FAQs

Below are the legal practice area definitions and regional variations used by Chambers to rank lawyers and law firms in the Greater China Region Guide. 

 
Administrative & Public Law 

​

Aviation: Finance  

​

The section may cover finance, regulatory and commercial matters. This area concentrates on advice to manufacturers, airlines, purchasers and investors (such as hedge and private equity funds, and financial leasing companies) on the sale, leasing and acquisition of portfolios of aircraft, helicopters, and engines. 

Banking & Finance 

​

A broad-based definition of banking transactions, which includes both borrower and lender clients. The following topics are included: acting for either the lender or the borrower on general bank lending, syndicated lending, structured finance, trade finance, project finance, asset finance (aviation finance not covered here if there is a separate aviation table in the same chapter) and leveraged finance. 
 
See also Restructuring / Insolvency for distressed assets financings and investment.  

Capital Markets 

Chambers guides cover key areas of capital markets either as distinct tables or under a wider umbrella. The areas include debt & equity, derivatives, securitisation, and structured finance (CDOs, repackagings, other synthetic products). 
 
Capital Markets: Debt covers legal advice on the following transactions: investment-grade debt offerings, standalone bond issuances, notes issuances, equity-linked offerings (regulatory capital, convertibles and exchangeable offerings), and high-yield debt offerings. 

Capital Markets: Equity includes advice on equity offerings such as: initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, right offerings, capital increases, ADR / GDR offerings, accelerated bookbuilds, and block trades. 
 
Derivatives includes regulatory and transactional legal advice regarding derivatives products. These include exchange-traded derivatives, OTC derivatives, securitised derivatives, and products with interest rates, currencies, equities, credit, or commodities as the underlying asset. Law firms advise on product development and regulation, market regulation, structuring and documentation of transactions, related tax issues, and derivatives litigation. 
 
Securitisation covers the entire range of asset classes, including commercial loans, derivatives exposure, bonds, project cash flows, trade receivables, credit card and trade receivables, commercial and residential mortgages, life insurance and annuities, and auto loans. 

(See both Derivatives and Securitisation definition above combined for Capital Markets: Securitisation & Derivatives table.) 

 
Structured finance also encompasses: CDOs (both cash and synthetic), repackagings, and hybrid synthetic and structured note products. 

Competition/Antitrust 

​

Competition/Antitrust covers the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behaviour (monopoly) and unfair business practices. This includes merger and acquisition approval work as well as public and private enforcement proceedings, including litigation or regulatory investigations into anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing and cartelisation. 

Construction 

​

Construction covers contractual advisor work within the construction industry for both the suppliers (e.g. developers, contractors, sub-contractors, engineers and architects), and those clients employing these types of companies e.g. corporates or state authorities on their building plans. Our construction sections cover both litigious and non-litigious matters. 

Corporate / Commercial 

​

 

Corporate/Commercial research focuses on China’s provincial markets and therefore is categorised by China’s province/municipality, as specified in the section name, i.e. Corporate/Commercial: Guangdong. 

The category covers a broad range of commercial legal advisory and work, without subdivision into specialist areas; however, matters relating to a specialist practice area that features elsewhere in the chapter should not be duplicated here.  

A range of matters may be considered in this section, including but not limited to corporate acquisitions, bond issuances, company listings, FDI, IP, commercial disputes and employment issues. Work considered in the relevant Corporate/Commercial section must be handled out of a corresponding local office/ground force in that region. 

Some provincial tables have been divided into Contentious and Non-contentious two sub-tables which covers adversarial and litigious matters, and transactions/regulatory issues respectively.  

Corporate Investigations / Anti-Corruption  

​

The Corporate investigation/anti-corruption section ranks firms and individuals advising on the management of, and compliance with, investigations concerning white-collar crime, anti-corruption legislation and international sanctions. The firms and lawyers may also be engaged to conduct investigations and prepare reports for management. The section covers issues faced by clients arising from the increased scrutiny of regulatory bodies into their day-to-day operations. 
 
