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Asia Business Law Journal reveals Taiwan’s top law firms. Byung Jin Park reports

The global AI boom is driving Taiwan’s economic growth. According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS), Taiwan’s economy grew by 8.63% in 2025, marking the highest rate of economic expansion in 15 years.

For 2026, the DGBAS predicted real GDP growth of 7.71%, saying “major cloud service providers have significantly expanded their AI-related capital expenditures, driving increasingly robust demand for Taiwan’s semiconductor and ICT products”.

As the AI-related semiconductor industry grows in importance, Taiwanese law firms are taking on an expanded role. Following a Taiwanese court’s conviction of a company for leaking core technology in April 2026, semiconductor supply chain participants will likely need to implement highly advanced technology management frameworks, prompting a notable rise in legal advisory requests.

The increase in inbound investment is another major driver of demand for Taiwanese legal services. Taiwan largely alleviated tariff uncertainties on advanced semiconductor goods via trade talks with the US in January. As its status in the global supply chain solidifies, private capital investment is increasingly flowing into Taiwan to build out state-of-the-art chip processes and infrastructure.

Notably, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said that, from January to May 2026, 979 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total approved amount of USD8.4 billion were recorded. This represents a 53.8% increase in the FDI compared with the same period in 2025.

These inbound investments necessitate obtaining regulatory permits, performing legal due diligence in M&A and joint venture transactions, and implementing structural protections for critical intellectual property. By navigating these complex, large-scale challenges on behalf of investors, Taiwanese law firms are anticipated to play a facilitating role in Taiwan’s economic growth.

Recognising this increasing role of law firms in Taiwan, Asia Business Law Journal proudly presents the Taiwan Law Firm Awards 2026, celebrating Taiwan’s best law firms in the past year. We have given awards in categories including the Law Firm of the Year, Best Overall Law Firms, Best Boutique Law Firm and Best New Law Firm, in addition to recognising winners in 31 practice area categories.

Lee and Li Attorneys-at-Law handled a wide range of complex, multijurisdictional matters in the past year. Key among them was the firm’s role as legal adviser to Danish renewable energy company Ørsted for the NTD90 billion (USD2.82 billion) financing of the Greater Changhua 2 offshore wind project. The firm provided comprehensive legal counsel, including due diligence and the preparation of financing documentation. The transaction, which involved 25 banks and five export credit agencies, closed in July 2025 and earned the firm an Energy sector award.

Lee and Li is also well known for its Japan practice, operating three – corporate, patent and trademark – Japanese practice teams. The firm recently advised SoftBank Group on the Taiwan-specific legal components of its USD6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing Holdings. Completed in November 2025, the transaction involved the firm providing due diligence, merger filing support and transaction documentation. Ampere, a silicon design company, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the SoftBank Group.

Akimoto Kawamura

Akimoto Kawamura, senior partner at Japanese full-service law firm Atsumi & Sakai, says Lee and Li is “particularly strong for Japanese companies, with profound experience and strong Japanese-language capability”.

He adds that Lee and Li has “expertise and accumulated experience nurtured by the long history of the firm”, which was founded in 1965.

Utilising its global platform, Baker McKenzie Taipei advises on intricate cross-border mandates. Underscoring its capabilities, the firm was named a winner in the Life Sciences & Healthcare category. An example is the firm’s role in advising Lotus Pharmaceutical on its acquisition of New Alvogen Group Holdings, finalised in December 2025. The transaction presented complex IP challenges related to Alvogen’s specialised pharmaceutical portfolio, which includes peptides, as well as its manufacturing operations in the US. M&A partners Hao-Ray Hu, Alex Chiang, Fang-Yi Jen and Louis Hsieh spearheaded this transaction.

BizLink Holding’s USD900 million acquisition of Interplex Datacom, a division of Blackstone-backed Ennovi, is another example of the firm’s cross-border legal work. Announced in June 2026, the deal involved the Taiwan-based buyer acquiring the Singapore-headquartered manufacturer, which supplies specialised components for AI servers and data centres. The transaction is being led by Taipei-based partners Gwyneth Gu and Jun Chen, and is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2026.

