Recently, Ning Zhu, Managing Partner of Chance Bridge Law Firm, has given an exclusive interview to CLECSS(China Legal Education and Career Seminar Series). Drawing upon her personal practicerelated experience and the firm’s 15year course of growth, she shared her handson experience and reflections concerning lawfirm development, professional capacitybuilding, team management and talent cultivation.
When speaking about Chance Bridge Law Firm’s 15yearlong journey of development, Ning Zhu stated that she cofounded the firm with a group of likeminded peers. Since its founding, the firm has adhered to an orientation centred on professional expertise together with an international vision. It holds that a lawfirm’s longterm value lies not in scale expansion, but in a cleardefined development roadmap, robust professional competence and service quality that wins lasting trust from clients.
From Ning Zhu’s viewpoint, professionalism is the most enduring competitive advantage in the legal industry. Against the evolving legalservices landscape and clients’ growing demands for service efficiency, costeffectiveness and bespoke service experience, lawyers should prioritise honing their professional expertise instead of engaging in shallowlevel competition centred on fees and billable hours. Professionalism extends wellbeyond knowledge of statutory provisions. Lawyers are expected to acquire indepth understanding of clients’ industries, commercial logic and regulatory backdrop, integrate legal analysis with commercial judgement, resolve complicated disputes, mitigate operational risks and create tangible value for clients.
When it comes to lawfirm management, Ning Zhu holds that talent is the firm’s foremost asset and the core of management consists in helping practitioners grow. Instead of overemphasising rules and workflows, top priority should go to cultivating shared values and a professional, open and trusting workplace environment for talented staff. She places great emphasis on younglawyer development, recommending the management provide plentiful handson opportunities amid business operations, so juniors may refine their expertise and judgement via project work, client services and complexmatter handling. Besides, the firm’s longterm success relies on seamless cooperation between practice teams and backoffice departments including marketing, secretarial, administration and IT. Good management accommodates diverse viewpoints, builds consensus and teamwork, and empowers every member to capitalise on their strengths and progress together with the firm.
For female lawyers, Ning Zhu advises against self-limiting based on gender and against defining success by external standards. She emphasizes that professional stature is never determined by gender, but by one’s professional competence, learning ability and resilience for sustained growth. She encourages young lawyers to refine their professional judgment through rigorous practical experience, broaden their industry insights and cultivate a global vision while staying curious about new developments.
