《Asian Legal Business（亚洲法律杂志）》：FUJIAN: PROVINCE OF PROMISE 福建：希望之地

编者按：全球最大的专业信息服务提供商汤森路透集团旗下杂志《Asian Legal Business（亚洲法律杂志）》近期来访福建，在走访了多家企业法务、律师事务所后，就福建法律市场现状制作了一期专题观察，针对福建地区【熟人社会】、【私营经济】等问题进行探访，寻找福建法律行业的希望之光。

DESPITE BEING ONE OF CHINA’S WEALTHIER COASTAL PROVINCES, FUJIAN HAS A RELATIVELY LAGGING LEGAL MARKET. LIU ZHEN EXPLORES THE WESTERN STRAIT ECONOMIC ZONE TO GAUGE IF LAWYERS THERE CAN MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH FROM THE SELF-ENCLOSED REGIONAL CULTURE, INTEGRATE THEIR CAPABILITIES, AND GET CLIENTS TO MAKE ADVANCED DEMANDS.
福建是中国较富裕的沿海省份之一，但其法律市场的发展却相对落后。律师们怎样才能在这个自我封闭的区域文化中取得突破，整合自身的实力并开发高层次的客户需求，ALB 此次将对海峡西岸经济区一探究竟。

LAGGING发展落后
While it is argued that a vigorous legal services industry grows on thefoundation of a prosperous economy, Fujian provides a counter-argumentin that an active legal market needs far more than a high GDP coupledwith quick growth. The southeast province ranked 12th in China in termsof economy size, but has yet to fully translate that into businesses andprofits for law firms, according to many lawyers there.
一般常识认为法律服务行业的蓬勃发展依赖于经济的繁荣，福建看上去却似乎是一个反例，它证明活跃的法律市场需要的远不止较高的国内生产总值（GDP）和快速的经济增长。这个东南部省份就经济规模而言在中国排名第十二位，但据在这里工作的许多律师表示，这并未在律所的业务和利润中得到充分体现。
“The Fujian market does not match its economic development,”saysXuYongdong, chief partner of the Fuzhou-based Topwe Law Firm.
位于福州的拓维律师事务所首席合伙人许永东称：“福建法律市场与其经济发展程度不匹配。”
In 2012, the total revenue of all Fujian law firms collectively was lessthan two billion yuan, which is about 0.01 percent of the provincial GDPof 1.97 trillion yuan. In contrast, this ratio in the Changning District ofShanghai was 0.8 percent, and 0.14 percent in Guangzhou.
2012年，位于福建的所有律所的合计营收不到20亿元人民币，在该省份高达1.97万亿元人民币的GDP中的占比约为0.01%。相比之下，上海市单单一个长宁区的这个比例就达到0.8%，而广州为0.14%。
“In terms of the percentage of legal revenue in total GDP, we aredozens of times behind the first tier cities,” says Xu.
许永东指出：“就法律行业收入占GDP总额的比例而言，我们比一线城市落后数十倍。”
The volume of the market is much smaller. Provincial capital Fuzhouand national Special Economic Zone Xiamen are the dual cores of Fujian’slegal industry. Last year, firms in Xiamen recorded a total turnover ofabout 470 million yuan.
福建的市场容量也比一线地区小得多。省会城市福州和国家级经济特区厦门是福建法律行业的两个核心。去年，厦门所有律所的总营业额约为4.7亿元人民币。
“It was way less than that of our headquarters in Beijing, a singleoffice,” says GuoHongqing, managing partner of the Xiamen office ofDacheng Law Offices.
大成律师事务所厦门分所管理合伙人郭宏清表示：“该数字远低于我们北京总部这单独一个办公室的营业额。”
Official figures show that in June 2012, there were 6,076 lawyers workingin 489 law firms in this province. This was a 10.6 percent increase fromthe same period the year before in terms of headcount, and a 9 percentincrease in the number of firms.
官方数据显示，截至2012年6月，共有6,076名律师在福建的489家律所中工作。律师人数较上年同期增加10.6%，律所数量则较上年同期增加9%。
However, according a survey by the Fujian Lawyer Association (FLA),there are now only 130 lawyers who practise on foreign-related issues.Also, the profit margin in Fujian is smaller when compared with othersimilar second tier regions.
然而，据福建省律师协会的调查显示，只有130名律师从事涉外事务。甚至与其他同为二线的地区相比，福建律所的利润率也小得多。
“The legal service is very much undervalued,” says Li Rongcun, managingpartner of Wang Jing &Co’s Xiamen office. “For a similar contract,we charge 100,000 yuan in Beijing and 50,000 in Shenzhen; here wewould probably accept only 10,000.”
