Zhong Lun: From an Information-Based Law Firm to a Data-Driven Law Firm

The Journey Starting from Real Estate

In the early 1990s, as China was basking in the aftermath of the “Southern Tour” by Deng Xiaoping, a wave of unprecedented business ventures emerged. Many public officials transitioned into the business world, a group known as the “92 Group,” who became pioneers and leaders in various economic sectors. According to the China Industrial and Commercial Times, at least 100,000 party and government cadres resigned to enter the business world that year. This trend also sparked the entrepreneurial wave among lawyers, leading to the formation of the “92 Group law firms,” including Zhong Lun, a prominent representative.
 
With the rapid growth of China’s foreign-related legal services market in the 1990s, law firms like Zhong Lun seized the opportunity to specialize in real estate and financial legal services. The real estate industry, particularly, saw immense growth after China’s first land auction in Shenzhen in 1987 and the opening of the market with the housing reform plan in 1991. In 1993, Zhang Xuebing, at 27, left the Ministry of Justice’s China Legal Affairs Center and founded Zhong Lun with four partners, believing in the irreversible trend of China’s reform and opening-up. Zhong Lun capitalized on the booming real estate industry and has since become a leading law firm in this field.
 
By the early 2000s, Zhong Lun had expanded its services to cover the entire real estate development process and worked with top-tier clients like SOHO China and Wanda Group. Zhang Xuebing realized the importance of capital markets for a law firm to remain relevant, leading Zhong Lun to establish a strong presence in securities legal services.

A Balanced System with Partner Autonomy

Zhong Lun and King & Wood represent two distinct development models for Chinese law firms. While King & Wood succeeded with an integrated management approach, Zhong Lun created a “balanced system with partner autonomy,” promoting team autonomy and profit-sharing. Unlike many Chinese law firms that use a commission-based pay system, Zhong Lun adopted a corporate structure with fixed salaries and bonuses from its inception.
 
This system faced challenges as the firm’s brand influence grew. To prevent the drawbacks of a commission-based system, which could lead to cherry-picking high-paying, simpler cases, Zhong Lun revised its partner distribution mechanism, shifted to an annual salary system, and used modern information technology to manage the firm.
 
From 2007, Zhong Lun started operating as a standardized enterprise, using corporate management principles rather than simply aggregating partner teams. The firm also employed external consulting firms for strategic diagnosis and planning. In 2017, Zhong Lun consulted external strategic advisors again to draft a ten-year development plan focusing on three main areas: transitioning from an information-based to a data-driven law firm, centering on client needs with integrated modern consulting services, and striving to become a globally leading, century-old “international Chinese law firm.”

From an Information-Based Law Firm to a Data-Driven Law Firm

For large firms like Zhong Lun, decision-making is democratic, but execution is centralized. The firm’s compensation system balances performance incentives with professional development and cooperation, and it emphasizes talent acquisition and cultivation.
 
The transition to a data-driven firm requires extensive standardization of information, covering business operations, client management, knowledge management, financial management, and overall firm operations. At the “Intelligent Forum 2018,” Zhong Lun’s Executive Director Qiao Wenjun emphasized the need for standardizing various aspects to facilitate data collection and analysis. This standardization enables the transformation into a true data-driven law firm.
 
In 2018, Zhong Lun integrated platform resources to create the Zhong Lun ecosystem, launching knowledge management and Zhong Lun Academy, setting a global example in law firm informatization.

The Fourth Path to Internationalization

Zhong Lun’s rapid development, as noted in the 2018 Asia Pacific 100 law firms report, is due to its internal management upgrades, improved service quality, and continuous efforts in foreign-related legal services. With offices in 18 cities worldwide, including 12 in mainland China and Hong Kong and 6 overseas, Zhong Lun employs a “vertical integration with local horizontal management” approach for branch management.
 
Zhong Lun aims to be an “international Chinese law firm” rather than just an “international law firm originating from China,” focusing on strategic locations aligned with national development plans and the legal construction outlook. China remains one of the fastest-growing regions globally, with its legal market being the largest and fastest-growing in the Asia-Pacific.
 
Chinese law firms typically pursue internationalization through four paths: international mergers, alliances under a “Swiss Verein” structure, strategic alliances as “Best Friends,” or establishing overseas offices as windows while joining international lawyer alliances. Zhong Lun adopts the fourth path.
 
Zhong Lun’s internationalization gained momentum in 2003 with the addition of foreign-educated lawyers and the opening of its first overseas office in Tokyo in 2006. Subsequent offices in Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Almaty have furthered Zhong Lun’s global network, aiming to be among the global top 50 law firms.
 
Zhong Lun’s Secret
 
The 2013 publication Zhong Lun’s Secret highlights the firm’s key strategies: maintaining dominance in real estate and Japanese business, reforming distribution and IT management, and continually expanding and diversifying its services. Despite the challenges, Zhong Lun’s foundational strengths in real estate and Japanese business have provided stability, allowing the firm to navigate and thrive through changes.