No. of offices 30 Date founded 1993 Founded 1993 | No. of lawyers 1106 Headquarters Beijing Number of offices 30 | |
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DeHeng Law Offices is a Beijing-based Chinese law firm ranked the fifth largest among domestic firms by number of lawyers. Founded in 1993, the firm was spun out from the Ministry of Justice and emerged as a private partnership that has since maintained deep state connections.
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Noteworthy cases
DeHeng is a corporate law firm that advises in large transactions in several practice areas. In capital markets, the firm was the lead counsel to the issuer, Agricultural Bank of China, in its 2010 IPO, which raised $22.1 billion and was then the largest IPO in history. In banking and finance, DeHeng represented China Development Bank, one of the country's main policy banks, in establishing an $8 billion framework agreement with Vnesheconombank, a Russian government policy bank.
DeHeng played a key role in a trial of the century when Bo Xilai, a former paramount leader within the Communist Party, was put on trial for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power in 2013. DeHeng served as defense counsel with Li Guifang, a partner of the firm, appointed as chief defense attorney. A Wall Street Journal article on the role of DeHeng in the trial described the firm as acting as an "intermediary" that facilitated between Mr. Bo, his relatives and prosecutors the negotiation of "an outcome acceptable to all sides in the run-up to the trial—and to help ensure that the trial itself goes according to plan". The same article described DeHeng's appointment as defense counsel as a testament to the political connections between the firm and the state.
Practice areas
The practice areas listed on its website are Corporate & Securities, Financing & Insurance, Merger & Acquisition, Venture Capital & Private Equity, International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, Construction & Real Estate, Dispute Resolution, Labor & Social Security, Intellectual Property, Taxation, and Bankruptcy & Restructuring.
Offices
The head office of the firm is in Beijing and there are 24 domestic branch offices and five international branch offices.