China Business Law Journal –  June 2023

Onward and upward

Let’s face it, we have long since passed the tipping point where we ponder whether to adopt technology in daily legal practice; the real question is “how extensively?”. As artificial intelligence (AI) use permeates every industry and people start to worry about singularity, it’s more important than ever for professionals and companies to stay on top of the various trends and make sure they are leading the charge.

What software, applications or websites are legal communities using to keep up, or stand out? In which areas is legaltech most frequently utilised? And what are the biggest benefits – or downsides – to the unmistakable trend
of tech-reliance?

Based on a recent China Business Law Journal survey to address these questions, our cover story, The future is?, puts together the popular apps, software and websites that are proving indispensable for China’s lawyers and in-house counsel, and discusses how legaltech will reshape the landscape now that AI has joined the race.

Another irreversible trend is the implementation of a full-on registration-based listing regime in the A-share market. The success of the regime relies on the diligent performance of market players, while rigorous enforcement of the delisting mechanism for listed companies, and the improvement of due diligence standards of intermediaries, pose new challenges for the industry. In Power moves, leading capital markets lawyers highlight the key points of the recent regulatory overhaul and updates in overseas listings.

Meanwhile, in Look before you leap, Wu Xiaohui, general counsel and chief compliance officer at China Southern Power Grid International, offers a necessary cautionary note regarding developments with Chinese companies’ outbound direct investment, and details key indicators for measuring the investment viability of a target country or region.

Back home in Northeast China, amid the country’s big plan to rejuvenate the region, its legal market is well aware of the sluggish economic situation and is actively exploring growth momentum. In Shaking off the rust, managing partners from local firms and branch offices of national firms share how they grasp the opportunities arising from state-owned enterprises’ mixed-ownership reforms, as well as the region’s proximity to Russia, South Korea and Japan.

Topping it off this issue, we are pleased to share a few pointers that we learned from a legal veteran during the recent International Trademark Association (INTA) annual meeting held in Singapore. In Don’t settle, be nimble, we spoke with Jomarie Fredericks, the 2023 INTA president, about future INTA events, her goals during her one-year tenure, and how she balances this role with her more permanent responsibilities as the deputy general counsel of Rotary International, a worldwide not-for-profit service organisation.