Last year witnessed a significant expansion within China as 30 Chinese law firms announced they would be setting up a total of 40 new offices across the mainland, as revealed by an analysis by Law.com International.
Contrastingly, a limited number of these expanding firms are ranked among the elite legal practices in the country. These top-tier firms have generally been more oriented towards securing and enhancing their presence in international markets, as opposed to expanding within the domestic market in China.
However, with the Chinese cross-border deal market experiencing a quiet phase, it will be interesting to observe whether these firms will switch their trajectories and pivot towards further expansion in the mainland. The aggressive domestic development by numerous Chinese law firms despite these conditions raises questions regarding the potential pay-off from this significant investment.