Shanghai

From its Beijing roots, Han Kun Law Offices has emerged as a dynamic force in China’s legal landscape, strategically expanding its lawyer headcount and geographic reach while cementing its reputation across sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare and retail. Renowned for its high-calibre work, the firm is a go-to adviser for complex commercial disputes, particularly in private equity and venture capital, where its innovative strategies and cross-industry insights set it apart. 

The Beijing office is anchored by commercial litigation stalwarts Yaxing Zhang and Dong Liu, Yang You, Xianglin Chen and IP authority Yan Wang. 

In one publishable flagship matter, the team represented the original shareholders of a subsidiary of a listed Chinese defence conglomerate in a high-stakes equity transfer dispute against a state-linked buyer, which weaponised criminal allegations and financial coercion to suppress the client’s rights. The case highlighted systemic risks faced by private entrepreneurs in regulated industries, where the buyer exploited its privileged position in a state-owned sector to threaten the client with personal liability and asset forfeiture. 

On the IP front, Han Kun defends giants such as OPPO, Umicore and Baidu in infringement disputes, combining technical acumen with aggressive enforcement tactics. 

Han Kun bolstered its national and international footprint in January 2022 by merging with Shanghai Young-Ben Law Firm, integrating its partners, departments and administrative teams. This was followed by setting up new offices in Haikou, Wuhan, Hong Kong and Singapore, enhancing its capacity to serve clients across Asia. 

The Shanghai branch, an extension of Han Kun’s dispute resolution prowess, excels in commercial and IP litigation. One of the key partners, Wei Sun, represented a major state-owned airline in a high-stakes aircraft engine sales contract dispute exceeding Rmb10 million. The client had listed three aircraft engines for transfer via the Beijing Equity Exchange, where a materials supplier (the plaintiff) submitted a bid and paid a security deposit. After disputes arose over transaction terms, the supplier sued the airline for alleged breaches. The case centred on two pivotal issues: the binding force of equity exchange transaction rules and the legal nature of the security deposit under Chinese contract law. Han Kun’s team defended the airline by rigorously demonstrating compliance with the exchange’s publicly disclosed transfer procedures and reframing the deposit as a non-punitive performance guarantee. After contested first and second-instance proceedings, the court dismissed all claims against the client, affirming the validity of the exchange’s rules and rejecting the plaintiff’s interpretation of deposit forfeiture clauses. 

Han Kun’s client roster spans industries and borders, including Guizhou Moutai Winery Group, Samsung, Estée Lauder, Sandvik and Sohu, alongside financial and tech leaders like Kraft Heinz and Baidu. 

In 2024, the firm hired Yang Han from King & Wood to strengthen the firm’s criminal law capacity.