SSQ, the global legal market consulting and talent solutions company, is pleased to announce that it has successfully assisted leading international law firm Pinsent Masons in establishing their formal joint venture (“JV”) with China Commercial Law Firm (“CCL”).

The JV – officially known as the China Commercial Law Firm and Pinsent Masons LLP, Qianhai Joint Operation Office – is the first of its kind in Shenzhen’s Qianhai Free Trade Zone. Since the Sino-foreign JV policy took effect at Qianhai, Pinsent Masons is the first multinational law firm to take advantage of this China opening-up policy and make a successful launch in the southern Chinese city.

During this landmark project, SSQ helped Pinsent Masons explore legitimate JV routes, identify potential cooperation law firms, draft the application documents and communicate with the regulatory authority to obtain the JV licence. SSQ worked closely with key partners and operations teams from Pinsent Masons China and Asia offices, assisting the firm in achieving this milestone development.

The China JV brings together the knowledge and resources of both Pinsent Masons and CCL to provide a comprehensive, one-stop solution for both international and Chinese clients. Under the co-brand of “CCL – Pinsent Masons”, the two firms can offer formal Chinese law advice to international clients more seamlessly and provide different jurisdictional legal services to Chinese clients across the globe.

Pinsent Masons has operated in China for more than 40 years and leads the market in construction, infrastructure and energy and is ranked number one in Belt-and-Road Initiative related matters since 2017. With 30 offices across the world, Pinsent Masons provides clients with unparalleled expertise on both transactional and contentious matters globally.

CCL has more than 260 partners and 3,000 lawyers in 58 offices around China. Founded in 1993, CCL is one of the first partnership law firms in China, ranked as one of China’s top 10 law firms and has been consistently ranked first in Shenzhen, Guangdong and Southern China in terms of size and revenue.

For any enquiry on this project or SSQ’s services, please refer to SSQ’s global and Asia websites: ssq.com,  ssqAsia.com or reach out to your usual contacts at SSQ.