Several days ago, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) hosted the first “Conducting International Arbitration in Chinese” competition, where the "Jingtian & Gongcheng" team sent by our firm won the championship title in the Beijing division and also secured the runner-up award in the Hong Kong division finals.
“Conducting International Arbitration in Chinese” is an annual event organized by the HKIAC to promote the advancement of mainland Chinese lawyers and arbitrators in offshore international arbitration and to promote the diversity of lawyers engaged in international arbitration. The cases that form the basis of this competition are based on actual international arbitration cases, applying Chinese language, PRC law, and international conventions to achieve a practical resolution. The procedure adopted in this competition is based upon continental-style memorials, which requires the parties to set out their claim or defense in full in their respective statement of case. It also draws upon cross-examination as central to the trial process.
To participate in the competition, professional lawyers were required to form a team with students, leading more than 30 teams to register. After the initial selection process, eight teams were officially registered to compete, including the “Jingtian & Gongcheng Team,” “T&C Navy Seal Team,” “Han Kun Law Offices + Barrister Maomao Team,” “Jayhawks Team,” “Fangda Partners Team”, “AllBright Taikoo Hui Cross-border Arbitration Team.” “Hui Zhong Law Firm Team,” and “King & Wood Mallesons International Arbitration Team.” Jingtian & Gongcheng sent a delegation, including partners Zhang Guanglei and Hu Ke, along with Consultant Zhang Mingshi of the Beijing Dispute Resolution team, and partner Gary Yin from the Hong Kong Dispute Resolution team. Our firm also invited Cui Jiaqi, a graduate student from China University of Political Science and Law to participate in this competition.
The "Jingtian & Gongcheng" team successively won first in the qualifiers, moving on to the semi-finals, until they won the Beijing division championship. While our team posted an unfortunately loss to the "Hui Zhong Law Firm" team in the Hong Kong division finals, they were able to win the runner-up award and deliver a memorable performance that was closely watched by both the arbitral tribunal and our industry peers. In addition, partner Zhang Guanglei won high acclaim for his outstanding performance, subsequently winning the Best Individual Performance award on three successive occasions.
With the strong support from the firm’s Management Committee, the "Jingtian & Gongcheng" team was able to draw upon the full talent, teamwork, and experience in this Chinese competition. Zhang Guanglei, Hu Ke, Zhang Zhizhi and Cui Jiaqi participated in aspects of the preparation, document drafting, case analysis and presentation, and court trial. Throughout the competition, the team were able to constantly adjust and improve their approach depending on the necessities of each match. Partner Gary Yin provided careful guidance on court trial and cross-examination tactics; partner Dong Chungang contributed valuable insights and in-depth guidance on case strategy and the court trial process. Lawyers Peng Bo and Ren Xiaolu also made important contributions to legal research, case discussions, and simulations, while colleagues from our Hong Kong office provided valuable insight and support to the participating teams in training and competitions in Hong Kong. Sun Shiqi, a partner from our Shanghai office, also provided additional backup support.
Anthony Neoh, senior barrister and Chief Arbitrator of Hong Kong Final, commented that although the competition is a simulated arbitration conducted by Chinese lawyers in Chinese language under common law procedures, the lawyers on both sides demonstrated true professionalism in the actual international arbitration cases used for this competition. Performance was on par for court hearings during English arbitration, demonstrating the effectiveness of Chinese international arbitration. Dong Chungang, an arbitrator of the competition’s Shanghai division and a partner of Jingtian & Gongcheng, added "Due to legal privilege and client confidentiality, the international arbitration process is typically only visible to the parties involved. However, this competition organized by HKIAC allows all participants to observe the intricacies of the international arbitration process. It is of critical importance to the advancement of the field of international arbitration for all to learn how court hearings are conducted. The “Jingtian & Gongcheng” team has continued to learn from the past performance of our worthy opponents over the course of three consecutive matches and our strategy and tactics for each game continue to improve. While we were missing one team member at the court trial due to a scheduling conflict, we still delivered an outstanding performance. This reflects the essence of Jingtian & Gongcheng's Dispute Resolution practice.
Zhao Yang, Chairman of Jingtian & Gongcheng’s Management Committee, commented "On behalf of our entire firm, I would like to congratulate all of the participating teams in the HKIAC competition. Jingtian & Gongcheng has a longstanding reputation and solid record of performance in dispute resolution, particularly in cross-border arbitration. The outstanding results our team was able to achieve provides an additional indicator, not only of our professional capabilities and experience in international arbitration, but also demonstrates the achievements of our emerging talent. With the opening of our Hong Kong office and the establishment of a leading dispute resolution service team, we combine the strengths and competitive advantage of both our mainland China practices and Hong Kong team to provide enhanced services to better meet our valued clients' legal needs, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution in Hong Kong and across the region."