The firm’s Taipei office is led by managing partner Grace Shao, who concurrently serves as the head of the IP and technology practice groups, practice areas of rising significance as Taiwan’s tech sector continues to rise.

Dentons Taiwan recently noted that patent law had remained one of their primary focuses in the past 12 months. The firm’s capabilities in this sector span patent protection, filing strategy, enforcement and regulatory compliance, with a particular focus on cross-border matters.

The firm advised 1Zpresso on a global patent and trademark strategy for the eponymous brand. Dentons Taiwan assisted the coffee grinder manufacturer with its IP portfolio development and brand protection efforts amid its global expansion.

Capital markets also emerged as a key focus in the past year. Patricia Yeh, head of global banking at UBS Taiwan in Taipei, has worked with Dentons Taiwan on several capital market transactions in Taiwan over the past few years. “Dentons Taiwan is our go-to counsel for Taiwan-related matters in capital markets as well as M&A transactions,” says Yeh.

In 2026, UBS completed Vanguard International Semiconductor’s USD350 million European convertible bond offering with Dentons Taiwan.

The firm also captured an Insolvency & Restructuring award. In 2026, the firm advised a leading international Commerce as a Service (CaaS) company on the liquidation of its Taiwan branch.

Tsar & Tsai Law Firm, an established law firm in Taiwan, serves a portfolio of high-profile clients, including Uber Technologies. The firm represented Uber in its acquisition of 100% of the shares in Taipei-based Crown GPS Taxi. Tsar & Tsai provided legal counsel throughout the transaction, including conducting due diligence, negotiating agreements and securing foreign investment approvals. The deal, which closed in February 2026, marked Uber’s first acquisition of a taxi service provider in Taiwan.

Tsar & Tsai is also recognised with both Energy & Natural Resources and Real Estate awards. The firm advised the finance parties for the Greater Changhua 2 offshore wind project. The financing involved a consortium of five export credit agencies: the National Credit Guarantee Administration (NCGA); the Export & Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO); Export Finance Norway (Eksfin); the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM); and UK Export Finance (UKEF). Led by partner Janice Lin, the transaction reached financial close in July 2025.

Lin also led the USD1.96 billion refinancing of the Formosa 2 offshore wind project, which closed in April 2026.

  • TAI E INTERNATIONAL PATENT & LAW OFFICE

Tai E International Patent & Law Office is known for its expertise in IP prosecution, litigation and disputes, often involving cross-border elements. In 2025, the firm filed about 3,000 patent applications and 5,500 trademark applications with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), earning a Patent award.

The firm recently acted on behalf of German consumer goods company Beiersdorf, which owns the well-known brand “NIVEA”. Tai E successfully convinced the TIPO that an opposed mark, “NEAUVIA”, was likely to cause confusion to the relevant public because this opposed mark for use on the designated goods was similar to “NIVEA”. The TIPO issued a decision in favour of the German company.

Tai E also represented an unnamed Taiwan-based manufacturer in a civil action before the Taiwan Intellectual Property and Commercial Court (TIPC) regarding a fictitious agreement to transfer ownership of a utility model patent and the right to apply for an invention patent. The firm prevailed in both the first and second instances. In August 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, rendering the judgment final and binding.

Tai E professionals frequently participate in public hearings concerning amendments to the Trademark Act and the Patent Act, while also regularly consulting with government agencies regarding examination guidelines.

  • TAYHUAN PARTNERS ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW

Tayhuan Partners Attorneys-at-Law expanded its international network by joining the MSI Global Alliance on 1 July 2025. This alliance allows the firm to seamlessly service international clients entering the Taiwan market, while providing local Taiwanese enterprises with reliable legal networks when expanding globally.

The corporate boutique law firm was appointed by the World Bank as a contributor for the Taiwan jurisdiction to its Business Ready project, from 2024 to 2026, covering five legal areas: business entry; competition law; labour; commercial lending; and electronic payments.

The project is a global benchmarking initiative that assesses the quality of the business environment across economies, and Tayhuan provided legal and regulatory expertise to support the World Bank’s assessment of Taiwan.