“法律服务的价值被大大低估了。”敬海律师事务所厦门分所主任李荣存说。“对于差不多的合同，假设我们在北京和深圳的收费分别为100,000元人民币和50,000元人民币，但在这里我们可能只收10,000元人民币就可以做。”
An obvious demonstration of Fujian’s unattractiveness is the absenceof a big international firm running an office here, with even the top tiernational brands showing some amount of hesitation to enter the market.Only a handful of national firms have opened shop in Fujian in recentyears and for most of those who are already here, it is not as if they“came” here; just that a local firm changed its banner to appear as them.
一个显而易见的事实是，目前还没有大型国际律所在福建开设分所。甚至连国内一流品牌律所也对进入福建颇为犹豫。在最近几年中，只有寥寥可数的几家国内大型律所在福建开张营业。而在这些来到了福建的律所当中，大部分都不是真正由外面“进来”的，而只是本地律所改头换面，挂牌成了它们的分所。
“The market is too small to attract the big players,” says Li.
李荣存称：“这里的市场太小，难以吸引大型业者。”
Another aspect is that law firms in Fujian are unable to operate likethe national leaders. For instance, due to the market volume, it seems unrealistic to divide practices into specific areas. “Many firms are said to have various ‘departments’ or ‘practice groups.’ But in fact, most lawyers do not actually belong to a particular group. They still do all kinds of cases,” says Dacheng’sGuo.
同时，位于福建的律所也无法像国内领军者那样开展业务。例如，由于市场容量不大，要对执业领域进行非常具体的划分看上去就很不现实。
大成的郭宏清表示：“许多律所说起来都有各个‘专业部门’或‘执业团队’。但事实上，大部分律师其实并不属于某个特定团队。他们仍然什么样案子都做。”
“But without genuine specialisation, neither the firm nor the lawyer can step out of this small region,” he adds.
他还补充道：“但如果没有真正的精细化分工，律所和律师都还是无法走出这个小地方。”
Meanwhile, the loose internal structure in which individual partners run their own teams independently instead of fully integrating into the firm is seriously impeding the upgradation of Fujian law firms.
与此同时，多数律所内部的组织结构十分松散，各合伙人仍然独立领导自己的团队而不曾与律所完全融为一体，这严重妨碍了福建律所的进一步提升。
“It is a big problem. It leaves us with no time to think about long-term development. The star lawyers are too busy with their endless cases, and the small lawyers spend all their time looking for cases to survive. Nobody has the time to think about new ideas or try out innovations,” says Xu.
许永东表示：“这是一个大问题，它使我们没时间考虑长期发展。精英律师有忙不完的案子，小律师则将所有时间花在寻觅案子以求糊口。没人有时间想新点子或尝试创新。”
“This makes us lag.”
“这导致了福建的普遍滞后。”

SOCIETY OF ACQUAINTANCE熟人社会
Fujian is located on the southeast coast of China, just between the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, two of China’s major and most industrialisedareas. However, Fujian has somehow stayed insulated from the economic radiation of either of these two deltas. Although it has some of China’s major sea ports, its land transportation to other provinces falls behind due to its mountainous topography. Also, it is culturally and linguisticallyvery different from any other province in China, and all these factors make Fujian a relatively isolated region.
福建坐落于中国东南沿海，地处中国两大工业化程度最高的区域长江三角洲和珠江三角洲之间。但是，该省份却完全处于这两个三角洲的经济辐射范围以外。尽管它的海港发达程度在中国排名前列，但由于多山的地理特点，它与其他省份的陆路交通却很不发达。此外，它在文化和语言上也与其他省份有非常大的差异。这些因素导致了福建的相对孤立。
“Fujian’s economy is relatively limited in a self-cycle, and has insufficient interactions with the outside,” says Xu.
许永东称：“福建的经济相对局限于自我循环，与外界的互动不足。”
And without enough external exchanges, there can never be enough cross-boundary investments, mergers and acquisitions, or other economic activities that demand the provision of legal services.
在没有充分的对外交流的情况下，基本不可能会有足够的、需要法律服务的跨境投资、并购或其他大规模经济活动。
“That’s why the business is mostly litigation and regular company issues,”he says.
他说道：“这就是为何在福建，业务主要是诉讼和常规公司事务的原因。”
Sociology studies, such as Fei Hsiao-Tung’s From the Soil, stated that a traditional Chinese society is bound by personal relations and connections in which conventionality rules, not law. This so-called “society of acquaintance”cannot function in a large-scale modern economy, or what is called a “society of strangers.” Interestingly, such a culture and its traditions remain strong in this considerably industrialised province, according to Xu.
一些社会学家的研究——例如费孝通的《乡土中国》——指出，传统的中国社会是由人际关系以及人脉连接的，依靠习俗而非法律来约束。这种所谓的“熟人社会”在大规模的现代经济（“陌生人社会”）中不再能有效运作。许永东认为，有意思的是，这种文化和传统在福建这个工业化程度较高的省份中却仍然根深蒂固。
When it comes to the legal industry, the effect of a society of acquaintance is also evident. The trust is built on long-term connections, which adds a flavour of “human touch” to the business.
