After operating TianTong Law Firm’s Shanghai branch for five years, director Xu Feifan has brought the entire team of 24 to Think Law Firm where she took over.
Xu is leading the 27-year-old boutique law firm in a new direction, where it now focuses on providing dispute resolution services involving the real estate, construction, high-end cross-border commercial and internet sectors. Think’s technicians will take over TianTong’s electronic evidence laboratory.
To date, 39 employees have joined Think Law Firm including two partners from Shanghai, Zou Xiaochen, a former TianTong partner, and Chen Zhongnan, a former senior partner at AllBright Law Offices. Chen is currently the head of the boutique firm’s construction team.
Xu told China Business Law Journal: “Think Law Firm and TianTong’s ideology, strategies and positioning are highly aligned, with a focus on high-end dispute resolution. We will continue to maintain an integrated team model, none of the lawyers are commission-based.”
The recruitment criteria remains strict at the firm, with only the top 10% of graduates from China’s five most reputable universities of political science and law, and the law departments of four universities having been hired.
Xu stepped away from the Shanghai branch, which she co-founded with her mentor Jiang Yong in 2020. Jiang, the founder of TianTong, was a trailblazer in China’s legal sector and left a mark on the commercial dispute resolution field. He died shortly after the Shanghai office opened and since then TianTong saw the departure of dozens of partners.
Xu said she had to fork out money from her own pocket to sustain the Shanghai branch’s operations. Despite the extra effort to restore the brand, she had difficulties in recruiting high-revenue-generating partners that would have helped the firm’s long-term development.
Against this backdrop, Xu decided to switch the operational model. “Think Law Firm will strategically leverage the city’s economic environment and its fully autonomous management business model to become a platform where lawyers can realise their life values and professional aspirations.”
Xu had faced criticism for leaving TianTong and bringing her entire team with her. In response, she emphasised that her respect for Jiang remained unchanged and she would pass on his legacy through Think Law Firm.
“I have a memorial altar for Jiang in my office and I offer incense daily,” she said. “Although I can no longer support TianTong’s operation, I have always upheld Jiang’s spirit. I have never abandoned or betrayed Jiang Yong’s legacy.”
