Mingzong Liao

Practice Areas

Ecological Environment and ESG Legal Services

Career

Liao has long specialized in the field of ecological environment and ESG legal services, committed to providing clients with comprehensive legal services covering environmental compliance, environmental dispute resolution, and corporate ESG system construction. Liao has accumulated extensive experience in environmental legal practice, particularly in areas such as ecological and environmental damage compensation, response to environmental administrative penalties, environmental compliance, and legal risk management in renewable energy projects such as photovoltaics.

Professional Memberships

External Postgraduate Supervisor, China University of Political Science and Law

External Postgraduate Supervisor, Beijing Foreign Studies University

External Postgraduate Supervisor, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Visiting Research Fellow, Environmental Law Institute of Wuhan University

Practical Supervisor, Compliance Research Institute of Shenzhen University

Member, Outstanding Volunteer Lawyers Alliance of All-China Environment Federation

Specially Appointed Mediator, Belt and Road International Commercial Mediation Center

Specially Appointed Mediator, People’s Court of Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone

Rotating Chairman, Legal Service Center of Shenzhen General Chamber of Commerce

Member, Senior Lawyer Group of Shenzhen Enterprise Confederation

Director of Labor Law Affairs, Shenzhen Foreign Investment Enterprise Association

Bid Evaluation Expert, Shenzhen International Tendering Co., Ltd.

Chief Legal Counsel, Professional Committee of Legal Services, Anhui Zero Carbon Association

Publications

1.Concept of the Mediation-Arbitration Connection Mechanism for Environmental Civil Disputes in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (included in the Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Environmental Dispute Diversified Resolution Mechanism Committee, Environmental Resources Law Branch of China Law Society, 2019)

2.Analysis of Practical Issues Concerning the "Daily Penalty" System (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2019)

3.Analysis of the Subject of Administrative Penalty Liability in the Entrusted Operation of Urban Sewage Treatment Plants (WeChat Official Account of the Environmental Law Institute of Wuhan University, 2020)

4.Analysis of the "Green" Clauses in the Civil Code (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2020)

5.Reflections on the Consultation System for Eco-Environmental Damage Compensation in Criminal-Related Cases (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2021)

6.Analysis of Common Issues in Environmental Monitoring Reports (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2021)

7.Analysis of Common Legal Risks During the Construction Period of Centralized Photovoltaic Power Generation Enterprises (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2022)

8.Analysis of Common Violations in Automatic Pollution Source Monitoring (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2022)

9.Insights on Central Environmental Protection Inspections (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2024)

10.Analysis of Pathways to Exemption from Administrative Penalties for Enterprises Involved in Cases (Deheng WeChat Official Account, 2025)

Work Highlights

Hearings and Litigation

Represented a dyeing company in Shandong in an administrative hearing against the Environmental Protection Bureau of a city in Shandong (the first environmental administrative hearing case locally, involving a subject matter of HKD 800 million, 2018).

Represented a washing company in Dongguan in an administrative hearing against the Dongguan Ecology and Environment Bureau (the first daily penalty case in Dongguan; after the hearing, the Dongguan Bureau reduced the proposed daily penalty of RMB 6.6 million to a one-time penalty of RMB 600,000, 2019).

Represented an environmental protection organization in Chongqing in an environmental civil public interest lawsuit against a nonferrous metals company in Hunan (the first environmental public interest lawsuit in the nonferrous metals industry in Hunan, 2018).

Represented an environmental protection organization in Beijing in an environmental civil public interest lawsuit against an aluminum-power company in Guangxi (the first environmental public interest lawsuit case in Guangxi, 2019).

Represented an environmental protection organization in Beijing in an environmental civil public interest lawsuit against a technology company in Shenzhen (the first environmental civil public interest lawsuit case in Shenzhen, 2020).

Represented the Shenzhen Ecology and Environment Bureau in an environmental civil public interest lawsuit against an electronics company in Shenzhen (the first environmental civil public interest lawsuit filed by a government agency in Guangdong, 2022).

Represented Wens Foodstuff Group in an environmental tort case involving Liang (2023).

Defended Chi, accused of environmental pollution crime in Ganzhou, Jiangxi (2024).

Defended Tang, accused of illegal mining crime in Huaihua, Hunan (2025).

Non-litigation Projects

Served as Legal Counsel to the Shenzhen Ecology and Environment Bureau, the Hunan Bishui Lantian Environmental Public Protection Center, and other entities.

Provided legal services regarding a contract dispute over the entrusted operation project of a sewage treatment plant between an Environmental Technology Development Company in Guangdong and a city government in Maoming.

Provided specialized environmental legal services for the demolition of Sanya Phoenix Island (Island Two) (subject matter: RMB 4 billion).

Represented a listed company in successful ecological and environmental damage compensation negotiations with an Ecology and Environment Bureau in Jiangxi (reducing the company's losses by RMB 20 million).

Provided legal services for a listed company involved in a criminal case due to land occupation for a photovoltaic power generation project (2022).

Participated in the legal review of the Bailongjiang River Water Diversion Project organized by the Ministry of Water Resources (2022).

Served as a third-party evaluation expert for the environmental administrative compliance project of a Shenzhen-based company; the company was exempted from administrative penalties due to the successful compliance review (2023).

Served as the Lead Lawyer for the environmental administrative compliance project of a central enterprise (2024).

Languages Spoken

Chinese, English

Industry Sector Expertise

Liao has accumulated extensive experience in environmental legal practice, particularly in areas such as ecological and environmental damage compensation, response to environmental administrative penalties, environmental compliance, and legal risk management in renewable energy projects such as photovoltaics.

Experience

Attorney Liao Mingzong is the founder of the Deheng Shenzhen Professional Committee for Environmental Protection and Green Development, as well as the Professional Committee for Labor and Social Security.He served as a full-time arbitrator at the Shenzhen Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission for 10 years, handling thousands of labor dispute cases of various types.With over 30 years of legal practice experience, I have represented clients in numerous nationally significant environmental, labor, and civil/commercial cases.

Education

Awards