具体到福建的法律行业，熟人社会的影响也很明显。信任建立在长期的人脉和交往之上，从而给业务往来增加了些许“人情味”。
“It is a small community here. We’ve known each other for long. It’s common to work with someone you know from school, or a friend of a friend,” says Huang Wangqing, general manager of the legal affairs department at Xiamen ITG Group.
厦门国贸集团的法律部总经理黄婉青表示：“这里是个小圈子。我们彼此之间都认识了很长时间。与你读书时就认识的伙伴或是朋友的朋友合作，是很常见的事。”
On the flip side, it is difficult for anything or anybody from outside to gain admission into the closed ring. Even the local administration is sometimes unfriendly towards the “strangers,” according to Guo. And there is a lack of exchange with “distant” colleagues from other cities or provinces. As a result, new ideas and practices from elsewhere can hardly get in. Any sort of development can only rely on spontaneous change, the pace of which is also slowed down by a conservative atmosphere.
另一方面，外来的任何事物或人就很难进入这个密封的圈子。郭宏清指出，甚至本地行政机构有时也会对“外来者”不太友善。此外，这里也缺乏与位于其他省市的“远方”同行的交流。所以别处的新想法和实践很难进到福建，导致福建法律业的发展仅能依赖自发变化，而相对保守的氛围更使得自发变化的速度十分缓慢。
“Fujian is far less open than provinces with similar development levels, and Xiamen is especially inaccessible to others. It is a little surprising, but it is true,” says Guo. “The development of the legal industry would be slow, such as there is unlikely to be [a] significant merger or integration of firms in Xiamen.”
“福建的开放程度远远不及其他同等发展水平的省份，而厦门的对外开放程度尤其低。这有些令人吃惊，但却是事实。”郭宏清表示，“法律行业的发展可能将很慢，比如说厦门的律所不太可能发生重大合并或整合。”
There aren’t many firms who have the ambition to go big, and the aggressive ones face strong resistance, according to Guo. Xu adds that Topwe is the only firm in Fuzhou that is run under a corporate-style system, which is believed to be the ultimate direction of the most advanced internal management being taken up by the country’s best firms. Other firms are willing to see Topwe’s pioneering attempt, but would like to “wait and see.”
郭宏清指出，没有太多律所有做大做强的志向，寻求积极发展的律所将面临巨大的阻力。许永东补充道，拓维是福州唯一一家在企业化经营体系下运作的律所，该体系被认为是一种先进的内部管理的发展方向，也已被中国最顶尖的律所采用。其他本地律所很乐于看到拓维的开拓性尝试，但都抱“观望”的态度。
“It is all about vision,” Guo says.
郭宏清称：“这都在于眼光。”

PRIVATE SECTOR私营经济
While being conservative in a lot of areas, the Fujianese are, in sharp contrast, famous for their boldness in being adventurous. A significant percentage of overseas Chinese have originated from the province, as have some of China’s best-known private entrepreneurs and their brands in retailing, food, clothing and sports manufacturing. In fact, it is the rapidly-growing private sector which contributes majorly to Fujian’s affluence.
福建人虽然在在某些方面颇为保守，但却同时又以敢于冒险而闻名。海外华人中有很大一部分来自福建，而且福建也孕育了中国最知名的一些私营企业家及其在零售、食品、服装和体育用品制造行业的著名公司品牌。事实上，正是迅速发展的私营经济为福建的富裕做出了很大贡献。
However, these private enterprises are not yet ideal clients and the potential in their huge businesses is far from being extracted to translate into revenue for legal advisers.
不过，这些私企目前还不是律所的理想客户，其庞大业务的潜力也远未转化为法律顾问的营收。
“A big company is not necessarily a big client. No. A big client for us lawyers is who pays a lot,” says Ron Xu, partner at Sphere Logic Partners (SLP) in Xiamen.
位于厦门的世礼律师事务所合伙人徐建生表示：“大公司不一定是大客户。对于律师来说，大客户是指手笔阔绰的客户。”
“Presently, state-owned enterprises (SOE) are, by far, better clients.” 
就此而言，国企是目前为止更好的客户。
“There is a saying, ‘who wins the SOEs, wins everything.’ The highestearning firms are mostly working for the big SOEs,” he says.
徐建生称：“有一种说法是，得国企者得天下。盈利最高的律所大多为大型国企服务。”
This is why Fuzhou has higher legal earnings than the Minnan Golden Triangle - Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou - that together account for 40 percent of Fujian’s GDP. As the provincial capital, Fuzhou is home to most of the province’s SOEs.
