The First China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum

-- Positioning as "green law firm" and focusing on "cross-border"

In recent years, with the stable running of macro economy, significant development has been made in China's legal cause. Currently, the number of national practicing lawyers and law firms achieves rapid growth. However, in the face of market competition and social transformation, the lawyer profession is confronting with new challenges and trials; newly-emerged technologies like Internet and big data requires legal service of higher quality.

In this context, in order to seek for development space of law firm innovation and promote sound and benign development of Chinese lawyer profession, based on implementing spirit of newly-revised Administrative Measures for Law Firms and Administrative Measures for the Practice Law by Lawyers, China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum was launched by Democracy & Legal System press, Chinese Lawyer periodical office, Green Legal Global Alliance and Beijing DOCVIT Law Firm. The rules and essence of Chinese industrial development were explored by means of setting up forum. And with the help of transdisciplinary communication and discussion, new mode of law firm management was created, new direction of Chinese lawyer profession was developed, and new breakthroughs were realized. Backbones strength of the industry were cultivated by efforts of each party with the aim to accelerate the realization of industrial sound development, inject new vitality and add new impetus into legal construction of China, and endeavor to build China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum to be the most valuable, distinctive and influential industrial brand forum of authority and cohesion in national lawyer profession.

On March 22, 2017, the First China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum was grandly held in Beijing. The forum consisted of two main themes: Positioning "Green Law Firm" and Focusing on "Cross-border". Leaders and guests at all levels from the competent organizations, legal and economic circles, as well as experts, scholars and industry leaders arrived to gather together to express their views on the law firm management, culture shaping, market development and other topics, and share the healthy development concepts of Chinese lawyer profession. The guest speakers not only had prospective and macro-level theoretical analysis in the horizon, but also micro-level field investigation and research by case studies, with new and brilliant theories emerging one after another.

The organizer - Democracy & Legal System press, as the earliest initial issue of central political and legal media, has long been closely connected with the national lawyer profession, and played an important role in guiding the public opinion for the healthy development of China's cause of rule of law.

The periodical office of Chinese Lawyer is the only one state-level publication for the legal profession from now on. With high-grade, high-level and high-quality features, it established its own clear and unique image among the legal periodicals.

As the first cross-border alliance, Green Legal Global Alliance has been insisting on taking laws as the core, building a green and dimensional law ecosphere includes law, economy, society, humanity based on research institutes and taking internet as platform, in order to be the most valuable lawful think tank of China. Meanwhile, the Alliance adheres to international development strategy, actively exploits international academic exchange activities, builds a steady and fruitful communication mechanism with several international top think tanks, carries out dialogues and communications with international top think tanks, related government departments and large financial institutions on such hot issues as world economic development prospects and promotes the joint development of economy and finance of China and the world.

Beijing DOCVIT Law Firm is the earliest professional law firm in China with scale and brand, of which, the management is characterized by demutualization. In 2016, DOCVIT successively achieved the merger with Jiacheng & Taihe and Union, entering into the 3.0 appropriate scale era. It firstly proposed "green law firm", a new development idea in the industry, advocated the Chinese lawyer profession to develop toward the green, healthy, rational and innovative direction, which opened the new vision and thoughts of exploring the development and innovation for law firms, and carried out the useful exploration and practice for the harmonious coexistence and benign, orderly development of lawyers, law firms and the industry as well as built a new trend for the industry.

China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum- positioning as "green law firm" and focusing on "cross-border", aims at further building consensus, integrating resources by transdisciplinary exchanges and seminars, to explore new models of law firm management in China and new directions of the lawyer profession, and promote vigorously the better and faster development of the lawyer cause. This is the practical measure of the legal media and the lawyer profession to fulfill their duties around the central work of the party and the government; they work to establish a brand forum committed to building the most valuable and high-level lawyer profession of China with important era significance. It fully embodies the political awareness, the ideas of the overall situation and the sense of responsibility of the vast lawyers' team, which injects the innovation power for the cause of the rule of law in China and contributes wisdom and strength to the healthy operation of the Chinese lawyer profession.

