Lyu Yi

Introduction

Lyu Yi is a partner at Guantao Law Firm based in Shanghai; a part- time legal adviser at the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation; a member of the 14th and 15th Standing Committee of Shanghai Hongkou District Committee of People’s Political Consultative Conference; a visiting professor of Tongji University for MPA; a tutor of Postgraduates at East China University of Political Science and Law; and an arbitrator at the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission.

As a lawyer with more than 26 years of practical experience, Lyu has been practising mainly in the areas of major commercial arbitration and litigation, and administrative reconsideration and litigation, and has maintained a high winning rate.

Lyu’s clients are mostly Fortune 500 companies including ZF, Siemens, Bosch, Saint-Gobain, Accor Group, Sinar Mas, DSM- Firmenich, Sinopec Group, State Grid Corporation of China, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, China Baowu Steel Group, Sinochem International, and Shanghai Tobacco Group.

Lyu has been awarded for the following cases:

1. HKC-Dongxin shareholder dispute – China Business Law Journal’s “Deals of the Year 2024”: the litigation strategy of the previous lawyer of the client “JV v minor shareholder” was not affirmed by the court as no loan agreement was signed between the JV and the minor shareholder. The client was compelled to withdraw the case. Lyu proposed the litigation strategy “major shareholder v minor shareholder with JV as the third party” according to the commitment letter between shareholders, winning the first and second instances of the case, and recovering losses of about RMB970 million (USD137.2 million) and corresponding interests for the client.
2. CNPC oil delivery disputes (three cases): Plaintiff v CNPC, claiming for refunding the oil purchase price, as the plaintiff had not received the oil products, while the oil purchase contracts had been signed and the relevant payment had been made. Upon investigation, he discovered that the oil products were taken by third parties with fake signatures and seals. Lyu added the actual consignee and the bridge party as the third parties of the cases. The courts affirmed that the conduct of actual consignee constituted apparent agency and denied all claims of the plaintiff. Lyu recovered huge losses of CNPC Group and resolved the potential massive cases.

With his high-quality and efficient legal services, Lyu has been widely praised and recognised by clients and legal communities, and has been awarded: 2011-2015 Oriental Grand Lawyer Prize (10 awarded lawyers every four years); 2025 Chambers and Partners Greater China Region Guide Eminent Practitioners: Dispute Resolution: Litigation (four years ranked, top nine lawyers awarded every year); ALB China 2020 Top 15 Litigator; 2022-2024 The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Recommended Dispute Resolution Lawyer; “The Growth Drivers” awards for 2023 and 2025 in China Business Law Journal; and 2023-2024 Benchmark Litigation China Recommended Lawyers in Commercial Disputes.