Overview
Founded in 1992, Tian Yuan Law Firm is one of the first comprehensive law firms established in China. Headquartered in Beijing with branch offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hong Kong and other locations, Tian Yuan Law Firm is highly ranked in capital markets, competition/antitrust, and corporate and M&A. Partner Xiaohui Zhu has extensive experience in corporate law and capital markets, with a particular focus on M&A, restructuring, venture capital, private equity and securities issuances.
Client feedback
"In our collaboration with the law firm on capital market financial projects, the legal team’s standout strength lies in their deep practical expertise regarding both Chinese financial regulatory rules and cross-border capital market practices; they consistently deliver highly responsive, results-oriented, and tailored services for financial transactions. The partners and senior lawyers leading these projects possess a thorough understanding of the complex regulatory frameworks involved—such as foreign exchange management and related legal considerations. Unlike other firms that may offer advice leaning heavily on theory, the team provides risk-calibrated, pragmatic solutions that simultaneously satisfy compliance requirements and align with our commercial and operational goals. Their deliverables are consistently well-structured, rigorous, and accurate, and are produced to a high standard within very tight deadlines; furthermore, the team proactively identifies potential issues and proposes solutions, thereby mitigating the risk of project delays or the need for renegotiation. Compared to other firms, Tian Yuan’s banking and capital markets practice holds a distinct advantage in terms of industry focus, an understanding of the risk management and compliance cultures of financial institutions, and the ability to provide end-to-end, integrated services across jurisdictions." - Banking and finance
“They assisted in addressing numerous professional issues during the provision of IPO services to us, responded promptly to our enquiries, and delivered effective compliance solutions.” – Capital markets
“The Tian Yuan team possesses strong professional capabilities and is an extremely dedicated team.” – Capital markets
“The Tian Yuan team is exceptionally diligent and responsible and is fully capable of perfectly fulfilling the role of corporate legal counsel.” – Capital markets
“With the team's great experience, they helped a lot for our capital market business.” – Capital markets
“Tian Yuan Law Firm is highly competent. Our team consists of professional and experienced lawyers who excel in capital markets, investment, cross-border business, M&A and compliance. We are reliable, efficient and well-versed in both legal rules and industry practices. Enjoying a great reputation in the field, we always stand by clients wholeheartedly to support their business growth.” – Capital markets
“Tian Yuan Law Firm excels in both dispute resolution and capital markets and stands out for the following qualities:
Strong technical expertise with the ability to handle complex matters. The firm has accumulated substantial experience in post-M&A disputes, demonstrating a keen understanding of transaction structures and contractual frameworks. In disputes involving deferred consideration, earn-out mechanisms, and post-closing rectification obligations, the team presents clear strategies and well-grounded arguments, reflecting a high level of arbitration practice capability.
Deep capital markets experience and strong compliance awareness. In its capacity as standing legal counsel, Tian Yuan brings in-depth knowledge of listed-company disclosure requirements and corporate governance standards. The firm proactively monitors regulatory developments and provides forward-looking legal advice that helps clients effectively manage compliance risks.
Responsive and communicative. Throughout both advisory and contentious matters, the firm's lawyers maintain an efficient communication rhythm, responding promptly to client needs and conveying legal opinions in a clear and accessible manner that supports informed business decision-making.” – Dispute resolution
“I. Deep Domain Expertise with Highly Relevant Practical Experience
The team demonstrates a precise command of judicial interpretation trends, regulatory orientations, and the practical boundaries of legal enforcement, enabling the swift and accurate identification of differentiated legal risks across our company's multiple business segments. Their counsel consistently goes well beyond abstract statutory analysis to deliver solutions that are both legally compliant and operationally viable in practice.
II. Exceptional Cross-Practice Coordination with a Systematised Service Model
Tianyuan's internal practice groups operate with a high degree of coordination and efficiency in addressing our company's multifaceted legal needs spanning labour and employment, commercial disputes, and intellectual property, which often overlap. This integrated service model transcends the limitations of single-discipline representation, delivering holistic legal support that materially enhances both the comprehensiveness of solutions and matter management efficiency.
III. Highly Responsive, Commercially Minded, and Results-Orientated
Throughout both active matter management and day-to-day advisory engagements, the team has demonstrated consistently prompt responses and a genuine commercial mindset, calibrating legal risk against business objectives rather than applying legal principles in isolation. In dispute resolution, their work is defined by strategic acuity and a strong focus on results; in compliance advisory, it is characterised by an emphasis on practical implementation over procedural formalism.
IV. Rigorous Professional Standards with Outstanding Proactive Risk Anticipation
The team maintains standardised workflows and produces legal documentation of the highest professional quality, underpinned by a strong capacity for forward-looking risk identification and early risk detection. This proactive approach, which includes conducting thorough risk assessments at the inception of potential disputes and during the design of internal governance frameworks, has materially reduced the risk of future disputes and associated losses, providing a reliable foundation for the company's stable operations.” – Dispute resolution
“Tian Yuan Law Firm has been a long-term trusted partner of the company. The service team of Tian Yuan Law Firm, with its strong professional competence, rigorous work style, and diligent and responsible attitude, has accompanied the company throughout its growth.” – Investment funds
“Their accountability and due prudence are the most impressive features.” – Private equity
“1. For the rules and regulations related to Hong Kong-listed companies, there is a comprehensive, profound and accurate understanding.
2. Promptly respond to our needs and provide professional consultation and solutions;
3. Good at communication.” – Regulatory
Zhuo Chen
“In our collaboration with Tian Yuan Law Firm, Chen has made a strong and lasting impression.