Zhou Zhanhua

President of Democracy & Legal System press

During the historical construction process of the socialist law-governing country, the lawyer profession in China is faced with unprecedented opportunities for development. The lawyer profession will have a brilliant future. China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum depends on cross-border exchanges and discussions in order to further consolidate consensus and integrate resources, explore a new mode of law firm management, develop a new direction for Chinese lawyer profession, and vigorously promote the healthier and better development of China lawyer cause. It can be said that of the Chinese lawyer profession this is the most valuable, high-level brand forum with important era significance, and this is legal media and national lawyers' practical measures to perform duties around the party and government central work, but also fully embodies the largeness lawyer team's political consciousness, overall consciousness and responsibility consciousness, which is very meaningful.

Wang Junfeng

Chairman of All China Lawyers Association

Until 2016, the number of China's practicing lawyers reached to 328,000. The field of legal service has developed from litigation practice to the equal stress on litigation and non-litigation practice; lawyers' work is playing an increasingly important role in serving the economic and social development as well as the construction of democracy and legal system; lawyers have become an important force in law-based governance and the government and all sectors of society are paying high and extensive attention to lawyer profession. The China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum takes "green law firm" and "cross-border" as its themes, marking an important step in promoting the green and benign development of the lawyer profession in China. The innovation means a lot. The forum has gathered experts, scholars, elites and well-known lawyers of economic circles and law circle. We will build consensus and gather strength through exchanges and discussions to jointly build a green and three-dimensional legal ecosphere, which will be a wonderful stroke of luck for the healthy development of lawyer profession in China.

Cao Yuanzheng

Chairman of the board of BOC International Research Companyand member of Chinese Economists 50 Forum

From the aspect of the future, by 2020 or so, as the financial field will become more open, legal service concerning foreign affairs will raise higher requirements on China's legal service, which requires Chinese lawyer profession to constantly re-examine and reflect themselves, which is just the reason and significance of raising positioning as "green law firm" and focusing on "cross-border". China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum serves as the most valuable platform for communication, connecting the law circle with the economic circle. It is hoped that this corss-border discussion will point out new development directions and pave new ways of improvement for China's economy and legal cause.

Li Haiwei

The deputy secretary general of All China Lawyers Association, president of the periodical office of Chinese Lawyer 

The five development concepts--innovation, coordination, green, opening up and sharing, is a profound reform in the overall situation of China's development. Social industries are in the pursuit of green development, positive operation of direction and path. Similarly, Chinese lawyer profession also needs green and healthy environment. The two themes of positioning as "green law firm" and focusing on "cross-border" take the promotion of the healthy development of China's lawyer profession as the core, and cross-border integration of the industry as the focus, corresponding with the five national development concepts very much. As far as I am concerned, "green law firm" shall be under the sustainable and benign development, and shall be under development of taste, culture and happiness. "Border cross" needs innovation, coordination, opening up and sharing. "Green law firm" is direction and goal, "cross-border" is path and method. Therefore, this forum is of great era significance since it combined current situation of lawyer profession with deeply discussed development path in the future. Under this theme, we need more than ever to integrate industry resources, combine multi-field research strength, make joint efforts to build the forum with significant influence, high standard and highest value and strive to initiate five development concepts of Chinese lawyer profession with wisdom and power.

Li Xiaoxi

The Chinese member of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, director of UNIDO-UNEP Green Industry Platform - China Chapter Office, honorary president of School of Economies and Resource Management of Beijing Normal University

The significance of the participating by people from all walks of life in the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its programs in China is uncommon. The "Agenda" has repeatedly stressed the trinity of economy, society and environment. Green economy and green development are effective ways to combine environmental problems with economic problems. Green economy is the common pursuit of mankind. In the short run, development of the green economy will not only quickly promote employment to boost the economy, but also effectively adjust the economic structure to rationalize the relationship among resources, environment and economic development; in the long run, it is more conducive to the sustained and extensive growth of the economy, and achieves the coordinated and sustainable development in a true sense. The participation of the law circle in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development showed that they are making efforts to realize the "sound governance and good laws". Laws and the rule of law are needed to maintain the domestic and international order as well as protect and develop the economy.

