Interview with: Zhang Liguo, Chief Partner

张利国律师简析国枫如何立足专业、走向多元未来

Mr. Zhang Liguo’s brief analysis of How Grandway Bases on Expertise and Heads for a Diversified Future

 

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Grandway Law Offices from your competitors?

回复：

国枫律师事务所成立于1994年，自2005年重组至今，国枫始终走在行业前沿，是国内资本市场法律服务的领先机构。区别于其他律师事务所，国枫的亮点主要体现在：

Grandway was established in 1994 and has always been at the forefront of the industry while being a leading legal service provider in the domestic capital market since the restructuring in 2005. Different from other law firms, the highlights of Grandway are mainly showed in:

1．国枫作为一家致力于为客户提供“一站式”法律服务的律师事务所，专业化是国枫始终如一的追求。为深入贯彻“专业立所、人才兴所”的发展理念，国枫始终坚持引进、培养最专业的法律人才和服务团队，以专业诠释价值，以资深铸就品质，不断实现业务专业化、管理协同化、服务品牌化。比如，国枫在设立初期即建立了严谨有效的专业内控管理制度，是国内最早设立证券业务内核制度的律所。以“风险防范、业务指导”为原则，国枫的证券法律业务内核制度协助项目律师疏解疑难事项、解决重大问题，不仅赢得了客户的广泛赞誉，更深受合作伙伴的认可，为项目的顺利推进及最终圆满成功奠定坚实基础。

• As a law firm committed to providing clients with “one-stop” legal services, the ultimate specialization is the consistent pursuit of Grandway. In order to thoroughly implement the development concept of “professional establishment and talent development”, Grandway always insists on introducing and cultivating the most professional legal team, interpreting value with professionalism and casting quality with senior experience. In order to further realize business specialization, management coordination and service brand, Grandway established a rigorous and effective professional internal audit system at the early stage of its establishment, and was the earliest law firm in China to set up a internal audit system of securities legal services. Based on the principle of “risk prevention and business guidance”, the internal audit system of securities legal serfices of Grandway assists project lawyers to solve difficult issues and major problems, which not only wins wide praise from our clients, but also is recognized by our business partners, and laying a solid foundation for the smooth progress and final success of the project.

2．国枫三十年来始终坚持一体化、协同化的区域发展战略。全所采用统一的OA工作平台，适用一体化的管理制度，在总分所之间实现包括业务管理、人才引进、培养、薪酬制度、律所战略、市场宣传等多个方面在内的一体化管理，以统一管理的方式提高业务质量，防范风险。

• Over the past 30 years, Grandway has always adhered to the regional development strategy of integration and synergy. The whole firm adopts the same OA work platform, applies the integrated management system, and realizes the integrated management including business management, talent introduction, training, salary system, law firm strategy, market publicity and other aspects among the total offices, so as to improve business quality and prevent risks in a unified management way.

3．国枫始终坚持“有限多元化”的业务模式，发端并立足于资本市场的同时，以客户需求为导向，积极开拓相关业务领域，引进和培育了争议解决、知识产权、房地产和建设工程、合规、税务等业务领域的成熟专业化的律师和团队，不断充分整合国枫优质的专业力量与资源，适度扩大专业领域规模，壮大队伍，在一体化组织下积极促进多元业务领域和资本市场领域的联动，致力于为客户提供高度专业、多元的法律服务。

• Grandway always adheres to the “limited diversification” business model. Our main practice field is originated and based on capital markets legal services, Grandway always orientes to clients’ needs, actively expand relevant practice field, introduces and cultivates professional lawyers and comprehensive teams, covering dispute resolution, intellectual property, real estate and construction engineering, compliance, tax, etc. Grandway constantly integrates high-quality professional talents and resources, appropriately expands the scale of professional fields and our lawyer teams. Under the integrated organization, we actively promote the linkage between other business areas and capital market business areas, and are committed to providing clients with highly professional and diversified legal services.

