HopgoodGanim is building its China practice in anticipation of a full liberalization of the Chinese legal services market, the firm revealed today.

The firm already has a notable China practice which includes  Chinese and Chinese-owned clients such as Norton Gold Fields Limited (majority owned by Zijin Mining Group); SinoCoal Resources (the Australian wholly owned subsidiary of China National Coal Group); and Bank of China. It has cooperation agreements with local firms Dacheng Law Offices and Zhejiang T&C and also has premises in Shanghai, although these do not operate as a full HopgoodGanim branded office.

The firm is positioning itself for an anticipated liberalization of the market. “Our peers in the UK have predicted that in the next five to 10 years, the China market will open up entirely,” said managing partner Bruce Humphrys. “This is reflected in [last week’s] appointment of a number of local and international firms to the Chinese Government’s Ministry of Commerce panel, including our partner firm Dacheng Law Offices.  By building on our service offering, we will be in a great position when that time comes.  In the meantime, we will focus on continuing to provide a high quality service to our existing clients and attracting new clients with the HopgoodGanim approach, which is of course business mateship at its best.”

However, the firm is taking a cautious approach and said it did not have any current plans to open its own China office.  Humphrys said that any future moves would be client driven. “This strategy…follows the firm’s strategy to go it alone as we did when we expanded in Perth in 2012, rather than engaging in the national and international merger trend,” he said. “Furthermore, much like our approach in Perth, we are very careful to not assume we understand the Chinese market better than the locals themselves.  This is why we have also very carefully carved out strategic alliances with some very powerful local firms, including Dacheng Law Offices."

Humphrys' comments came as he announced the firm’s first on-the-ground representation in China through the appointment of senior China consultant, Michael Wadley, who will be focusing on servicing the interests of HopgoodGanim’s Chinese clients investing off shore.

Wadley, a resident of Shanghai for 13 years, has extensive experience over the past 20 years providing corporate advisory and legal services to foreign investors throughout China and to Chinese groups investing offshore.

Wadley  is admitted in the Supreme Court of Queensland, the High and Federal Courts of Australia, and is admitted as a foreign lawyer in both China and Hong Kong. He is on the board of directors of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and is a Co-Chair of the Chamber's Financial Services Industry Working Group. 

“We are delighted to welcome Michael to our growing team and to confirm to our clients that we have on-the-ground support in China,” said Humphrys.