First joint law office set up in Shanghai FTZ

US law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP and Beijing-based FenXun Partners announced on April 15, 2015 that they would set up a joint operation office in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the first of its kind in the country.

The move was seen as a sign of the gradual liberalization of China's highly restricted legal service market to international law firms, which had been facing competitive challenges in China.

The alliance between Baker & McKenzie and FenXun Partners allows the two firms to share their client bases and strategies while remaining structurally and financially separate.

It has been described as a prototype for foreign firms' operations in China and enabled the Chicago-based law firm to advise their multinational clients on both Chinese and international law.

Baker & McKenzie LLP gains regulatory approval to set up a joint operation office with FenXun Partners in Shanghai FTZ in April 2016. [Photo/Shanghai FTZ]