Strong expertise in complex dispute resolution. Across the dispute resolution matters we have entrusted to him; Chen has demonstrated a thorough and precise understanding of transaction structures and contractual terms. His strategy is well-considered and his arguments effectively deployed. In hearings, he presents with composure and clarity, handling complex lines of questioning and opposing arguments with confidence and maintaining firm control of the proceedings. In cases involving multiple parties and parallel tracks, his overall coordination has been consistently strong, and he has effectively protected our company's legitimate interests throughout.
A deep understanding of how state-owned enterprises operate. Chen has extensive experience serving large central and state-owned enterprises and brings genuine familiarity with their internal decision-making processes, approval workflows, and compliance requirements. In our collaboration, he has demonstrated a clear grasp of the working rhythm and reporting expectations of SOE clients, meaningfully reduced communication friction and ensuring that his legal services integrate smoothly with our internal processes.
A partner who is genuinely present. What has impressed us most is that Chen has been personally involved throughout the entire engagement—directly briefing us on case developments and walking us through his strategic thinking—rather than appearing only at critical junctures. This approach has given us a strong sense of being genuinely valued as a client and has ensured a consistently high standard of service.”
Chengli Cui
“Chengli has served the company for more than six years, witnessing its rapid growth. With strong professional competence and a diligent and responsible work attitude, he has long been a trusted partner of the company.”
"He has strong professional competence, excellent coordination skills, and is diligent and meticulous in his work."
"He is a professional, meticulous, and responsible lawyer with commercial mindedness."
Yuntao Ma
“His service philosophy is highly problem-solving-orientated and can always truly assist us at the business level.”
Jiaju Ren
“Jiaju is an outstanding lawyer who combines genuine warmth and professionalism in equal measure. She is always patient in listening to our needs, highly responsive in addressing our concerns, and unfailingly thorough in everything she does — qualities that make her not only a trusted legal adviser but also a genuinely valued partner to our team.
As a true expert in labour and employment law with years of dedicated practice at Tian Yuan since 2014, Jiaju demonstrates an exceptional depth of knowledge across PRC labour legislation, judicial interpretation, and real-world industry practice. Her thinking is sharp and structured, and she has a remarkable ability to craft innovative, practical solutions to even the most complex employment and HR challenges — consistently delivering outstanding results for our organisation.
What we value most is Jiaju's proactive, prevention-first mindset. She has taken the initiative to conduct a thorough review of our employment compliance framework — covering employment contracts, compensation and benefits, performance management, and employee lifecycle processes — and helped us build a significantly more robust HR compliance system. As a direct result of her work, our exposure to labour disputes has been meaningfully reduced.
Jiaju also goes beyond her immediate client responsibilities by contributing published guidance on employment litigation in China to the wider legal community, which speaks to her passion for the law and her recognised standing as a leading practitioner in her field.”
Yajuan Zhang
"Yajuan leads the team and possesses a multidisciplinary professional background. Having worked for 18 years across seven departments at the headquarters of a national joint-stock commercial bank, she combines expertise in finance, asset management, cross-border transactions, and industry operations. She transcends a narrow legal perspective to prioritise client interests, offering end-to-end solutions—spanning transaction structuring, compliance review, financing arrangements, post-investment management, and risk resolution—that align with the client's business objectives. In complex projects such as major M&A, fund operations, asset restructuring, and cross-border investments, the team has helped us enhance execution efficiency and certainty, successfully facilitating multiple large-scale cross-border M&A deals. Unlike the fragmented or modular legal services common in the industry, this team emphasises the integration of legal and business logic. They are capable of independently handling multi-disciplinary coordination for complex projects, thereby significantly reducing our coordination costs and boosting project success rates; they demonstrate a distinct competitive advantage when managing high-difficulty, high-value, and heavily regulated transactions. Consequently, in terms of professional expertise, this firm clearly outperforms other top-tier domestic firms. Furthermore, her team deserves special praise for its deep understanding of the needs of corporate entities and in-house legal departments. Beyond providing legal analysis and opinions, the team offers astute strategic advice from a corporate perspective to facilitate the implementation of our plans—an invaluable asset for a company like ours, where financial operations and major cross-border M&A often involve the integration of upstream and downstream supply chains...value chain, necessitating post-investment integration and long-term fund management execution. Zhang Yajuan’s team possesses extensive experience, frequently leveraging their strengths from both commercial and financial perspectives. This distinguishes them from the senior teams at other top-tier law firms; they place a high priority on our company's needs, with partners directly leading the work and acting as "firefighters" to resolve urgent issues. They have established a strong, cohesive partnership with us. After comparing various options, we decided against other firms and chose to establish a long-term partnership with Zhang Yajuan’s team. Based on our experience collaborating with domestic and international firms—including those on Wall Street and in Europe—we believe they undoubtedly rank among the very best legal teams.
Drawing on their extensive experience in finance, asset management, cross-border transactions, M&A, fund operations, and litigation, Zhang Yajuan’s team has repeatedly helped us accurately identify—and proactively mitigate—hidden risks that are often overlooked within the industry. Their ability to "reverse-engineer" front-end risk controls based on practical, back-end operational experience is far superior to approaches that focus merely on resolving disputes after they arise. Furthermore, the team is highly responsive and demonstrates a level of professionalism and service-mindedness that clearly surpasses that of other firms. Legal work differs from general corporate operations; the ability to provide efficient feedback under tight deadlines is a testament to their professionalism and the trust we place in them. Throughout our long-term partnership, their service quality has remained consistently excellent, regardless of the volume of work—a rare and commendable quality. Entrusting them with our legal needs gives our management team great peace of mind; consequently, we have expanded our relationship from a single engagement to entrusting them with a wide range of critical matters.”
