| Zhong Lun 中伦律师事务所 | |
| Headquarters: | Beijing, China |
| Num Offices: | 18 |
| Key People: | Anthony Zhao (Managing Partner) |
| Practice Areas: | General practice |
| Revenue: | (2022) [1] |
| Num Lawyers: | Over 1,600 [2] |
| Date Founded: | 1993 (Beijing) |
Zhong Lun is a Chinese multinational law firm headquartered in Beijing, China. It was founded in 1993 as one of the first private law firms in China.[3]
Zhong Lun is one of China's most prominent law firms and is a member of the "Red Circle" of elite Chinese practices that increasingly compete with London’s Magic Circle and New York’s white-shoe partnerships.[4]
Zhong Lun currently has domestic offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Haikou, and international offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Almaty.[5]
In Chinese Zhong Lun (中伦) means compliance with ethical principles.[6] The term first appeared in the Analects of Confucius.[6]
Zhong Lun was founded in Beijing in 1993 as a private partnership.[3] In 1996, it merged with the Beijing-based law firm Jintong and changed its name to Zhonglun Jintong.[7] In 2003, a group of Zhonglun Jintong partners left to set up a new firm named Zhonglun W&D.<ref name=thelaw13212/> Zhonglun Jintong rebranded itself as Zhong Lun in 2008.[7]
Zhong Lun's office in Wuhan was opened in January 2010.[8] Zhong Lun's office in Hong Kong was opened in February 2010, in an association with the Hong Kong-based law firm Roger Ho & Co.[9] In 2011 Zhong Lun's Hong Kong office merged with the Hong Kong-based law firm Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson.[7] Zhong Lun's opened an office in London in February 2012 following the recruitment of the entire London staff of Zhonglun W&D.<ref name=thelaw13212/>
In April 2013, Zhong Lun opened a New York Office in Midtown Manhattan,[10] with Ta-kuang (T.K.) Chang and Philip Xuan Zhang as founding partners.[3]
Zhong Lun has been regularly recognized by Chambers & Partners as a leading law firm in China, awarding it Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year (2017, 2019, 2023);[11] [12] Corporate & Finance Law Firm of the Year (2015, 2022);[13] [14] and China Law Firm of the Year (2013, 2014, 2016).[15] [16]
In 2024, Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific ranked Zhong Lun as top tier in 27 areas of practice while Chambers & Partners Global ranked Zhong Lun as top tier in 13 areas of practice, including capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, energy and natural resources, and projects and infrastructure.[17]
In July 2024, Zhong Lun Law Firm was recognized in Law.asia's China Business Law Awards 2024. The firm achieved distinction in multiple categories, including the Golden League, Capital Markets (Domestic), Competition and Antitrust, Corporate and Compliance, Dispute Resolution (Domestic), IP (Patent), Mergers and Acquisitions (Inbound, Domestic, and Outbound), Private Equity and Venture Capital, Restructuring and Insolvency, and Taxation.[18]
Zhong Lun's main practice areas include:[19]