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The Year of the Rat has witnessed continual seismic and historical turns and twists. As the Oxford Dictionary describes, 2020 ¡°cannot be neatly accommodated in one single word¡±. With this chaotic backdrop, China¡¯s legal market has, however, proven its resilience.

In this issue of China Business Law Journal, we are honoured to present our cover story and annual A-List of top private practice lawyers for the China market. A total of 100 lawyers working in PRC law firms and 100 lawyers in international firms are included in the list. Our editorial team has compiled the list from thousands of nominations, based on our extensive research into the opinions of the legal services industry, and, more importantly, feedback from clients of the lawyers themselves.

Professional services have been valued more than ever in a year crippled by the pandemic and global trade disputes. In-house counsel and business executives spared no words in expressing their gratitude and appreciation to nominated lawyers for their excellence and service consciousness during these hard times, actions that often may have secured their clients¡¯ survival.

After battling the global health crisis, the world is betting big on a covid-19 vaccine to pull humanity from the pandemic. As multinational pharmaceutical companies have raced to develop a vaccine, and eye the nearly limitless monetary potential fuelled by global demand, an important question emerges of how to strike a balance between protecting public health and IP rights? IP profit v human loss explores the feasibility of compulsory licensing, which governments may impose, and discusses what pharma companies should be concerned about in their vaccine pricing strategies.