Can Chinese law firms take over the world?

HONG KONG’S Central district has long housed the offices of the world’s poshest law firms. Recently a few of them, such as Baker McKenzie, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, and Freshfields, have left for parts of the city with cheaper rents. Central still teems with lawyers, except that more now toil for mainland firms like Zhong Lun, JunHe Law Offices and Fangda Partners.These are members of the so-called Red Circle of elite Chinese practices that increasingly compete with London’s venerable Magic Circle (of which Freshfields is one) and New York’s white-shoe partnerships. And not just for office space. They are poaching legal eagles from Western rivals, or merging with them to create large groups such as Dentons ( in Mandarin). And they are opening outposts across the globe. The overarching aim, supported by authorities in Beijing, is to offer Chinese lawyering alongside other professional services, such as accounting, consulting and investment banking.