这就是福州的法律市场高于闽南金三角的原因，闽南金三角包括厦门、泉州和漳州，合计占福建GDP的40%。但是作为福建的省会，福州拥有该省主要的国企。
As the SOEs are required to develop their own in-house legal teams, they demand lawyers provide them with more high-value services.
由于国资委的要求，各国企都开始大力发展自己的内部法律团队，它们需要律师提供更高价值的服务。
“We want them to take initiative and be more predicting and proactive, and able to help us evaluate and diagnose potential risks we don’t notice. We don’t like passive responses,” says Chen Yan, general counsel of the Fujian Petrochemical Industrial Group. “They have to display quality services, therefore, to uplift their financial value in the eyes of the companies.”
“我们希望律师积极主动，更具预测性和前瞻性，并且能够帮助我们评估和诊断我们未注意到的潜在风险。我们不喜欢被动反应。”福建石化集团的总法律顾问陈演说道，“他们必须提供优质服务，从而在企业的心中提升其服务的财务价值。”
Fact is the central planners of China did not allocate many key SOEs to Fujian because it was considered as the frontline of war. And many SOEs here are not as big as those in some other much less developed west provinces such as Sichuan or Chongqing, according to Ron Xu. There is a limit to their overall spending on legal charges. This means law firms have to, on all accounts, explore deeper into the private sector (to which the majority of their clients belong).
不过，由于过去很长一段时间福建被认为是潜在的战争前线，所以中央规划并没有在福建部署太多重量级的国企。徐建生表示，这里很多国企的规模甚至不及四川或重庆等发达程度较低的西部地区。所以国企在法律费用上的总体支出有限。这意味着，律所在各方面必须更深入地挖掘私营经济——也是其客户主体——的潜力。
“Private capital has its own personality that strongly prefers speculation and high-stake adventures. And at its early stage, it is definitely inseparable from incompliance. Some of them tend to choose the corner-cutting approach of collaborating with the administrative power rather than seeking help from [the] law,” says XuYongdon of Topwe.
拓维的许永东认为：“私营资本有自己的特性，非常偏好投机和高风险。在发展初期，它很难摆脱各种不合规的操作。一些私企倾向于选择向行政权力寻租这种擦边球的方法，而不是寻求法律帮助。”
In China, people’s awareness and need for legal services are still in transition, with big differences between regions, informs Li.
李荣存认为，在中国，人们对法律服务的意识和需求仍在转变之中，各地区之间有很大差异。
“For example, a man in Shenzhen having a dispute would probably like to hire a lawyer to resolve this according to the law. But such things are not very likely to happen in Xiamen,” he says.
他指出：“例如，深圳人遇到纠纷，就可能会聘请律师依法解决。但这在厦门就不太可能发生。”
Personal relations still work here. A joke says when given a one million budget for a lawsuit, a Shanghai company’s management may want to pay that one million to hire the best lawyer, whereas a Xiamen boss would only hire a 50,000-yuan lawyer, and spend the rest of the money on reinforcing the useful connections.
人际关系仍在福建发挥作用。一个坊间笑话说，如果公司在一个法律诉讼案上有100万元人民币的预算，上海公司的管理层可能愿意支付全部100万来聘请最好的律师，而厦门公司的老板只会花5万元聘请律师，而把剩下的钱用来打点有用的关系。
“Some of the private entrepreneurs do not even know what exactly a lawyer does, and how a lawyer could help with their business. They only consider us as a rubber stamp in the end. They do not realise how important it is to get us involved from the beginning to see it through,” says Ron Xu of SLP.
世礼的徐建生表示：“一些私营企业家甚至不知道律师到底是做什么的，以及律师可以如何为其业务提供帮助。他们只在最终把东西给我们确认一下。他们不知道让我们从头至尾参与的重要性。”
The good news is that not all private companies are like this. Huang Wenting, deputy legal director of China’s largest sportswear maker Anta, says although privately owned, the Quanzhou-based company has been paying high attention to legal affairs since it went public in Hong Kong, and has started expanding globally and dealing with numerous intellectual property infringements.
一个好消息是，并非所有的私企都是这样的。中国最大的运动服装生产商安踏的法务部副总监黄文婷表示，虽然这家总部位于泉州的公司是一个家族企业，但由于它已在香港上市和进行全球拓展，并且开始处理众多知识产权侵权问题，该公司高度重视法律工作。
“We work with external law firms a lot, including local, national and international ones,” she says. “I would like to see them react quickly and have [a] specific team just working for us.”
“我们与外部律所有大量合作，包括本地、国内和国际律所。”她说道，“我希望它们做出迅速反应，并建有专门为我们服务的团队。”

WESTERN STRAIT海峡西岸
As a legacy of the civil war of the late 1940s (Fujian had confronted the defeated KMT forces on the island of Taiwan across the Strait), the province is still regarded as a potential battlefield of sorts. The confrontation resulted in Fujian lacking state investment in civil projects and a consequently underdeveloped infrastructure. The military tension did not ease until 2008, and in the next year, the Chinese government approved the construction of the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone, which mainly covers the coastal cities of Fujian.
