In-house Counsel Awards 2025 | China Legal Market

The remit and status of in-house counsel are continually evolving. In the past year, which distinguished departments and general counsel have led this trend? Pan Xinyi reports

IN THE PAST YEAR, the global commercial landscape has been roiled by technological breakthroughs and shifting regulatory frameworks. AI has become deeply embedded across the full spectrum of enterprise operations, while geopolitical tensions have accelerated the fragmentation of cross-border regulatory regimes.

In China, revisions to the Company Law have strengthened corporate governance responsibilities, the application of data security legislation scenarios have been further refined, and the global shift from voluntary to mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance has gained momentum, together driving the evolution of corporate risk management paradigms.

As regulators introduce measures on data sovereignty, antitrust and carbon accounting, businesses are exploring avenues of flexibility in areas such as AI training data ownership, cross-border structural reorganisation and carbon trading compliance. The delicate dance between regulation and commerce is increasingly positioning legal teams at the heart of strategic decision making.

Today’s in-house counsel are expected to transcend traditional risk aversion. They must anticipate policy shifts with precision, balancing commercial needs against regulatory constraints, and crafting compliance frameworks that are both robust and sustainable amid the dilemmas posed by technological ethics and business objectives. Through strategic innovation and effective cost management, legal teams are turning compliance expenditure into a sustainable competitive edge. Legal teams are evolving from passive defenders to proactive architects of the rules, using the language of law to redefine the long-term resilience of business.

To celebrate the remarkable achievements of the past year, recognise outstanding contributions to businesses and industries, and honour those widely acknowledged by the market, China Business Law Journal continues its tradition of the In-house Counsel Awards. The final winners are determined through a combination of market nominations, submissions from nominees and independent research by the editorial team.

This year’s unprecedented number of nominations highlights the growing dynamism at the intersection of law and business. Through independent research, multi-source verification and robust assessment criteria (set out in the “Performance Parameters” section), the selection process ensures outcomes that resonate with industry consensus. Importantly, candidates cannot self-nominate or nominate their own teams. All accolades are awarded solely based on external recommendations and rigorous editorial review, ensuring complete impartiality. As with all our awards, the entire process – from nominations to the final announcement – is completely free of any fees.

The awards include the In-house Team of the Year and General Counsel of the Year, the highest accolades for the team and individual divisions, respectively, as well as finer categories covering a myriad of practice areas and industry sectors.

For teams:

For individuals:

We believe that the legal market’s vitality derives from the synergy of professionalism and commercial insight, and we extend our gratitude to all survey participants, and congratulate the winners on securing market recognition through their solid achievements.

Highest honour

Syngenta Group China’s general counsel, Cao Haiyang, has been awarded the General Counsel of the Year for his outstanding strategic leadership and practical innovation. Under his stewardship, the group, a global leader in agricultural technology, surpassed RMB200 billion (USD28 billion) in revenue in 2024, with operations spanning more than 100 countries and regions.

Cao led a 70-member legal and compliance team in establishing a robust global compliance framework. Amid a challenging geopolitical landscape, the team conducted legal analyses of the security reviews in the US, Switzerland, Israel, the UK and France, and devised appropriate response guidelines to mitigate cross-border risks.

In addressing domestic challenges in seed protection, Cao proposed that the Supreme People’s Court adopt recommendations to raise compensation standards for seed infringements and promoted the establishment of a national-level intellectual property court. Over the year, his team managed more than 100 administrative complaints and litigations, securing more than RMB500 million in revenue, while efficiently processing existing cases to avert potential losses of RMB140 million. The “Syngenta” trademark also obtained AAA certification, bolstering brand value and evidencing a shift towards value creation in legal management.

Midea Group’s global legal team, comprising 300 professionals, was honoured with the In-house Team of the Year award. The team played a pivotal role in the company’s 2024 Hong Kong IPO, its largest in nearly three years, raising HKD30 billion, by vetting more than 700 pages of the prospectus and negotiating close to 100 agreements.

In the face of challenges such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and US technology restrictions, they developed an in-house digital tracking system for global trade compliance that processed 300,000 screening nodes and proactively intercepted 50 risks. A diversified supplier strategy further reduced reliance on single materials and markets.