 

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

回复：

2024年4月，《国务院关于加强监管防范风险推动资本市场高质量发展的若干意见》（以下称新“国九条”）及配套文件重磅出台。新“国九条”坚持以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，进一步贯彻落实中央金融工作会议精神，是继2004年、2014年两个“国九条”之后，又时隔10年，国务院再次专门出台的资本市场指导性文件，充分体现了党中央、国务院对资本市场的高度重视和殷切期望。新“国九条”分阶段规划了未来5年、2035年、本世纪中叶资本市场高质量发展的目标，系统提出了强监管、防风险、促高质量发展的一揽子政策措施。基于新“国九条”的政策要求，未来12个月并购重组以及与资本市场相关的后端业务将会有所增长，具体如下：

• This year in April, China’s State Council has released a guideline on strengthening regulation, forestalling risks and promoting the high-quality development of the capital market. This is the third guideline document on the capital market from the State Council in two decades. The first two were issued in 2004 and 2014, respectively. The Guideline plans the goals of high-quality development of the capital market in the next five years, 2035, and the middle of this century in stages, and systematically put forward a package of policy measures to strengthen supervision, prevent risks, and promote high-quality development. Based on the policy requirements of the Guideline, the next 12 months will see an increase in mergers and acquisitions and restructuring and the latter segment of the business related to the capital market, as follows:

1．新“国九条”要求，应严格上市公司持续监管，推动上市公司提升投资价值，鼓励上市公司聚焦主业，综合运用并购重组、股权激励等方式提高发展质量，加大并购重组改革力度，多措并举活跃并购重组市场。

1. The Guideline requires strict continuous supervise of listed companies, promote listed companies to enhance their investment value and encourage them to focus on their main business. The Guideline also requires to improve the quality of listed companies’ development through mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, and equity incentives, intensify the reformation of mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring market, and take multiple measures to invigorate this market.

为深入贯彻落实新“国九条”，各证券交易所制定/修订了相关配套业务规则并向市场公开征求意见，支持上市公司通过并购重组提升投资价值，完善了重组小额快速审核机制，扩大小额快速机制的适用范围，并进一步压缩了小额快速机制下交易所的审核时限，并支持上市公司之间吸收合并。

To implement the Guidelines, all the stock exchanges have formulated/revised relevant supporting business rules and solicit public opinions to supported listed companies to increase their investment value through mergers and acquisitions and restructuring. These newly formulated/revised rules improve the small-amount rapid review mechanism for restructuring, expand the scope of application of the mechanism, compressed time-limit of the review. It also shows the support of absorption and merger of listed companies.

在完善吸收合并、鼓励产业整合、削减壳价值等一系列政策的引导及鼓励下，未来12个月，并购重组市场有望迎来“暖春”。

Under the guidance and encouragement of a series of policies such as improving absorption and merger, encouraging industrial integration, and reducing shell value, the merger and acquisition market is expected to usher in a “warm spring” in the next 12 months.

2．新“国九条”要求，应加大退市监管力度，深化退市制度改革，加快形成应退尽退、及时出清的常态化退市格局。严格退市执行，严厉打击财务造假、操纵市场等恶意规避退市的违法行为。中国证监会在“突出上市公司投资价值”、“畅通多元化退市渠道”、“大力加强投资者保护”的总体要求下，制定了《关于严格执行退市制度的意见》并及时发布。

2. The country vowed to strengthen regulation on delisting, adopt stricter standards for compulsory delisting, smooth diverse channels for delisting. Strictly implement delisting, and strictly crack down on illegal acts such as financial fraud and market manipulation that maliciously evade delisting. The CSRC has formulated and promptly issued the relevant policies under the above demands.

