DE WOLF & PARTNERS - first Belgian Law Firm to be officially licensed to open practice in China

On November 30th 2007, the Brussels based law firm, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, was granted the Foreign Law Firm Representative Office Licence by the Department of Foreign Lawyers of the Ministry of Justice in Beijing.

De Wolf & Partners’ Chinese office will be registered in Shanghai where its partner Philippe SNEL has been a resident for three years. Upon receiving the licence the latter declared : “Our collaboration with Chinese partner firms for several years has allowed us to acquire a thorough understanding of the legal market here. We felt confident that time had come for De Wolf & Partners to establish its own presence in China.”

The Shanghai office will be catering its legal services to European companies entering or developing their presence on the Chinese market. However the Shanghai office also intends to provide assistance to Chinese enterprises who are considering expanding their businesses to Europe. Owing to its membership in the OSBORNE CLARKE ALLIANCE, the representative office will be able to refer the legal services of its different partner firms located across the continent, to Europe-bound investors.

De Wolf & Partners, a growing market player in its home base Brussels, has been gradually expanding its international presence in recent years. The firm which has been recognized for its expertise in Central Africa for several years opened its branch office in Luxembourg just last year.

Patrick DE WOLF, managing partner of the firm, who was present in Beijing to receive the licence stated : “We are honoured to be the first Belgian law firm to be officially authorised to operate an office in China. We believe it’s a testimony of our firm’s entrepreneurial nature ; it mirrors our ambition to become a significant market player in Belgium.”