Benchmark Litigation is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Cookies Settings

Key contacts
Managing Partner: Kevin Shao
Quick facts
Number of partners

300+

Number of associate

1500+

Key practice areas
Dispute resolution
Construction and real estate
Firm overview

Recognised as a top law firm in China, City Development Law Firm was founded in 1992, having 31 years of experience in providing legal service at various sectors, for clients across the world. The firm is headquartered in Shanghai, initially established to provide services for the industries of construction, real estate and infrastructure.

As a law firm with large scale of services, City Development Law Firm has now formed a team with over 1300 lawyers and 30 local presences throughout China, a large portion of which are multiply disciplined, majored or qualified in law as well as in construction engineering, quantum, urban planning, accounting, insurance areas and so on.

We have been invited to comment on the drafts of laws, regulations, rules and judicial interpretations as a representative law firm on legislation such as the Construction Law, Property Law, Contract Law, Regulations on Administration of Construction Project Duality, Rules of Shanghai Municipality on Real Estate Mortgage, Understanding and Application of Judicial Interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court on Project Construction Contracts, and the Measures for Identification and Punishment of Contracting and Illegal Sub-contracting in Construction Projects (for trial implementation). We have also been invited to provide our professional advice on revisions of draft legislation.

We have been appointed by the Ministry of Construction, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and China Civil Engineering Society to assist in drafting example contracts for construction general contracting, project construction, construction project sub-contracting, and construction project labor sub-contracting.

City Development Law Firm has received multiple awards and recognition from the most authoritative entities since its establishment, among which is Band 1 of Real Estate & Construction area by Chambers & Partners for the past 13 years. The firm believes that specialisation and articulated services will assist and advance clients in their business development.

Practice Areas & Sector Specialisations
  • Construction
  • Real estate
  • Natural resources & infrastructure
  • Finance
  • EPC/DB
  • International practice
  • Compliance & risk control
  • Corporate & commerce
  • Water projects
  • Urban renewal
  • Smart city & intelligent manufacturing
  • Energy & environment
  • Restructuring & insolvency
  • Dispute resolution
Other offices

Beijing
Telephone: +86 10 8566 0559

Shenzhen
Telephone: +86 755 2266 1566

Kunming
Telephone: +86 871 6364 1566-1568

Wuhan
Telephone: +86 27 8548 2077

Changsha
Telephone: +86 731 8224 1828/8224 6828

Hangzhou
Telephone: +86 571 8526 8526

Tianjin
Telephone: +86 22 2731 0738

Fuzhou
Telephone: +86 591 8756 8838

Urumqi
Telephone: +86 991 4182 652

Nanchang
Telephone: +86 791 8819 5911

Nanjing
Telephone: +86 25 8460 0679

Zhengzhou
Telephone: +86 371 6338 0963

Xi’an
Telephone: +86 29 8550 8389/8550 8398

Baotou
Telephone: +86 472 5158 018

Chongqing
Telephone: +86 23 6749 7727

Hefei
Telephone: +86 551 6266 9668

Taiyuan
Telephone: +86 351 2915 678

Chengdu
Telephone: +86 28 8557 4960/8503 3400

Jinan
Telephone: +86 531 8825 5075/8825 5076

Qingdao
Telephone: +86 532 8097 9331

Dalian
Telephone: +86 411 8076 4011

Dongguan
Telephone: +86 769 2302 7526

Guangzhou
Telephone: +86 20 3195 5660

Xining
Telephone: +86 971 8080 959

Haikou
Telephone: +86 898 6858 1296

Lanzhou
Telephone: +86 931 8528 057

Guiyang
Telephone: +86 851 8881 1918

Nanning
Telephone: +86 771 5632 112

Yinchuan
Telephone: +86 951 8896 832

Changchun
Telephone: +86 431 8185 2769

Address:
Shanghai Head Office F, Building S1, the Bund Finance Center 600
Zhongshan 2nd Road (E), Shanghai 200010
Tel:+86 21 5239 3188 Fax:+86 21 5239 3128 Email:Contact Us Web Address:http://www.jianwei.com/
Rankings published in 2026
Construction and real estate
Tier 1
22 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

City Development Law Firm
2 practice areas
View full profile
Dacheng Law Offices
7 practice areas
View full profile
Zhong Lun Law Firm
8 practice areas
View profile

Tier 2

Boss & Young
3 practice areas
View profile
Fangda Partners
7 practice areas
View profile
JianLingChengDa Law Firm
2 practice areas
View profile
King & Wood
7 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

AllBright Law Offices
9 practice areas
View full profile
East & Concord Partners
3 practice areas
View full profile
JunHe
7 practice areas
View profile

Other Notable Firms

Grandall Law Firm
6 practice areas
View profile
Harmony Partners
2 practice areas
View profile
Hui Ye Law Firm
5 practice areas
View full profile
Hylands Law Firm
3 practice areas
View profile
Jincheng Tongda & Neal
4 practice areas
View profile
Jingtian & Gongcheng
6 practice areas
View full profile
Jinmao Law Firm
3 practice areas
View profile
Joius Law Firm
3 practice areas
View profile
Riying Law Firm
3 practice areas
View profile
W&H Law Firm
3 practice areas
View full profile
Wintell & Co
4 practice areas
View profile
Zhihe Partners
2 practice areas
View profile
Linked Reviews
Dispute Resolution

City Development Law Firm occupies, and some would argue dominates, a construction-focused space in the Shanghai legal market. The firm’s construction team consists of star lawyers with both legal and civil engineering backgrounds. The team has always been in a leading position in the field of construction with a particular forte in infrastructure, public utilities and landmark projects. Deputy directors Zhongchun Song, Rubo Han and La Wei are key names to note. 

In an ongoing contract dispute, the firm is acting for a world top 500 construction enterprise in China in Evergrande’s failure in payment. The firm also acted for a large real estate enterprise affiliated to Fangyuan Group and suing the general contractor, the Fourth Construction Bureau of China, over allegations of overdue completion arising from a commercial housing project. In another matter, the firm represented Yunnan Construction Investment Sixth Construction in an Rmb640 million construction contract dispute initiated by Yunnan Jianqiang Construction Labor Service. 

Some of the firm’s recent clients include Henan Jinjian Construction, Shanghai Road & Bridge (Group), Shunjie Construction (Group) and Yangquan Vocational and Technical College. 

In 2023, the firm hired one partner Jiao He from Beijing-based Yi An Lawyers. More recently, in 2025, the firm’s Chengdu office promoted several lawyers to partnership, including Hu Lianlin, Yang Han and Xie Sijie as first-level partners.

Sponsored