The firms included here often bring together multi-disciplinary teams to advise on internal investigations, or proceedings brought by external bodies, including public and law enforcement bodies. Investigations may concern operating procedures, criminal and civil liability, ethics, and trans-national issues such as sanctions and money laundering. The teams often provide specialist advice on domestic legislation, as well as overseas legislation, if applicable. Coverage extends to advising on compliance and best practice. 

Corporate / M&A 

​

This broad category covers both public company and private equity (including venture capital) matters. The chapter includes company acquisitions, dispositions and related financing arrangements, capitalisations, entity selection and formation, operating and partnership agreements, securities and governance matters. 
 
Also covers those transactions designed to help restructuring within companies and their subsidiaries by change of ownership. Priority is placed on primary representatives, those acting for buyers and sellers, whilst those acting for financial advisers, underwriters and the banks financing such transactions are also considered. 
 
See also: Private Equity 

Clinical Negligence 

​

Clinical Negligence centres on allegations of negligent acts committed by professionals within healthcare or pharmaceutical sectors. These cases usually arise from accusations that the defendants did not follow accepted industry practices, leading to injury or death to the patient or claimant. Relevant proceedings and investigations are covered in this section. 

Includes those who represent the defendants or their employers, including doctors, physicians and nurse practitioners, as well as hospitals and other healthcare providers, and those who bring claims on behalf of individuals seeking compensation for their injuries. 

Disputes Resolution 

​

Dispute Resolution tables focus on litigation and alternative dispute resolution proceedings(ADR). The work covers the full course of a dispute, such as pre-trial negotiations, documentation and preparation for trial, summary judgment applications, trial, appeals and enforcement proceedings. This section also covers white-collar crime, including government investigations. Expertise in alternative dispute resolution, involving non-court mediation and arbitration, may be ranked in separate tables where the market is sufficiently developed. 
 
Practice areas such as Insurance, Construction, IP and Media may also contain litigators who are experts in their field in markets that are sufficiently specialised. 
 
In some jurisdictions in the region, where the legal profession is not fused, we feature separate ranking tables for barristers and solicitors. In jurisdictions where the legal profession is fused, but there is sufficient distinction between lawyers practising in the style of barristers, and lawyers practising in the style of solicitors, we have sought to make this distinction clear by again having separate ranking tables. 

See Hong Kong barristers’ and sets’ rankings in Hong Kong Bar tables.  

Dispute Resolution: Litigation 

​

Where Litigation is specified in the table name, such table only considers the practice of litigation but not other ADR. 

Dispute Resolution: Arbitration 

​

The section features arbitration counsel providing advice on the resolution of disputes by one or more neutral parties, either an arbitrator or an arbitration panel. Many contracts – including those imposed on customers by many financial and healthcare organisations – require mandatory arbitration in the event of a dispute. 
 
Examples of the institutions include HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre), SIAC (Singapore International Arbitration Centre), ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) and CIETAC (China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission). 
 
The GCR China (International Firms) and China (PRC Firms) chapters usually cover arbitration rankings table under Dispute Resolution: Arbitration. 

See also: Most in Demand Arbitrators 

Employment 

​

Employment covers both contentious and non-contentious employment matters relating to day to day business issues as well as those arising from transactions. Includes employment litigation related to sex, race, age discrimination, as well as workforce redundancies and employee transfers and immigration issues. Also includes workplace health and safety matters, HR training and policy writing. 

Energy & Natural Resources 

​

Although Chambers is aware of the overlap with Projects and project financing, the energy chapters focus on corporate / commercial and regulatory issues arising from the energy and natural resources sectors. These include the regulatory components of M&A and other transactional work, pure regulatory work related to the application for licenses and compliance and enforcement with regulatory bodies. Chambers guides focuses on key industry sectors including Electricity, Oil & Gas, Renewables and Nuclear matters. 
 
Electricity / Utilities covers advice on the development, financing and permitting of energy projects (such as electric, coal, oil & gas fired plants, nuclear and hydro-electric plants), facilities management; co-generation and restructuring/deregulation arising out of the wholesale and retail markets. 
 