自20世纪40年代末的国共内战以来，福建一直被视为中国大陆有可能与台湾可能发生的武装冲突的前线。这种对峙形势导致国家对福建的民用项目投资欠缺，从而使得基础设施一直不够发达。这种军事紧张局势直到2008年才相对彻底缓解，中国政府在翌年批准了建设主要覆盖福建沿海城市的海峡西岸经济特区。
“As this national strategy moves forward, we can expect a big change in the legal industry here,” says Xu. “The point is, there will be more communication with the outside.”
“随着这一国家战略的推进，我们预期福建的法律行业将发生巨大变化。”许永东表示，“关键在于，本地与外界的交流将会增加。”
More and more national companies, especially the large central SOEs, will expand into Fujian, bringing in not only major opportunities for law firms but also modern management concept and ideas, says Xu. The Fujian economy will then get an opportunity to get integrated further into the national circle.
许永东称，越来越多的全国性公司，尤其是大型中央国企将进军福建，这不仅将为律所带来重大商机，而且还将带来现代化管理、理念和想法。福建经济将进一步融入全国发展的大格局。
At the same time, some Fujian firms are also considering more exchanges with colleagues and moving up into a bigger arena.
与此同时，一些福建的律所也正考虑增加与同行的交流，并登上更大的舞台。
“Integration is an inexorable trend,” says Tan Mulin, partner at Grandall’s Fuzhou office, which merged into the Grandall franchise last year. “Joining a national platform means an improvement in internal structure, internal management and product development.”
“整合是一个必然趋势。”国浩福州分所的合伙人檀木林表示（该分所于去年并入国浩），“加入一个全国性平台，意味着内部结构、内部管理和产品开发的改善。”
Guo, whose firm used to be one of the first law firms in Fujian before its merger with Dacheng in 2005, adds that joining Dacheng has given his firm access to the latest knowledge and information, national-scale resources and client database, as well as learning and training opportunities.
郭宏清补充道，他所在的律所在2005年与大成合并前，是福建成立最早的律所之一，加入大成使他们有机会获得最新的知识和讯息、全国规模的资源和客户数据库、以及学习和培训机会。
“The advantages are very clear,” says Guo. “When you climb higher, you can see further.”
郭宏清表示：“优势很明显。攀得越高，看得越远。”
A different approach to go national is to join an alliance. Tenet & Partners, the largest firm in Xiamen, is a member of the Sino-Global Legal Alliance (SGLA), which was founded by Hogan Lovells and local firms from major cities and regions in China.
走向全国的另一个方法是加入律所联盟。厦门最大的律所天衡联合就是中世律所联盟（SGLA）的成员。中世律所联盟由霍金路伟与中国主要城市和地区的多家本地律所创立。
“Based in the Western Strait, we hold on to the idea of serving the whole country. We have managed to expand our access in other regions via the SGLA referral network,” says BaiShaoxiang, senior partner and executive director of Tenet.
天衡联合的高级合伙人兼执行董事白劭翔称：“我们立足海峡西岸，坚持服务全国的理念。通过中世律所联盟的推介网络，我们成功将足迹扩展到其他地区。”
Topwe joined the Elite Chinese Legal Alliance (ECLA), another national union headed by the Bejing DHH Law Firm. Although the practice cooperation is effective, XuYongdong suggests more exchanges should be focused on management given the imbalanced development of members.
拓维则加入了以北京德和衡律师事务所为首的另一个全国性联盟——中国德和精品律所联盟（ECLA）。尽管在业务合作十分有效，但许永东建议，考虑到成员所发展的不平衡，交流应更多地关注于管理方面。
“Unless there is exchange between the management, we are unable to think on the same page,” he says.
他指出：“除非有管理上的交流，否则我们的想法无法同步。”
SLP, as one of the few firms specialised in foreign-related practices in Xiamen, went one step further to join the Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW).
世礼作为厦门少数专业从事涉外事务的律所之一，更是加入了国际律师事务所联盟（LawyersAssociated Worldwide，简称LAW）。
“Working for foreign or multinational companies has become the major part of our revenue. And during this, we leant a lot.” says Ron Xu.
徐建生表示：“为外国公司或跨国公司服务，已成为我们营收的主要组成部分。在此过程中，我们学到了许多。”

SPECIALISATION专业化
Given that more than 95 percent of Fujian firms are mediumsized (10 to 30 people) or small (under 10) ones and the average size in the province is 11 people per firm, which is below the national average, FLA head XueYuqing calls on the small and medium firms to take the approach of quality and specialisation.
