Xiaoyu Wu

Practice Areas

Ecological civilization construction, environmental protection, dual-carbon and new energy

Career

Partner, Beijing Deheng (Wuxi) Law Firm (2017-present)

Deputy Director and Partner of Jiangsu Jinyi Law Firm (2006-2017)

Professional Memberships

Member of the Environment, Resources, and Energy Law Professional Committee of the All-China Lawyers Association

Member of the Environment, Resources, and Energy Law Professional Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Lawyers Association

Practical mentor of the School of Law, Hohai University

Served as an evaluation expert for the environmental law enforcement training organized by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for 8 consecutive years

Expert in the expert database for ecological environment damage identification, assessment, and restoration effect evaluation and review in Jiangsu Province

Personal

Attorney Xiaoyu WU, a partner at DeHeng (Wuxi) Law Offices and a counsellor of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Department, has dedicated 19 years of his 24-year legal career to being a partner. He has played a pivotal role in shaping the law firm’s overall strategic direction to assist the director, serving as the deputy director specifically overseeing the quality control of the law firm’s brand-oriented legal services. Beyond his responsibilities within the firm, attorney WU holds esteemed positions such as a member of the Environmental, Resources, and Energy Law Committee of All China Lawyers Association, a member of the Environmental and Resources Law Research Association of the Jiangsu Law Society, the director of the Environmental and Resources Law Committee of the Wuxi Lawyers Association, and a consulting expert for the 5th Standing Committee of the Xishan District People’s Congress.

With the qualifications of an environmental engineer and the working experience for an environmental protection agency, attorney WU excels at addressing issues on the environment and resources protection law, serving as an evaluation expert for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s Law Enforcement Improvement Competition for eight consecutive years. He was also a founding member of the “Outstanding Volunteer Lawyers Alliance” by the All-China Environment Federation. Attorney WU’s exceptional performance in the area of environmental law has garnered industry recognition. He and his team members have contributed to various national and local legislative efforts, including the Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations of Jiangsu Province on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution in Wuxi City and seminars on judicial interpretations of environmental crimes.

Work Highlights

-Attorney WU represented Zhengmao ZHU and the All-China Environment Federation (collectively referred to as “the Client”) in a tort liability of environmental pollution case against a container company. The case was hailed as “the first civil litigation on the environmental public interest brought by an NGO in China.” Following this case, the 2012 amendments to the Civil Procedure Law formally introduced the public interest litigation system and clarified the lawsuit qualification of “relevant organisations” as plaintiffs. The case was selected by the Legal Daily as one of the top ten most influential rule of law cases of the year, and included in the nine typical cases regarding the environment and resources published by the Supreme People’s Court in 2014, honoured as one of the “Top Ten Cases Concerning People’s Livelihood” by the Gazette of the Jiangsu Higher People’s Court and Jiangsu courts, and one of the top ten rule of law cases reported nationwide.

-Attorney WU represented the All-China Environment Federation (“the Client”) against a scenic area management committee. The case stands as the first alternative environmental remediation case in China, and was selected as one of the nine typical environmental and resources cases published by the Supreme People’s Court in 2014, as well as one of the second batch of typical cases safeguarding people’s livelihood published by the Supreme People’s Court. It was also included in the Annotations and Case Studies on the Civil Code.

Attorney WU represented the All-China Environment Federation (“the Client”) against a certain industrial company, a zinc company, a non-ferrous metal company, and others. The case was known as “Xiannv Lake Case”, a major environmental pollution incident involving the drinking water of millions of people. The case was selected as one of the typical environmental and resources adjudication cases supporting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt published by the Supreme People’s Court in 2018

Attorney WU represented the Wuxi Ecological Environment Bureau (“the Client”) in negotiating ecological environmental damage compensation with a rare earth company. The was the first case in Wuxi City where both the party entitled to claim and the party obligated to compensate jointly applied for and received judicial confirmation. The case was selected as one of the First Batch of Top Ten Typical Cases of Ecological Environmental Damage Compensation in Jiangsu Province and Top Ten Typical Cases of Negotiation on Ecological Environmental Damage Compensation in the Yangtze River Delta Region, among other honours.

-Attorney WU provided legal services for a pharmaceutical company and an individual named WANG and others (collectively referred to as “the Client”) on a case of suspected environmental pollution crimes. The case adopted a comprehensive strategy integrating criminal, administrative, and civil laws, assisting the Client in avoiding criminal prosecution through compliance rectification and reducing civil damages by approximately 70%. The case became an outstanding example of supporting entrepreneurship and high-quality development of the private economy in the city, and was selected as an Outstanding Professional Case in the Wuxi’s Practice of Law 2021-2022.

Clients

Wuxi Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau

Wuxi Environmental Science Research Institute

Wuxi Water Affairs Group Co., Ltd

Jiangsu Lidian Energy Group, the largest thermal power plant in Jiangsu Province

Jiangsu Nanda Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd

CITIC Energy Technology (Jiangyin) Co., Ltd

Industry Sector Expertise

Lawyer Wu Xiaoyu specializes in environmental resources and protection legal services with over 18 years of practicing experience. She serves as legal counsel for multiple environmental protection bureaus and environmental technology enterprises. Her practice covers environmental criminal, administrative and civil matters, and she boasts extensive practical experience in ecological damage compensation, environmental public interest litigation, and corporate environmental compliance.

Languages Spoken

Chinese

Awards

Education