Oil and Gas covers all upstream and downstream work including exploration, infrastructure and pipeline developments and service contracts, royalties, licensing and operation agreements. It also includes corporate issues such as M&A, capital raisings, taxation and regulatory compliance. 
 
Renewables focuses on the financing, development and regulatory issues surrounding wind and wave power generation, solar, biomass and geothermal energy generation. It also includes advice on compliance with clean energy regulations. 
 
Nuclear issues include licensing and operation, commercial transactions, reactor oversight, enforcement and compliance, whistleblower statutes and non-retaliation policy, as well as nuclear waste and fuel procurement. 
 
Natural Resources/Mining sections focus on mining and minerals exploration, development and production agreements, including royalty issues, project finance, taxation and other financing arrangements. Engineering, processing and refining contracts, sales structures and environmental issues are also covered.  

Environment 

​

The environment chapter features both litigation and advisory/transactional support to clients. This includes general corporate issues, (e.g. due diligence on mergers), the development of brownfield sites, and pollution issues. `Traditional` environment work includes regulatory compliance, litigation and enforcement actions related to air, water, wetlands, waste and endangered species. 
 
We also feature advice to corporate and financial clients on the environmental aspects of M&A, financings, securities offerings and other transactions, which involve due diligence and environmental insurance issues. Emissions trading, ESG and climate change work may also be included where appropriate. 

Family/Matrimonial 

​

These sections deal with issues surrounding the inception and breakdown of personal relationships. This includes the creation of nuptial, civil partnership and cohabitation agreements relating to financial and property assets, the resolution of divorces or separations involving financial and property disputes, and the handling of matters relating to child arrangements, maintenance and welfare.    

See also: Family/Matrimonial: The Bar, and Trusts, Probate & Succession: The Bar, China for related barristers working in this area.  

Financial Services Regulation 

​

This chapter covers both non-contentious regulatory and contentious regulatory matters arising out of the Financial Services industry and advice on all aspects of internal organisation and governance, transactions and operations. Non-contentious regulatory matters include assistance to bank / financial institution clients in complying with the full range of financial services laws and regulations in their daily operations. 
 
This section also encompasses financial institutions business transactions, especially the advice on regulatory issues in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures of financial services companies and the implementation of holdings in foreign countries. 
 
This section also covers the lobbying work done by the firm for the development of new laws and regulations. In contentious matters, we include advice related to the defence of financial institutions in criminal and civil examinations, inspections, investigations, and formal proceedings by regulators and self-regulatory organisations. 

General Business Law 

​

This section is broadly defined to cover all corporate and commercial activity that takes place within jurisdictions which are too small to justify more specialised tables. 

Healthcare 

Healthcare covers a wide range of work, including transactional, advisory, and contentious matters. Transactional work is centred on sale and purchase agreements, licensing, joint ventures, investment and divestment and the financings of such deals within the healthcare industry. Law firms advise on antitrust issues and assorted regulatory matters for clients including hospitals, health systems, healthcare startups and insurance companies. 
 
Litigation includes matters such as product liability disputes arising from pharmaceutical and medical devices defects, whistleblower suits, the defence of parties involved in anti-bribery investigations as well as general clinical negligence issues or disputes arising between hospitals and patients. 
 
Advisory and regulatory compliance matters encompassing the licensing of drugs and devices approved by local regulators, sales and marketing practices and other day-to-day issues are also included. 
 
See also: Life Science 

High Net Worth Individuals 

Chambers produces a dedicated HNW professional advisers guide which covers all aspects of HNW-related legal work. As far as GCR research is concerned, it is considered in Private Client/Wealth Management table which covers all aspects of HNW-related legal work such as estate planning, identity planning, succession, taxation, and prenuptial issues and related disputes. 

See also: Private Client/Wealth Management. 

Infrastructure 

​

Infrastructure sections include lawyers representing the range of stakeholders participating in the proposal, delivery and operation of infrastructure development projects, including ports, airports, dams, power stations, roading, rail and light rail. 
 