因此，在“长牙带刺”的强监管态势下，如何为上市公司提供更加优质的合规法律服务，是国枫律师一直在探索和思考的命题，我们已储备了足够的专业力量，并将以业务协同化、服务品牌化为专业赋能，助力国枫客户实现更好、更快地发展，为资本市场的健康稳定积极贡献出自己的一份力量。

Therefore, under the highly extreme intensive regulatory situation, how to provide listed companies with better compliance legal services has always been the issue we keep exploring and ponder over. Grandway has reserve sufficient professional strength, and will help our clients develop better and faster with business synergy and service brand as professional empowerment, and actively contribute our own strength to the health and stability of the capital market.

 

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

回复：

国枫作为国内第一批从事证券业务的律师事务所，一直将资本市场业务作为核心业务。经过三十年的不断创新与稳健发展，国枫已成为国内领先的具有高度专业化的大型律师事务所。国枫的专业优势首先源于对专业的“专注度”，在专业建设中，国枫始终坚持深耕资本市场法律服务及其相关领域，坚持专业化、精品化，并不断给客户提供多层次、一站式的法律服务。

As one of the first law firms engaged in securities business in China, Grandway has always taken capital market business as our core business. After 30 years of continuous innovation and steady development, we has become a leading large law firm with high specialization in China. The professional advantage of Grandway first comes from the professional “concentration”. In the professional construction, we always insists on the deep cultivation of capital market legal services and related fields, insisting on specialization and quality, rather than emphasizing “all aspects”. Thus we could continuously provide our clients with one-stop and multi-level legal services.

在事务所发展战略上，我们会坚持“有限多元化”，适度扩大专业领域规模，壮大队伍，密切关注与国枫业务相关、有协同效应的专业领域团队，在条件成熟时引入国枫的体系内��为客户提供更多元和更多维度的法律服务。在布局扩展上，我们会关注一些与我们的专业服务相契合的重点区域，继续增设我们的机构。三十年风雨兼程，我们始终坚持在“高度专业化、有限多元化、适度规模化”的道路上稳中求进，实现客户业务增值，用专业诠释价值，以卓越铸就未来。

In terms of development strategies, Grandway will adhere to the “limited diversification” development, moderately expand the scale of our professional teams and practice fields. Grandway is always paying close attention to the teams that their professional field are related to or have synergistic effect with our business fields, and will introduce them into Grandway at an appropriate time, to provide our clients with multi-dimensional legal services. In terms of layout expansion, we will focus on some key areas that are compatible with our professional services, and continue to add our institutions. Thirty years of trials and hardships, we always adhere to the “extreme specialization, limited diversification, moderate scale” on the road of steady progress, to achieve our aspirations.

 

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

回复：

科技的飞速发展正在改变着我们与客户交流互动的方式，国枫紧抓行业数字化转型的契机，努力实现组织管理的在线化、客户的在线化、市场与营销的在线化、整个生态的在线化，建立并完善分工交换机制，推动组织的一体化管理，同时也在密切关注并积极推动着法律服务与人工智能的相互渗透与碰撞。日渐成熟的在线协作基础设施建设和大数据的交互信任机制将会促使律师间的交流合作跨越组织、圈层、地域的限制，从而更加协同高效地服务客户。

 

The rapid development of science and technology is changing the way we communicate and interact with our clients. Grandway holds the opportunity of digital transformation of the industry, strives to realize the online ecology of organization management, client management, professional practice and business marketing. We are always devoted to establish and improve a “division of labor and exchange” mechanism to integrated the firm management. Our online working and communicating tools continue to steadily upgrade, making it more convenient for our lawyers to remote office and communicate with each other, so that we can serve our clients better and more efficiently.

近期国枫定制并上线了logo章系统、鉴证系统、网络核查系统，实现了法律文件内部复核的高效化、文件审核出具的便捷化、尽职调查的智能化，用科技助力尽职调查便捷、快速进行，法律文件高效、及时申报，以最大限度减少客户在项目审核环节的时间成本。

Recently, we have customized and launched a “Grandway Internal Audit System” and a “Network Search&Verify System”. These systems enable efficient internal review and convenient issuance of legal documents, and intelligent due diligence. The use of technology to make due diligence more convenient and faster, can be timely and efficient declaration of legal documents, as far as possible to reduce the time cost of the project review process for our clients.

