December 26, 2019, Seminar on Development, Responsibility and Mission of Corporate Lawyers under National Strategy was successfully held at the venue of Shanghai International Dispute Resolution Center. The seminar was hosted by Corporate Counsels Committee of Shanghai Bar Association, supported by Shanghai International Arbitration Center and Shanghai Corporate Counsel Association. More than 80 delegates, including directors from judicial administrative departments, directors and legal counsels from large and medium-size enterprises, and lawyers from law firms attended the event, talking about the opportunities and challenges faced by the group of corporate lawyers. 

The seminar was chaired by Ms. Zhao Yu, deputy chairman of the Corporate Counsels Committee of Shanghai Bar Association. Mr. Ma Yi, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of SHIAC and Mr. Ji Nuo, president of Shanghai Bar Association addressed at the startup.

Mr. Ma pointed out that, as an arbitration institution based in Shanghai, SHIAC promotes domestic and international cooperation and interactions with the goal of making Shanghai a global oriented international center of arbitration in the Asia-Pacific area and an international arbitration center under the ”Belt and Road” Initiative. The Shanghai international dispute resolution center, initiated by SHIAC and Shanghai World Trade Center Association, has been officially launched recently. It has accommodated six events till now, and targets to provide a new platform for the legal community in Shanghai. Corporate Counsels are the essential group among the legal community. SHIAC is willing to dialogue with legal peers actively and enlarge SHIAC’s circle of friends.

Mr. Ji emphasized the role and duty of corporate counsels combined with the national strategy of ruling by law. Shanghai Bar Association attached great attention to the work of corporate counsels. He hoped corporate counsels could play active roles in their own field and cooperate with lawyers.

The seminar set two round-table discussions. The first half is titled the actions and duties of corporate counsels under the conduct of national strategies, which was chaired by Mr. Xiang Yong, assistant manager of legal & Compliance Department from Shanghai Bank. Mr. Tang Minyi, general counsel of State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company，Mr. Yang Yinlong, manager of legal affairs department from Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holding) Co., Ltd, Mr. Zhou Qi, head of cooperation and legal affairs from SAIC Motor Corporation Limited and Mr. Xu Haifeng, deputy general counsel of Shanghai Construction Group, as guest speakers, shared topics on duty and responsibility of corporate counsels in state-owned enterprises, role of the enterprises under “going global” international strategy, ”Belt and Road”Initiative, “economic integration of Yangtze River Delta” strategy and other important projects, also orientation and missions of the group in the Information Age.

The subject of the second discussion is expectations and prospects of corporate counsels forwarded by the corresponding authorities. Ms. Tong Liping, chairwoman of corporate lawyer committee & chief legal officer of Shanghai Electronic (group) Corp. moderated the session. Guest speakers included Mr. Zhong Kewei, director of policy and regulation division of Shanghai Stated-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Mr. Qiang Zhixiong, managing vice chairman & secretary-general of Shanghai Corporate Counsel Association, Ms. Xu Yin, Public Service Division of Shanghai Bureau of Justice and Ms. Ge Hongmin, Lawyer Administration Division of Shanghai Bureau of Justice and Ms. Zou Fuwen, vice president of Shanghai Bar Association. TONG introduced the background and structure of Corporate Counsel Committee and wished the local corporate lawyer business could develop with the platform of the Committee. ZHONG shared the status of corporate counsels and measures to perfect the system of corporate counsels. QIANG expected Shanghai Corporate Counsel Association and Shanghai Bar Association jointly collaborate to guarantee the operation safety and sustainable development of enterprises. ZOU called on the cooperation between corporate counsels and lawyers to improve the level of the legal service. XU and GE talked about the admission and appraisal of the group and public service-related affairs separately.