China's GLO signs deal with Germany's Heuking and opens in Shenzhen

The launch of the German desk comes as a result of GLO’s cooperation agreement with German firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, which was established during Heuking managing partner Andreas Urban’s visit to GLO in July. The two firms have agreed to strengthen collaboration to develop Sino-Germany and Sino-EU work.

PRC and Germany dual qualified lawyer Dong Yiliang is the key link to the cooperation. Dong, previously a partner with Shanghai-based Boss & Young, has been appointed as a counsel in GLO’s Shanghai office to lead the new desk.

Earlier this year, he was appointed by Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek to be the head of its China desk in Hamburg. Dong will continue his role with Heuking in Hamburg while spending more time in GLO’s Shanghai office.

Heuking has 220 lawyers across seven offices in Germany and offices in Brussels and Zurich. Its European coverage is likely to provide more inbound referrals to GLO and help the Chinese firm’s clients with outbound investments into Germany and Europe.

In return, Heuking will be able to tap into GLO’s newly expanded domestic network. The firm’s new Shenzhen base will give its and Heuking’s clients access to the major financial centre in Southern China where Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies are located. The city’s proximity to Hong Kong and its position as the country’s third busiest container port have also added to its importance to national Chinese firms.

GLO’s six-lawyer Shenzhen office is headed by partners Li Cheng and Sun Haishang, both formerly counsel in Jun He’s Shenzhen office. Li joined GLO and helped establish the Shenzhen office several months ago after a short stint with Beijing firm Jia Yuan, which opened an office in Shenzhen in 2010.

GLO’s Shenzhen office mainly focuses on corporate, M&A, foreign investment and capital markets, especially IPOs and listings of private Chinese companies in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

“Most of the leading Beijing firms have already established themselves in Shenzhen, but we’re confident that the market still has plenty of room for growth. We aim to grow the number of lawyers in the office to 30 in the next a couple of years,” said Li.