The Legal Counsel Practice, prepared by a group of Dentons lawyers in China and one of the annual key books of the Law Press China, will soon hit the market. As the first book elaborating on the practices of corporate counsels, the former version of this book (formerly known as the Encyclopedia for Corporate Counsel Practice) became an officially-recognized textbook of the All China Lawyers Association and was widely used by lawyers, in-house counsels, and other professionals in the legal profession as a reference book. After more than ten revisions and many times of increasing number of copies for printing, the book has been comprehensively revised and supplemented this time. The reprinted version has approximately 2 million words and will soon be available on the major websites.

From the perspective of lawyers, corporate counsel services include at least the following five parts:

The first is the commonly seen “standing legal counsel” service.

This includes assisting enterprises with their daily legal affairs, such as providing legal consultation, drafting, revising and reviewing daily contracts and relevant legal instruments, examining corporate daily legal risks, providing legal opinions, carrying out trainings on legal knowledge for senior executives and employees, dealing with daily employment-related matters, participating in general talks, and issuing lawyer’s letters, etc. Enterprises may also negotiate with lawyers to provide standing legal counsel service on a specific non-contentious matter.

The second is the “non-contentious work”.

This category includes a wide variety of services provided by lawyers using their legal expertise and social experience and resources. With the development of social economy, it has been constantly innovating and covers a far greater scope than pure legal services, including guiding the establishment of enterprises, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, reorganization, investment and financing, going public, transfer of property rights, real estate development, intellectual property transactions, corporate governance, compensation system design, private placement planning, trust utilization, resolution of economic disputes, negotiations, due diligence, legal risk prevention and control, tax planning, dissolution and liquidation, etc.

The third is the “legal counsel services related to litigation”.

It mainly refers to: providing clues for litigation, analyzing legal risks involved in the litigation, drafting and revising litigation documents, engaging in communication and negotiation on basis of relevant litigation experience when a lawyer was not retained by the company faced with litigation or arbitration matters to represent the company or defend the company. This kind of service may be converted to representation work. Such services can also be attributed to the above-mentioned two categories; lawyers’ litigation experience can be helpful in identifying litigation risks of non-contentious matters that could occur at a later stage, thus is a guarantee for providing effective standing and non-contentious legal services.

The fourth is the “high value-added legal advisory services”.

It includes holistic or tailored legal services provided by a group of lawyers (taking advantage of the group’s expertise) on basis of the needs of different enterprises, offering information on high-end platforms such as investment and financing intermediaries, and private advisory services for individuals taking charge of enterprises (usually several companies).

The fifth is the “supplementary legal advisory services”.

When advising companies, lawyers will inevitably encounter people at all levels of the company. Lawyers often offer supplementary legal advisory services for these individuals’ private legal issues. However, it should be noted that lawyers should avoid conflicts of interest between the individual and the company, which usually means that lawyers cannot make suggestions that could undermine the interests of the company.

For the purpose of protecting enterprises’ operation and development, the book explains the relevant practical issues that an in-house counsel should understand from the perspective of lawyers. It summarizes the long-term practical experiences of lawyers and excludes pure theoretical analysis that is unhelpful to practice. With the combination of the latest laws and regulations with the actual situations and by analyzing the specific legal issues, we strive to provide pragmatic guidance for individuals operating in the relevant fields.

We would like to sincerely thank the following lawyers and editors who have provided much assistance in the preparation of this book:

Peng Xuefeng, Wang Jun, Xiao Jinquan, Wang Zhongde, Ma Jiangtao, Xu Yongqian, Li Yulong, Hou Fengmei, Dai Wei, Zhang Xinxin, Li Lu and Yan Jun.

Qiao Lu, Zhuang Zi’an, Chen Hui, Xie Xiaojing, Leng Xuefeng, Lou Qiuqin, Cao Yang, Huang Yong, Chen Jingyun, Yin Yinghui, Wang Jinlong, Liu Yong, Tang Wenbo, Yin Yanhong, Qian Jingyu, Yu Jiangyuan, Yu Xiaoqing, Xiao Huijun, Li Xiuling, Qiu Juan, Ma Leilei, Zhang Yuanyuan and Du Juan.

Due to social and market factors, laws and regulations in our country change rapidly. Therefore, the legal provisions on which this book is based will also change over time. Readers should note that the relevant legal analysis in this book may also deviate from the national policies and regulations at that time. Please keep track of the latest developments in relevant fields.