福建律所中超过95%为中型（10-30人）或小型（不到10人）规模，且该省的律所平均规模为11人，低于全国水平。为此，福建省律师协会领导薛育卿呼吁中小型律所应采取优质和专业化的方法。
“The large firms define the direction of the whole industry,” he says, “... while the small and medium firms determine the overall level of development,” he says in a report.
他在一份报告中称：“大型律所决定了整个行业的方向…中小型律所则决定了总体发展水平。”
Firms seem to agree to this. Dacheng Xiamen has completely separated its shipping and criminal departments from its other departments and vertically connected to its respective practice groups across the nation, according to Guo. Bai says Tenet has been working hard on dividing lawyers into different practices to sharpen their specialty and avoid duplication of labour. Family law and labour and human resources affairs are two of their most proficient areas. “There will be no place for panacea lawyers,” he says.
律所们看来都对此持赞成态度。据郭宏清表示，大成厦门分所已将航运和刑事部门与其他部门完全分离，并与大成的相应全国专业团队纵向对接。白劭翔称，天衡联合一直都致力于将律师划分为不同的执业团队，以提高他们的专业性和避免重复劳动。家庭法以及劳动与人力资源事务是天衡联合两个富有特色的执业领域。他表示：“我们不再需要‘万金油型’的律师。”
Li believes Wang Jing & Co has found its strength in its shipping and Japan practices.
李荣存则认为，敬海在航运和日本企业相关事务方面颇具实力。
“Competition is not a big problem for us because we have exclusive advantage in shipping. Nobody can compete with us on expertise in this area,” says Li.
他指出：“竞争对于我们而言不是个大问题，因为我们在航运方面有独家优势。没人能在该领域的专长上与我们抗衡。”
What SLP has learnt on project management while serving as PRC counsel for foreign clients’ inbound deals could enable the firm work as the key counsel to Chinese companies in their outbound transactions, according to Ron Xu.
徐建生表示，世礼在担任外国客户境内交易的中国法律顾问的过程中，在项目管理上累积了经验，这使得该律所能够为中国公司的境外交易担任主要法律顾问。
“We would like to transplant these experiences to Chinese clients. Especially since they are completely clueless about outbound transactions. No one here has more experience or knows the details better than us. So this is our niche,” he says. “We are also developing an online IP enforcement service that would probably be the market leader nationwide.”
“我们计划把这些经验移植到中国客户身上，尤其是他们在境外交易方面毫无头绪。没人比我们有更多经验或知道更多详情。所以这是我们的细分市场。”他说道，“我们还正在开发网上知识产权执法服务，可能将在该领域成为国内市场的领导者。”
By improving Topwe’s internal structure to enable specialisation, XuYongdong says the key to everything is to find out and provide what the clients’ really need. Thanks to the complete work divide, Topwe now has specialised knowledge management and market study, and is able to exploit two very promising markets: (i) Advise the government on economic policy decisions or investments, analyse political, economic, social and technological effects (PEST) and (ii) Provide solutions which abide by the law, assist the nouveau riche in the region to manage their assets and to plan for inheritance.
许永东称，拓维正通过改善内部结构以实现专业优势，而一切的关键就是找到客户的真正需求并加以满足。由于完善的工作划分，拓维拥有了专门的知识管理和市场研究，从而能够发现两个前景广阔的市场：其一是就经济决策制定或投资为政府提供建议，分析政治、经济、社会和技术效应，以及提供合法的解决方案；其二是协助福建的新富起来的民营企业家管理家族资产和进行继承规划。事实证明，这两种新产品非常受欢迎。
“The questions in front of us are: Have you found a new demand from the client and how can you fit in to meet the demand?” says Xu.
许永东说：“我们面对的问题是：你是否发现了客户的新需求？你能如何满足该需求？”

INSTITUTION, INNOVATION AND ASPIRATION:FUJIAN TOPWE LAW FIRM
制度决定创新，文化塑造未来——福建拓维律师事务所

Thanks to its highly efficient internal management andconstant innovation, Topwe Law Firm has taken the lead in thelegal industry of the Western Strait Economic Zone (WSEZ)over the past few years. It tops the chart of firm revenue andrevenue per person by taking the initiative of self upgradationand culture establishment.
采用先进高效的内部运营模式，不断开拓新的产品和市场，着力打造特色企业文化。福建拓维律师事务所在深思熟虑之后主动转型，短短三四年时间，成为海峡西岸经济区的法律服务领头羊和市场标杆，并且律所营业收入和人均收入在福州市乃至福建省均名列前茅。
“When a firm reaches a certain stage of development, ithas to be built on a [good] institutional structure…” said XuYongdong, founder and chief partner of Topwe, “… and to goeven further, on culture.”
“我觉得一个企业到了一定程度，它就一定是靠制度来发展。”拓维创始人、首席合伙人许永东律师说。“再进一步，就必须依靠文化。”
The strategy of Topwe is simple: Changing and innovating.
