To address the challenges faced by trans-jurisdictional legal services, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has piloted a scheme that allows law firms on the Chinese mainland and their overseas counterparts to mutually assign lawyers as legal advisers and conduct business cooperation through joint operations. 

This pilot marks another milestone in the opening-up and development of China's legal services market.

Exploring ways and mechanisms to enhance business cooperation between Chinese mainland law firms and those in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries is crucial to promoting the expansion and opening-up of the legal services industry. This is also one of the first batch of 23 measures to broaden the opening-up of the service industry in the Shanghai FTZ.

The joint venture allows Chinese and overseas law firms to collaborate in offering one-stop consultation and services on international and Chinese law to clients. This also provides opportunities for firms to find new clients. 

Baker McKenzie and FenXun Partners, which have set up joint operations in the Shanghai FTZ, were the first to have a joint law firm approved in the country.

Since the establishment of the Baker McKenzie FenXun (FTZ) Joint Operation Office, both firms have enhanced their collaboration through experimentation and exploration. 

The number of cooperative projects and matters increased from 65 in 2015 to 409 in 2018. 

Both firms regard the joint operation as a win-win cooperation model that brings development advantages.