See also: Construction, Energy & Natural Resources, Project Finance and Projects. 

Insurance 

Insurance includes both contentious and non-contentious insurance and reinsurance matters. On the contentious side, we feature coverage claims litigation, broker's negligence and both 'facultative' and 'treaty' reinsurance disputes. 
 
This can also cover professional negligence issues arising from insurance disputes. On the non-contentious side, we include all forms of M&A, capital raisings, demutualisation, licensing and other regulatory issues. 

Intellectual Property 

​

Intellectual Property covers disputes related to patent, copyright, and trademark infringement. Litigation concerning trade secrets also features. Commercial and transactional issues such as portfolio management, IP due diligence in M&A, licensing and IP commercialisation are also included. IP registration and prosecution are also key parts of this table.  

International Trade / WTO 

​

This section covers classic trade cases such as anti-dumping, countervailing duties, export control and other customs/tariff classifications and regulatory work. We welcome both petitioner and respondent-led work highlights for trade remedy matters. Issues such as WTO and other treaty-based trade and investment disputes, bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations may also be included. 

Customs matters may include customs planning, compliance, investigations and enforcement. The export controls and economic sanctions area of research focuses on trade controls, such as compliance programmes, economic sanctions restrictions as well as relevant enforcement issues. 

Investment Funds 

​

This section looks at work covering the entire life cycle of a fund. More emphasis is placed on fund-formation work and sponsor-side representation. The capacity to provide regulatory and relevant tax advice is also considered. This section includes open-ended funds, closed-ended funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, and funds of funds. Registered funds and superannuation funds are also included. 
 
See also Private Equity: Buyouts and Venture Capital Investment, and Private Equity of the same jurisdiction.  

Life sciences 

​

Life sciences focuses on the commercialisation of life sciences products (pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology programs etc). IP issues dominate as large pharmaceuticals seek to obtain innovative, impending blockbuster drugs from biotechs and other pharmaceutical companies. Patent litigation concerning life sciences products and technologies may also be included. Also covers the licensing and acquisition of new products from other sources (often smaller biotechs to larger suppliers). 
 
This chapter includes advice on drug and device safety, and product liability litigation. 

Most in Demand Arbitrators 

​

This section features highly regarded individuals, and ranks those who act as arbitrators in Hong Kong-seated and Mainland China-seated cases and who are widely recognised as the go-to arbitrators for such cases. Examples of an individual’s work as an arbitrator in Hong Kong-seated HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre) and Hong Kong-seated ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) can be included in Most in Demand Arbitrators: Hong Kong-seated and International Arbitrations section. Similarly the Most in Demand Arbitrators: Mainland China-seated arbitrations covers an individual’s work as an arbitrator in Mainland China-seated arbitration commissions. Submissions will be accepted under Most in Demand Arbitrators: Hong Kong-seated and International Arbitrations and Most in Demand Arbitrators: Mainland China-seated Arbitrations categories. 

Private Equity 

​

This section focuses on the transactional aspect of private equity funds work from angel investing and venture capital work to mid and late-stage financing through to pre-IPO financing. It takes into account LBO, M&A and recapitalisation matters at both the high-end and mid-market level. 

 
In the China (International Firms) chapter this section this work is covered in the Private Equity: Buyouts and Venture Capital Investments section. 
 
See also: Investment Funds 

Projects 

Focuses on the development and financing of large projects that arise in the capital intensive infrastructure and energy markets. Clients in this sector include sponsors, lenders, project originators and multilateral agencies and development banks. 
 
In the energy sector, we include advice on the development of refineries, pipelines, LNG and petrochemical terminals, power plants and wind power, waste-to-energy and hydro-wave technology. Infrastructure matters such as toll road and bridge financing; rail and light rail systems; water desalination plants as well as state sponsored programmes (PPP/PFI) such as hospitals, schools, housing and prisons. 
 
The financing of such projects is also included in the Projects section. 
 
See also:  Infrastructure 

Real Estate 

​

Includes transactional advice related to the acquisition, planning and development, leasing and disposal of real estate assets. Clients typically include large real estate holding companies, investment funds and REITs. 
 