从变革自身制度开始，在各个方面努力创新，这就是拓维的发展思路。

INSTITUTION制度
Topwe is the only firm in Fuzhou that is run by a corporatestylemanagement like top national and international firms.It wasn’t an easy step to take. The reform was painful, andaltering the profit distribution system was an extremely hardgame.
拓维是至今为止福州市唯一一家采用国际通行的公司制管理模式的律师事务所。迈出这一步并不容易。旧有的提成合伙制度在多年前已显现出了瓶颈，但是改革总是伴随着利益格局的变动，意味着痛苦的博弈。
“We had gone through 10 years of flat growth (beforethe reform). I had been thinking about the market, the firmstructure, the strategy. But making a breakthrough wasimpossible under the old system,” said Xu.
“当时我们发展了十年，一直处于一个不温不火的状态。我天天在琢磨市场，组织架构，运营战略。但是旧有的模式之下，始终没有机会去尝试突破。”许律师回忆道。
Xu kept pushing for the same innumerable times between2005 and 2010. Finally, the core partners reached theagreement to switch to a “brand new game,” includingresource and income distribution mechanisms, trulyspecialised practices and stronger supporting departments.
从2005年到2010年，经过一次次推动，拓维的核心合伙人终于达成一致，坚决“换一种玩法”。这包括了变革分配方式，细化专业分工，强化辅助职能部门等一系列重大的内部结构调整。
“Under this new institution, we can guarantee that someof us will be spared from the daily routine of focusing oninnovation, and can now afford to think, experiment and makemistakes,” said Xu.
“在这个新的体制之下，我们可以保障有一部分人能够从办理日常案件中解放出来，专心地去思考，去创新，去尝试，去犯错。”他说。
The corporate-style internal institution enables efficientknowledge management, effective talent development,instant market reaction and quick client communication. Italso helps build the brand and cultural identity of Topwe.
公司制运营令拓维得以形成强大的知识管理，构建高效的人才培养，实现快速的市场反应，保持灵敏的客户沟通，并打造品牌和文化的凝聚力。
“It’s all about the system. It is vital,” he said.
“体制，我觉得体制太重要了。”许律师深为感慨。

PRODUCT产品
Topwe has been “forced by the market” to become innovative,according to Xu. Every year, the firm calculates the cost,earning and profit margin of each practice to find out the bestmatching point between its own specialties and clients’ needs.
许律师介绍说，拓维的产品创新是“市场逼出来的”。在公司制的高度一体化之下，拓维每年对各种业务的投入产出进行计算，确定盈利点的高低，找出自身专业特色和市场客户需求之间的最佳契合点。
“Why should a client choose us; how is our service differentfrom others; the positioning is so important,” he said.
“客户为什么要选择我们，我们提供的服务和别人有什么不一样，这个定位是特别重要的。”他说。
For example, administrative law service is currently one ofthe big market gaps discovered by Topwe. Since the Chinesegovernment is investing in the WSEZ and its economic policiesinvolving multiple interest groups and complicated socialrelationships, it turns out to be highly necessary for lawyersto intervene right from the early stages of decision making.As development continues, more and more unprecedentedcases are certain to emerge. Topwe thus decided to focuson providing comprehensive one-stop legal solutions togovernmental and business affairs in the WSEZ.
例如，行政法律服务就是拓维慧眼发现的一处市场空白。在国家投资海峡西岸经济区开发的大背景下，政府经济政策的制定面临多方利益关系的博弈，律师前期介入分析和论证变得必要。而随着开发的进行，未来还必将会碰到各种新的，前沿的法律问题。所以拓维将为海西经济区开发提供综合性，全面的政府法律事务和商业法律服务作为自己的一个主要方向。
“We have found many potential markets. We even helpeddraft the government regulations. These are completelyuntouched areas, and chargeable,” said Xu.
“我们在这里面发现了很多东西，甚至参与了立法的起草。这些都是从来没有人做过的东西，而且是收费的。”
In addition, Topwe has been producing two digitalpublications - Legal Information and Towpe Correspondence- which do not only reinforce its information service andprofessional image, but also act as the firm’s market opinioncollectors by counting client hits to display their interests andconcerns.
此外，拓维还推出了电子刊物《法讯》和《拓维通讯》。不但强化了专业形象，增加了信息服务，通过对客户对不同话题的点击率的跟踪统计，拓维也顺势掌握了更多的市场兴趣点。
Meanwhile, Topwe is able to quickly offer new legal serviceswhich are well designed and standardised. For instance,they have identified hundreds of key points in a real estatedevelopment project from their years of practice, and havewrapped them up into a package that has been popularwith new clients. Also, Topwe has developed productsabout managing public transportation funds, representinginsurance claims and appealing for taxation administrativereview; all first of their kinds in China.