In the realm of intellectual property, their achievements were equally notable: more than 10,000 patent applications were submitted, five Chinese patent awards were secured, more than 10,000 counterfeit products were seized, and more than 100,000 infringing links were removed, with civil claims totalling RMB10 million.

Their innovative use of a smart signing system reduced carbon emissions by 3.07 tonnes, driving green compliance through technology and establishing a sustainable new paradigm in legal management.

Industry benchmark

Legal teams entrenched in specialised sectors must blend commercial acumen with legal insight. These professionals not only understand the regulatory framework but also leverage the law to drive business growth, quietly underpinning industry standardisation.

At Duality Bio, a global leader in ADC drug research, the head of legal and compliance, Iris Yuan, led the company’s Hong Kong IPO preparations in 2024, culminating in an August prospectus filing that has made the listing one of the biotech sector’s most watched deals of the year.

Her team also supported several high-value cross-border transactions, including agreements with BioNTech, BeiGene and others, totalling more than USD4 billion, with a USD1 billion licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline emerging as a benchmark case.

The compliance framework she constructed, spanning R&D, global clinical trials and commercialisation, is widely hailed as an innovative template. “Iris’s legal calibre and innovative commercial thinking are outstanding. Her insights into new business models are remarkably forward looking,” says Erica Wang, founder, managing attorney of Boston-based Veritas Law.

Zhong Lun Law Firm’s Shanghai-based partner, Jeffrey Liu, recommends BoKe Technology’s legal oounsel Liu Yijun, praising him for “his deep expertise, keen insight into emerging legal challenges, outstanding communication and co-ordination skills, and extensive practical experience, which together exemplify the qualities of a top-tier corporate general counsel”.

As the legal lead at an innovative company spanning internet game development, publishing and “game+” diversification, Liu Yijun has steered negotiations with Apple Inc, successfully restoring a blocked developer account and averting losses in excess of RMB100 million. His skilful handling of cross-border regulatory matters facilitated the re-entry of a flagship game into the Indonesian market. By constructing a global equity framework, he has underpinned a series of strategic investments and acquisitions, attracting high-calibre R&D teams to expand the business portfolio. Internally, his pioneering use of criminal proceedings to hold employees accountable for fraud has helped safeguard company interests.

The Legal and Compliance Department at SonoScape Medical Corp excelled in cross-border practice. While assisting its Malaysian subsidiary’s establishment, the team precisely identified legal risks, thereby avoiding potential losses of RMB3 million and significantly shortening the preparation period.

In response to regulatory shifts in Southeast Asia, its global legal surveillance system issued warnings two months in advance, helping to avert business risks amounting to tens of millions of renminbi. Over the year, the department reviewed more than 100 cross-border distribution agreements, amended numerous contractual flaws, and optimised the tax structure, reducing their Southeast Asia’s tax burden by 15%, with annual savings of RMB3 million in Singapore alone.

“This team member has demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory framework in the medical devices industry, excelled in handling diverse legal matters and, crucially, combined precise risk identification with constructive commercial advice, balancing legal exposure with business objectives,” says Shi Jingyuan, a Shenzhen-based partner at Simmons & Simmons.

China Property & Casualty Reinsurance Company’s legal and compliance department has reconfigured its Legal Affairs and Internal Control & Compliance offices to operate in tandem. In 2024, under the leadership of Yu Huicong, the head of the department, the team built an integrated digital matrix linking internal control, compliance and operational risk, embedding risk management nodes into the firm’s core business systems.

It overhauled the regime for mitigating international sanctions risks by redrawing business boundaries and instituting a dynamic response mechanism. The team also spearheaded the development of cross-border reinsurance flowcharts, establishing compliance standards across five jurisdictions including the UK and Singapore. Its adoption of a plan, do, check, act (PDCA) cycle management method boosted the efficiency of specialised compliance inspections by 40% over the year, during which 17 geopolitical risk incidents were flagged.

Yu Dan, a partner at AnJie Broad’s Beijing office, lauds the team’s brisk handling of complex legal challenges, noting that they are “adept at solving new problems with innovative thinking”, and “possess a global outlook paired with local operational expertise”.

