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#REDIRECT [[King & Wood Mallesons]]
{{Infobox Law Firm
| firm_name = King & Wood PRC Lawyers
| firm_logo = [[Image:King & Wood logo small.png|160px]] |
| headquarters = Beijing, [[PRC]]
| num_offices = 15
| num_attorneys = 990
| practice_areas = General practice
| date_founded = 1993
| company_type = Partnership
| homepage = [http://www.kingandwood.com/ www.kingandwood.com/]
| blog = [http://www.chinalawinsight.com/]
}}
'''King & Wood PRC Lawyers''' is among the first [[law firms]] established when law firms were repermitted in the [[People’s Republic of China]] during the modern era. It is now the country’s largest with 210 partners and 990 fee earners.
==History==
In 1993 King & Wood’s founding partners were still working with a state-sponsored organization, the [[China Council for the Promotion of International Trade]], when the central government permitted private ownership of law firms allowing them to create the firm.
To advance its policy of market-based reforms in the 1980s, China adopted reforms to align its legal system with international norms, particularly in the area of [[commercial law]]. These began with the [[Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Law]], the first law governing foreign investment, enacted in 1980. Since then, some 300 pieces of legislation have been issued relating to economics and trade.
To meet increasing growth in the sophistication of [[Chinese law]], Chinese firms began to incorporate in the late 1980s to meet demand for domestic legal services. King & Wood was among the first private law firms among a cohort comprising [[Commerce & Finance Law Offices]], [[Fangda Partners]], [[Haiwen & Partners]], [[Jun He Law Offices.]] and [[Lehman, Lee & Xu]]. These early firms have since grown to become the largest domestic law firms in China handling most of the nation’s domestic commercial legal work.
The name of the firm is an example of Western-oriented marketing by a Chinese firm. There is no "Mr. King" or "Ms. Wood" among the founders of the firm, the names having been chosen for their "ear appeal" among prospective Western clients. The corresponding portion of the Chinese name, is 金杜 ("Jin Du"), which likewise do no refer to a specific "Mr Jin" or "Mr Du".
King and Wood maintained a strategic alliance with [[Australia]]n law firm [[Gilbert + Tobin]] between 2007 and 2011.<ref>''Australian Financial Review'', [http://afr.com/p/national/legal_affairs/mallesons_firms_up_asian_link_Fj7BT1ZUlgRpvjNWDr9mVL "Mallesons firms up Asian link"], 7 October 2011, p. 20.</ref><ref>The New Lawyer (2011). [http://www.thenewlawyer.com.au/article/Mallesons-Chinas-King-Wood-plan-alliance/530805.aspx Mallesons, China's King & Wood, plan alliance]. Retrieved 7 October 2011.</ref>
== Profile ==
King & Wood employs nearly 990 attorneys throughout China, [[Hong Kong]], [[Japan]], and the [[United States]] and has now grown to become the largest law firm in China by number of lawyers. <ref>[http://www.legal500.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1136&l5country_code=ch&l5directory=as500&Itemid=343 http://www.legal500.com - Default Recommended Firms<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> These lawyers are spread throughout 15 offices throughout the world, but predominantly on the mainland. <ref>[http://whichlawyer.practicallaw.com/which/firmListing.do?poid=:20270139&jurisdictionId=:22248 PLC Which lawyer?: King & Wood: China - National profile<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The firm specializes in assisting foreign companies do business in China. Its main practice areas includes [[banking]], [[foreign investment]], [[international trade]], [[litigation]] and [[arbitration]], and [[securities]].
<ref>[http://www.martindale.com/King-Wood/law-firm-1646399.htm King & Wood - King & Wood Law Firm Profile - martindale.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Awards==
Awards include:
* Law Firm of the Year – China – Who’s Who Legal, 2010 <ref>http://www.whoswholegal.com/awards/countrystate/</ref>
* China Local Firm of the Year – PLC Which Lawyer Awards, 2010 <ref>http://whichlawyer.practicallaw.com/8-423-1583</ref>
* China National Firm of the Year – Chambers Asia Awards, 2010<ref>http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Awards/China#/Images/Awards/AsiaChina/8.jpg</ref>
* China Law Firm of the Year – ALB China Law Awards, 2010
* Managing Partner of the Year – ALB China Law Awards, 2010<ref>http://cn.albawards.legalbusinessonline.com/Winners/29862/details.aspx</ref>
* China Firm of the Year – International Financial Law Review, 2010
== Clients ==
The firm’s clients include [[Citigroup]], [[China Life]], the [[Beijing Organizing Committee]] of the Olympic Games, [[Wal-Mart]], [[PetroChina]], and the [[Bank of China]].
<ref>[http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Global/Firms/2293-34953 see the Chambers Global Editorial 2010.]</ref>
King & Wood advised on the largest [[IPO]] in Chinese history for PetroChina, allowing the company to temporarily become the highest valued company in the world at over $1 trillion.
<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/11/05/now-from-china-the-worlds-biggest-company.html Now, From China, the World's Biggest Company - US News and World Report<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.secinfo.com/d12Um2.z233.9.htm SEC Info - Petrochina Co Ltd - SC 13E3/A - Jilin Chemical Industrial Co Ltd - On 12/23/05 - EX-99.(C).5<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Legal History of China]]
*[[Chinese law]]
== References ==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.kingandwood.com/ King & Wood's website]
*[http://www.chinalawinsight.com/ King & Wood's China Legal Blog]
*http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bw/2008-03/10/content_6521062.htm
[[Category:Law firms of the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Law firms established in 1993]]
[[Category:Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong]]
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