同时，专业的知识管理令拓维可以针对市场需求迅速推出新的专业化标准化服务。例如，通过多年来对房地产项目服务的积累，拓维筛选出了数百个关键法律点，将其产品化。此外在公交运输企业统筹基金，代理企业保险理赔，税务行政复议等方面，拓维都开发出了全国独一无二的特有业务。
“Few lawyers provide such services, which means it is downto us to price them. Actually, these products have gone out ofFujian to other provinces across the country,” said Xu.
“这些东西在国内很少有律师做，我们就对它有定价权。而事实上，这些有定价权的业务，我们已经走出了福建省。”他说。

CULTURE文化
In the meantime, Xu understands the significance of havinga cultural identity for the firm, and has made great efforts toestablish it within Topwe.
与此同时，深深理解企业文化重要性的许永东也在树立拓维的价值观和认同感上投入了极大的时间和精力。
“Whether everybody has a common value and identityis very important for a law firm,” said Xu. “Only if the firmculture is strong enough can we tolerate diversity and haveall integrated.
“一个律师事务所，大家有没有共同的价值观和认同感，非常重要。”他说。“当一个事务所很强大之后，你就可以去包容更多的不同的东西，他就会服从你的文化和制度。”
”Starting from the work environment, Topwe sits eachpractice team in one room to create an open atmospherefor exchanges. An internal workflow system is installed tomandatorily increase the information sharing as well as thefeeling of interdependence.
首先是办公室的环境。拓维让每个团队在同一个办公室密切协作，营造出讨论和交流的氛围。其次通过信息管理系统强制性增加内部交流，令全所员工产生互相依存和互相依赖的感觉。
Most importantly, Topwe has invented a “1+1+1” workingpattern, in which each and every case is led by a partner orteam leader and chiefly handled by a three to five-year lawyer,with an assistant as the all-time-standby contact to the client.
最重要的，拓维创造了独特的1+1+1的工作模式。每个项目以一位合伙人或部门负责人牵头，由一位三到五年级律师作为主力承办，外加一位秘书担任与客户直接交流的窗口。
“This pattern makes sure that the client can find us anytime, and make them feel Topwe is an organic team. All thestandardised files and documents signal that each and everypaper of ours is produced under the strictest procedure. Thispattern also makes them believe that even the junior lawyersin Topwe are trustworthy, because there is a quality controland whole supporting system backs them.
“这样就能确保客户随时能找得到我们，令客户感受到拓维是一个整体。所有的标准化的文档、格式化的文件都在给客户一个信号——所有的文件都是经过严格的流程出来。在这种模式下，客户就会认同，拓维即使是年轻的律师也值得信任，因为他知道律师的背后有律所严格的内控程序。
”This pattern also enhances team spirit and identity, andspeeds up the growth of young Topwe lawyers.
“同时，这样的工作模式，也在每个拓维人潜意识中埋下更深厚的团队意识，令年轻人成长更快，更有认同感。
“The lawyers do not only need to work as one team, but alsohave to push themselves really hard to take on challenges andovercome their disadvantages. The quick growth of the firmand the teams is demanding more and more - from trainingassistants to leading a team, to considering the market. Itrequires them to catch up, and even exceed.” said Xu. “We callthis full development.”
“我们的体制下，律师不但需要团队合作，更需要不断给自己压力，挑战自我，克服短板向上提升。因为事务所、团队成长很快，对个人的要求会越来越多，要从带助手，到带团队，到考虑整个市场。要不断的挑战这些新的东西，才能跟上甚至跑赢这个团队的成长。所以说是更全面的一种发展。”

GOALS战略
Thinking in advance, Topwe has beaten many local rivals whoonly talk about corporate-style management now in internalstructuring and market positioning, and has already movedon to a higher stage of development. It is now looking at 100lawyers and 100 million yuan of revenue in five years.
回头看来，当现在许多周边竞争对手才刚刚开始讨论公司化改制的时候，提前一步完成了自身体制的转型和布局的拓维，已经找到了明确的定位，大步迈向更高阶段的发展，拓维计划再用五年时间，执业律师达到一百人，业务量达到亿元。
Xu defines Topwe as a firm that focuses on high-demandingcommercial and governmental clients, capable of providingthe best practice and quality services matching the highestinternational standards.
许永东对拓维的定位是，专注于对法律服务的需求很强的商业客户、政府客户，作为区域性的，业务水平领先，成为能够为客户提供符合国际最高标准服务的律师事务所。
“We don’t think too far. I hope Topwe can become aninfluential brand in the WSEZ and Fujian province, and aleading firm in commercial and administrative law services.I hope some of our distinct products can become popular inChina,” said Xu.
“我们不想太远的事，我希望拓维能够做到在海峡西岸经济区和福建省有领先的影响力，同时做到提供商业和行政法律服务综合性领先的律师事务所，并且期望我们的一些特色法律产品能够走向全国。”许律师说