专访 | 汉坤合伙人宋继聪律师：于存量市场中把握增量

专访2024 ALB China长三角地区律师新星：

汉坤律师事务所宋继聪律师

Vincent Song, Partner of Han Kun Law Offices: I specialize in services related to private equity, such as fund establishment, venture capital and PE financing, as well as overseas capital markets. As most PE/VC practitioners have observed and are experiencing, PE/VC deals have entered a period of consolidation from the rapid growth seen over the past ten years or so, influenced by factors such as changes in domestic and global economic dynamics, geopolitics, the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic industrial policy adjustments in recent years.

Against this backdrop, legal services for PE/VC have also shown different development trends. For example, investment institutions have shifted their focus from pre-investment to post-investment. More and more non-standard projects have replaced standard ones. Investment directions have changed from consumer-oriented sectors, such as the Internet, to business-oriented sectors, such as technology. The key client type has changed from US dollar investors to investors holding state-owned capital. Further, while competition is fierce on the existing domestic market, opportunities have emerged for outbound projects and industry consolidation and M&As. All these changes and trends have raised different requirements for legal services providers specializing in PE/VC.

Song: I think we need to first focus on meeting client needs. Lawyers need to be able to closely follow up with clients' business priorities in different cycles and provide corresponding legal services. For example, fund clients are concerned about post-investment exit and dispute resolution, which requires non-litigation and litigation partners to work together. For clients' overseas expansion projects, PRC lawyers need to integrate the resources of overseas lawyers and lead the entire projects. Exploring client needs and integrating team and firm resources to meet the diverse needs of clients are the key to seeking growth in the existing market.

Second, lawyers should be clear about their own market positioning. Whether in a new market or an existing market, I believe it is crucial for a lawyer to identify his or her own client base. Take as example a team of lawyers who are known for their expertise in handling complex projects when serving US dollar fund clients. In the face of changing market cycles and players, the team should still try to secure clients who have a need for its core competencies and focus on pursuing such clients. Only by doing this can the team minimize the impact of competition on a saturated market and more effectively develop and maintain clients.

Third, lawyers must upskill. Apart from having a clear market positioning and focusing on client needs, lawyers must, in light of market demand and regional characteristics, expand their practice coverage and skills toolkit, such as mastering the ability to serve clients of different types and accumulating contacts and resources in relevant business areas, all of which can play a role in subsequent business development.

Song: Based on my recent observations, there is a significant drop in the number of graduates who choose to enter the legal industry by specializing in non-contentious areas. This is a direct response of graduates to a sluggish job market. As non-standard projects increase and work pressure escalates while incentives remain somewhat lacking, the recruitment and career growth of young lawyers have also become increasingly important topics for firms and partners.

I think the most important thing is to find a group of people who share similar understanding and goals for legal work. In my view, partners should have open, transparent and timely dialogues with young lawyers regarding the nature of a lawyer’s role and their future development paths, so that young lawyers can make informed career choices and plans. This way, we can select the most suitable members to stay in the team at each stage while also respecting the choices of young lawyers.

In addition, the projects that young lawyers may be exposed to nowadays are becoming less standardized. As a result, some standard or basic matters cannot be taught and mastered simply by having young lawyers working on a large number of projects as before. In this case, the role of partners becomes ever more important. Partners should get involved personally and provide mentorship from different angles such as due diligence, documentation, etc., so that young lawyers can grow faster and contribute more effectively.