 

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

回复：

例如，由国枫提供法律服务的比音勒芬服饰股份有限公司（比音勒芬，002832.SZ）于2023年5月完成了对“CERRUTI 1881”和“Kent & Curwen”两品牌的收购。本次交易金额为9,500万欧元，比音勒芬通过香港子公司持有标的公司股权并间接持有上述品牌，成为两品牌商标及相关知识产权在全球范围的最终持有人。

For example, our client BIEM.L. FDLKK Garment Co., Ltd. (002832 .SZ) completed the acquisition of the “CERRUTI 1881” and “Kent & Curwen” brands in May 2023. The value of this transaction is EUR95 million. BIEM.L. FDLKK holds the equity interest in the target company through its HK subsidiary and indirectly holds the above brands, thus becoming the ultimate owner of the trademarks and the relevant intellectual property of the two brands in the world.

国枫律师多年来深耕境内外的并购法律业务，作为本次交易的买方律师，为比音勒芬提供了涵盖前期基金设立，交易方案选择，ODI办理，协议的起草、修改及谈判，标的资产及标的公司的尽职调查，协助交割事项等在内的全流程法律服务，并以“珍视信任，不负所托”的核心服务理念和优质、高效的法律服务获得客户的高度认可。

For many years, Grandway lawyers have been deeply engaged in M&A legal business at home and abroad. As the buyer’s lawyer of this transaction, we have provided BIEM.L. FDLKK with the whole process of legal services, including the establishment of the fund in the early stage, the selection of the transaction plan, the handling of ODI, the agreement drafting, modification and negotiation, the due diligence of the underlying asset and the underlying company, along with the assistance in the delivery matters. Grandway’s core service concept and high-quality and efficient legal services have been highly recognized by our client.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

回复：

国枫始终致力于成为一家发端于资本市场、有限多元化的综合性律师事务所。这也要求我们在规模化发展方面必须保持适当的谨慎，首先，国枫在扩大规模时，既要保证对客户的服务质量，又要防止律所发展及客户服务所带来的风险，所以我们不一味地求大，坚持适度有限多元化；其次，国枫对分所的管理始终采用统一的管理模式，引进相关业务领域的团队、开拓分所都应顺应国枫业务发展的客观要求以及国枫客户对法律服务的多元需求。

Grandway has always been committed to becoming a comprehensive law firm with limited diversification originating in the capital market. This also requires us to maintain appropriate caution in scale development. First of all, when expanding the scale, Grandway not only needs to ensure the quality of service to clients, but also needs to avoid the risk brought by the development of law firm and client service in a timely manner. Therefore, we do not blindly pursue to be “big”, adhere to the moderate limited diversification. Secondly, Grandway always adopts a unified management mode for the management of branch offices. The introduction of teams in related practice fields and the development of branch offices should meet the objective requirements of Grandway’s development and the diversified needs of ours clients for legal services.

未来国枫将持续不断地引进相关领域的优秀人才，顺应形势变化，努力适应变化，继续增加为客户提供法律服务的深度和广度，维护客户权益、创造社会价值。未来三年国枫将继续稳健拓展，努力实现“资本市场+”业务的升值，在专业服务中有温度，在律所的建设中有热度，协同实现律所价值的提升和传承发展，赋予品牌文化更新的内涵。

In the future, Grandway will continue to introduce outstanding talents in relevant fields, strive to adapting changes, continue to increase the depth and breadth of legal services for our clients. We shall safeguard the rights and interests of clients, and create social value. In the next three years, Grandway will continue to expand and develop steadily, strive to achieve the appreciation of the “capital market +”. We are committed to offering more thoughtful services and establishing a more caring law firm, enabling the firm to better actualize its value and legacy. This will infuse a new meaning into the brand culture.