Expertise in specialisation

In today’s labyrinthine legal landscape, where practice areas are increasingly intricately interwoven, the breadth and depth of expertise have become key to crafting precise and effective legal strategies. Legal practitioners are leveraging technology to break down traditional silos and create reusable frameworks, giving companies a competitive edge in compliance and growth.

Li Yu, a general manager of legal and compliance at Zhonghai Trust, led the nation’s first ESG-themed fixed income trust product in 2024. Initially launched with RMB50 million, the product swiftly attracted RMB200 million within a year by screening investments against a self-developed ESG compliance standard, with a focus on climate adaptation and biodiversity protection.

The team maintained a case win rate exceeding 95%. In one notable trust dispute, a clever jurisdiction strategy persuaded the plaintiff to withdraw the suit, thereby averting widespread reputational risk. In another drawn-out business trust case, a two-and-a-half-year legal battle ultimately capped compensation at just 10% of the principal – a figure well below industry averages.

Zhou Tianlin, a Shanghai-based senior partner at Dacheng Law Offices, commends the team’s “robust professionalism, innovative approach and superior resource integration”.

Ai Sisi, director of legal & compliance department at China Yangtze Power International (Hong Kong), has steered her team to a landmark acquisition in Peru, the purchase of the Arrow photovoltaic and Sapphire wind projects, a deal valued at USD260 million. Navigating 13 rounds of antitrust reviews, the team adeptly leveraged Chinese regulatory frameworks alongside principles of international private law to satisfy Peru’s stringent scrutiny, marking the first instance of a Chinese central enterprise successfully clearing such hurdles.

Ai Sisi’s innovative cross-border compliance system has paved the way for the company to record annual profits of USD310 million – a 3% increase over the previous year. The team’s local prowess is further underscored by managing 270 cases in Peru, with more than 50 wins and losses mitigated to the tune of USD37 million, placing their case management efficiency at the forefront among local listed companies.

Jorge Otoya, a managing partner at Peru’s Estudio Muñiz, witnessed firsthand how Ai Sisi established an effective governance framework to bridge the legal and administrative disparities between China and Peru. He describes her as “a general counsel capable of managing multiple demanding tasks”, a testament to her leading role in this high-stakes transaction.

Xu Faye, general counsel at Chenqi Technology, has steered the firm’s landmark SEHK main board listing, making it the world’s first autonomous driving operational technology stock. By issuing roughly 30 million shares to net HKD969 million (USD123.7 million) in fresh capital, she overcame the dual obstacles posed by state-owned oversight and the red-chip variable interest entity (VIE) structure.

Her solution, a novel compliance framework balancing stringent state asset controls with the necessary market flexibility, ensured a legally robust listing process. In pursuit of a compliance exemplar, her team implemented a “de-identification + localised storage” regime that significantly curbed cross-border data risks. Notably, the IPO journey, from filing with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to market debut, took only one month, with just five working days elapsing from registration to a successful SEHK hearing, setting a new benchmark for operational efficiency.

“On challenging issues such as VIE structures and state asset protection, which are key areas of focus for the CSRC, Xu Feifei has shown creativity in working with domestic lawyers to devise regulator-approved alternatives,” says Li Chao, a Beijing-based partner at Haiwen & Partners.

China Merchants Bank’s legal and compliance department, led by its general manager Huang Bin, has built what is being described as a “fortress-style” risk control system, drawing on nearly 100 specialised professionals split across 11 teams within three key units: (1) legal affairs; (2) internal control and compliance; and (3) anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance.

In 2024, the team spearheaded a comprehensive overhaul of personal information protection protocols, revising both business processes and legal documentation to secure the legal operation of retail lending. It also played a pivotal role in shaping cross-border data flow compliance measures and refining the oversight of overseas data importation, while its research into the legality of foundational datasets undergirding generative AI applications provided crucial support for the technology’s roll-out. These innovations underpin the bank’s sustained top ranking in national regulatory assessments by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission for five consecutive years.

Liu Yongzhao, a partner at JunHe’s Shenzhen branch, who has collaborated with the team for almost two decades, notes that “their acumen in risk detection and problem-solving in highly challenging matters is striking”.

