity Exchange.

At the meeting ECLA accepted two new member firms, Hunan Junjian Law Firm in Changsha and Guangxi Wanyi Law Firm in Nanning. So far the membership of ECLA has expanded to 28 firms covering 28 cities in 25 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), with more than 1000 member lawyers.

Qingdao Dehe Law School was also founded at the Meeting as the knowledge platform and base for ECLA internal business exchange and learning. The school aims to strengthen the strategical cooperation among ECLA members and promote internal business exchange and learning. It also aims to enhance public recognition of ECLA and to fulfil its social responsibilities and obligations.in the construction of a socialist legal system. 

What makes ECLA different from other legal alliances is that it is a close alliance based on joint practice teams comprised of lawyers from member firms. These include the International Practice Team, the Securities and Capital Market Team, the Investment and Financing Team, the Corporation and Acquisition Team, the Real Estate and Construction Team, the IP Team, the Insurance and Maritime Team, the Commercial Dispute Resolution Team and the Buddhism Legal Service Team etc. At the meeting all teams summarized their work and looked forward to future development.

In the course of the meeting the ECLA.Tongyi Forum and the Forum on ECLA Firms’ Internal Management were held simultaneously. ECLA.Tongyi Forum mainly discussed overseas investment and immigration in the US, France, Canada and South Korea. Senior legal counsel Li Wuzhong from the Bank of China spoke on financial innovation and the protection of bank credit. Liu Fangchang from the Tianjin Equity Exchange explained how enterprises can become listed. The Forum on ECLA Firms’ Internal Management focused on three main themes: remuneration models of law firms, tax management upon business tax to VAT and law firm’s informatization in the internet era.