Corporate matters related to real estate include M&A of large real estate holding companies, complex fund and REIT transactions, private equity and public securities. These real estate lawyers are distinct from pure corporate lawyers in that they typically come from a real estate background and have an understanding of the underlying asset and land law required by their real estate for their clients. This section also covers real estate disputes. 

Restructuring / Insolvency 

​

The focus is on the legal processes related to distressed businesses, which can either be reorganised or go into liquidation. The section also includes lawyers, who advise on acquisition opportunities that arise out of distressed businesses. Lawyers in this chapter assist clients such as: corporate debtors, investors and asset purchasers; secured and unsecured creditors and creditors` committees, bondholders, insurers; directors of distressed companies and any other interested parties in corporate restructurings and insolvency proceedings. 
 
Restructuring/Insolvency sections cover both transactional and disputes matters. 

Securities: Litigation 

​

This new area includes: insider trading; securities fraud & related administrative litigation/ investors’ actions; intermediaries’ liability issues; contested M&A bids; corporate governance disputes; disclosure and related disputes; liability matters & other non-compliance. The table covers commercial, civil and criminal liabilities arising out of the above issues.  

Shipping 

Shipping & maritime litigation involves breach of charter-party disputes, cargo and bills of lading claims, the arrest of vessels and cargoes, marine insurance claims, collision, salvage and environmental liabilities. On the non-contentious side, law firms advise on contractual arrangements for construction, financing and registration of vessels, customs and licensing, and documentation relating to charter-parties and bills of lading. Related matters concerning offshore platforms may also be included. 

Tax 

Tax covers transactional direct and indirect tax advice and tax controversy-related work. Tax on the transactional side covers corporate partnerships structures, tax planning, spin-offs and the tax structuring of corporate acquisitions. 
 
Tax controversy encompasses any contentious tax issue. This includes tax-based litigation and advice relating to tax anti-avoidance enforcement. 
 
This section also takes into account base erosion and profit shifting matters, including transfer pricing and other cross-border tax advice. 

TMT 

Technology focuses on contractual agreements in the technology field, often outsourcing contracts between corporations and suppliers of IT services. 
 
Telecommunications concentrates on a range of legal issues arising from the heavily regulated areas of telecommunications and broadcasting. Work includes regulatory, transactional and litigation advice relating to telecommunications infrastructure and services. 
 
The media market has many different facets. Chambers guides have attempted to highlight lawyers who have an understanding of the issues related to key sectors such as advertising, film & television, music, and publishing. This includes contentious and non-contentious matters relating to copyright, distribution rights, broadcasting rights, and royalties. It also includes lawyers who handle defamation matters, either in pre-publication advice or in litigation mandates representing claimants and defendants. 

See also TMT sub-tables: 

TMT: Technology & Telecoms: Focuses on regulatory, contractual, and litigation advice for technology and telecoms sector clients, and covers licensing and commercialisation of technology products. Relevant work can include (but should not consist mainly or entirely of) intellectual property. 

TMT: Data Protection & Privacy: Focuses on legal due diligence and regulatory compliance as it pertains to data protection and privacy, including protection of personal information, regulations governing cybersecurity and responses to data breaches. Advice on cross-border transfer data and/or data security review associated with transactions also fall within this definition. 

TMT: Media & Entertainment: Focuses on the specific legal needs of media, entertainment, and broadcasting sector clients, including film, radio, print, and television. Relevant work includes both contentious and non-contentious legal advice, such as defamation lawsuits and contractual disputes in the former case, and licensing and regulatory compliance in the latter case. 

Trusts, Probate & Succession  

​

This section ranks barristers who advocate on a wide range of contentious issues concerning trusts, probate cases and succession. This table is for Hong Kong barristers only. 

White-collar Crime 

​

This practice area covers non-violent wrongdoings such as corruption and financial crimes. Examples include bribery, major fraud and insider trading. Litigation, compliance and government investigations are relevant to this practice area. This table is for Hong Kong barristers only.