Emerging forces

A new generation of legal leaders with less than a decade of experience has emerged, combining acute professional insight with innovative practice to overcome the traditional limitations of time spent on the job. Through high-intensity, real-world training, these young professionals have developed a level of expertise that defies their limited experience. Their contributions in major merger negotiations, regulatory reforms, and the formulation of industry standards have redefined the developmental boundaries for junior legal talent.

In the past year, Chen Daqing, a senior legal specialist at CATL, a global leader in new energy innovative technologies, and his team have delivered a masterclass in cross-departmental synergy and operational precision. Chen’s leadership in establishing an integrated, interdepartmental protocol has enabled collaboration among functions such as finance and procurement, resulting in the swift resolution of 362 supplier quality claims and the recovery of more than RMB80 million. By instituting an accounts receivable management system, his team has effectively recovered high-risk accounts receivable amounting to RMB700 million, all while maintaining an unblemished dispute resolution record.

In the litigation arena, the team has handled more than 100 cases, including disputes over non-compete clauses, trade secrets and unfair competition, with a spotless win record. One particularly notable achievement was overturning jurisdictional challenges in a cross-border case to secure domestic adjudication. Their innovative, standardised approach to handling lithium battery transport accidents has set a new industry benchmark, reducing settlement times and boosting compensation recoveries.

Hou Yiqing, a legal manager at Miniso (Guangzhou), has been instrumental in securing a USD550 million convertible bond issuance. Overseeing legal due diligence across 17 domestic and international companies, Hou and her team managed to consolidate documentation and devise alternative strategies in a mere fortnight. Their efforts ensured that Miniso’s intricate financial structure met stringent compliance requirements.

The bond’s successful launch marked a regulatory milestone, making Miniso the first company dual-listed in the US and Hong Kong to issue convertible bonds solely under the S clause of US law, which allows companies to issue securities to non-US investors without SEC registration. Hou also led the development of a comprehensive lifecycle management guide covering data in 110 jurisdictions. By promoting localised data storage in key markets, her team has effectively mitigated the risks associated with cross-border data transfers.

Alice Xiong, a Guangzhou-based partner at JunHe, describes Hou as “a dynamic, action-oriented legal leader. She was pivotal in orchestrating Miniso’s rapid dual listing in the US and Hong Kong, and she continues to ensure the compliance of a broad range of the company’s domestic and international operations”.

Doris Liu, the Chinese legal head at Ninja Van, Southeast Asia’s leading logistics provider, has led a series of compliance breakthroughs across the company’s domestic operations. Confronted with the fragmented and extensive regulatory requirements of China’s courier and logistics sector, Doris Liu proposed a division between trade and logistics functions, successfully securing an international courier licence that dismantled barriers to foreign investment and paved the way for the firm’s capitalisation. Her team catalogued 1,942 export items and formulated a comprehensive declaration guide, measures that have effectively reduced the rate of customs inspections while mitigating the risk of sudden regulatory controls on emerging products such as drones.

In the realm of data compliance, Liu assumed responsibility for the group’s Chinese internet technology subsidiary and, within a year, implemented a data protection impact assessment process. This initiative included reformulating privacy policies for AI products and updating SaaS user terms, synchronising regulatory adherence with business operations.

James Noble, Singapore-based head of the litigation, insolvency and restructuring practice in Asia at Carey Olsen, says: “Doris not only possesses a nuanced and thorough understanding of regulatory requirements in her industry, but also excels at simplifying complexity. She translates compliance into practical, actionable terms aligned with the company’s operations.”

Codie So, a legal and contracts manager at Aedas, an international architectural design company, has distinguished herself in the construction and real estate sectors. So successfully steered legal risk assessments for several large-scale property developments, offering targeted contractual refinements that have facilitated seamless project execution. She also developed an internal management system to reduce human error and enhance compliance review efficiency.

Drawing on her knowledge of cross-border compliance and sanctions, she led multiple international contract disputes to favourable outcomes. She also pioneered a labour law strategy, refining non-compete clauses and lawful contract terminations to mitigate workforce disputes.

“Codie So deploys her solid legal expertise in the construction industry, using rigorous logic and sharp insight to identify hidden risks in legal documents and calmly resolve disputes,” says Ralph Leung, the global legal director at Aedas. “Her outstanding risk-control prowess enables firms to safeguard their rights and maintain balanced partnerships.”