Liu Guangchao

Secretary general of Green Legal Global Alliance, director of Beijing DOCVIT Law Firm

The law firm, as the important strength of promoting law-based governance, shall take innovation as the development momentum and explore the reasonable and efficient management mechanism; follow the green development mode and realize the healthy development of the law firm and the lawyer profession. Therefore, we advocate our legal colleagues to breed the "green sprout" of legal governance, cherish the "green heart" of reform, cultivate the "forest outlaws" of talent, guarantee the "green journey" of practice and establish the "green law firm" in our mind. We hold the opinion that to be demutualization, specialization, appropriate scale, informatization and internationalization is the choice of "green law firm" and the goal of "green law firm". On the road of "green law firm", we hope for working with more fellow travelers to jointly explore the essence and rule of the lawyer profession, expand the new fields and modes of the lawyer profession and realize the coordinated development and benign interaction between lawyers and law firms, so as to become the important momentum of promoting the perpetual development of the society. The "transdisciplinary" does not mean to go beyond the boundary nor ignore one's proper occupation. It is a necessary road for us lawyers to survive, develop and adapt to the market. It is also an inevitable choice for the entire lawyer profession to set up ecology and make for innovation.

Zhang Xuebing

Vice-chairman of All China Lawyers Association

He expressed that the concept of "green law firm" is innovative, which guide the national lawyer profession and law firm entering the road of healthy development and sustainable development. A good law firm , in terms of its positioning, should keep  balance between the commercialized operation and the fairness and justice that legal persons should stick to in process of development. In terms of "cross-border", it shall be made clear that both our action and thought shall cross the border. Legal persons shall have triple thoughts, namely, legal thought, commercial awareness and IQ thought. A lawyer who can realize the organic combination of the three  will become an excellent lawyer.

Xiao Wei

Director of Junhe Law Firm

In China Law Firm Development and Innovation Forum, the proposal and deepening of "green law firm" are in line with the essence and rules of industrial development of lawyers as well as the correct path for its healthy operation of industry, reflecting the thinking and practicing of the sponsors on the green and innovative development road of lawyer profession.

Gao Jingbing

Vice-chairman of Beijing Lawyers Association

To promote the benign development of the industry from the perspective of the law firm, we shall firstly adhere to the profession and norms as the basis to create the brand and establish the system, and couple with the appropriate scale and teamwork  only in this way the lawyer profession and law firms can remain invincible. Second, there shall be dedication spirit. Just as building the platform, communicating and passing on the experience during this forum are just the dedication, and also is reflection and practice of the industrial development. In addition, adhering to the development and innovation, establishing the team-based development model with the law firm planning as a whole, correctly dealing with the relationship between rights protection and punishment are also an important force of promoting the healthy operation of China's lawyer profession

Liu Guiming

Chief editor of Democracy & Legal System periodical office

Today we live in  a cross-border era. This forum ,conforming to the development trends of era, and taping the pulse of the era, showed great foresight and accurate positioning in the waves of reform and innovation and opened up a new road for the development of Chinese lawyer profession. The forum organizer Green Legal Global Alliance, as a transdisciplinary alliance, contains two major fields of laws and economy as cores. This forum are about the cross-border dialogue and exchanges between the two fields, we believe that the cross-border between the two fields is certain to open up new blue ocean for development and to produce enormous energy, which will have profound influence on the whole lawyer profession and even the whole society. The cross-border made the innovation and development of the entire legal service industry enjoy more development force, which is sustainable. As a result, this is a transdisciplinary era as well as an era for lawyer profession to face with it.

Li Dajin

Director of  Beijing East & Concord Partners

This forum has taken a historic step in the sound development and cross-border integration of the national lawyer profession and the topic we have discussed today may also provide important guidance and experience for the law firm management and industrial development of lawyer. Careful survey and full deliberation should be taken into account for the cross-border of lawyer profession. As far as I am concerned, the focus of "cross-border" lies in not only "border" but "cross". The cross-border of the lawyer profession shall follow the following two principles: first, the main idea of cross-border of lawyers would not to damage the dignity of lawyer profession. Second, the boundary of cross-border of lawyers would not to damage the social reputation of lawyers.

Pang Zhengzhong

Vice-chairman of Beijing Lawyers Association

To study the transboundary development of lawyers professional and law firms is a very good theme with much realistic significance,which paying an important guiding and leading role to the entire development orientation of the Chinese lawyer profession.The core values of future lawyers and law firms will still be providing specialized, all-round, full-scale, global legal services; and in the meanwhile, the real cross-border is the cross-cutting and cross-industry resource integration. For example, Chinese Lawyers' Development and Innovation Forum has created a dialogue and exchange platform in the economic circles and law circle, in order to jointly discuss the problems in the development process of Chinese economy and lawyer profession, in order to explore more healthy and benign development orientations and routes, which is of great significance for the industry.