Miyu Lee, chief legal officer and general counsel at Mondu Financial Services in Berlin, praises Tayhuan, which operates offices in Taipei and Taichung. “We have had really positive experiences with the firm: responsive, delivering in a timely manner, and reasonable billing. They show commercial understanding and are straightforward in communication,” said Lee.

OTHER AWARD HIGHLIGHTS

LCS & Partners has experience in all areas of private financing, representing borrowers, banks and other financial institutions in a variety of financing transactions. The firm advised Bank SinoPac on a cross-border syndicated loan used to finance facilities used in Navigator Financial Leasing’s operational capital.

In this transaction, Bank SinoPac intended to finance facilities for a total amount of RMB333 million (USD49 million) used in Navigator Financial Leasing’s operational capital, as agent bank of a syndicated loan. LCS advised the lenders in preparing Taiwan law-governed promissory notes, and reviewed the guaranteed documents from a Taiwan law perspective.

The deal, completed in January 2026, showcases a cross-border financial transaction where legal frameworks for security and guarantees under Taiwan law were examined, alongside mainland China’s financial transaction requirements.

LCS also clinched a Capital Markets award, and assisted Dynamic Electronics, a key subsidiary of Taiwan-listed Dynamic Holding, in its successful IPO and listing on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in October 2025. The firm advised on all aspects of the cross-border restructuring and regulatory compliance required for this listing.

A noteworthy trend in Taiwan’s legal market is the rising demand for legal counsel regarding wealth management and succession planning, driven by an active generational shift.

Formosa Transnational Attorneys at Law acted on behalf of a financial education institution jointly established by the regulatory authority and the banking sector, as well as a trust industry association, in providing training courses for family trust planning advisers targeting financial professionals nationwide.

The firm also advised a major commercial and savings bank in Taiwan, acting for the bank in assisting with the handling of real estate, inheritance and will-related matters in foreign jurisdictions, including advising on a review process conducted by authorities regarding wills. The lead partners for this mandate were Peng Kwang Chen and I-Ming Chen.

Reflecting the comprehensive strength of its business practice, which earned the firm an award in the Corporate & Commercial category, the firm also acted for Taiwan’s top two supermarket chains in filing an administrative lawsuit challenging a competition penalty imposed by the Fair Trade Commission. This case is currently ongoing.

Yasuyuki Kuribayashi

“Formosa Transnational assembles the most suitable team of highly experienced professionals on a case-by-case basis, which gives us a strong sense of trust in their services,” says Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, partner at City-Yuwa Partners in Tokyo. City-Yuwa and Formosa act as direct referral partners by virtue of their exclusive jurisdictional memberships within the World Law Group.

PwC Legal Taiwan expanded its Japan practice this year, appointing Hiroki Sadamoto as director in April. Being a qualified lawyer in Japan and a registered foreign lawyer in Taiwan, Sadamoto will help grow and advance the firm’s Japan practice.

PwC Legal Taiwan notably advised Hotai Motor in relation to the acquisition of five subsidiaries of Hino Motor in Japan, a NTD10 billion transaction announced in December 2025. Lead partner Ross Yang advised on the transaction, which marks Hotai’s first entry into the Japanese market and one of the company’s largest overseas investments.

The firm also handled some noteworthy inbound transactions, and earned an award in the Inbound Investment category. Acting as legal counsel for the shareholders of Augentix, lead partner Kent Chong advised on the sale of 100% of the shares to Qualcomm Technologies in the US. Successfully closed in December 2025, this transaction is considered one of the major foreign investment transactions approved by the Department of Investment Review in 2025.

CJ Huang

“PwC Legal serves as our preferred external legal adviser for outbound M&A, particularly in connection with large-scale, complex, multijurisdictional transactions,” says CJ Huang, general manager of international legal affairs centre at Luxshare ICT in mainland China.

“I am confident that, for outbound M&A, no other law firm in Taiwan could have delivered the same level of service.”

K&L Gates’ capital market practice is currently advising on the IPO of StemCyte, which is the first major stem cell-focused biotech IPO in the Taiwanese market, helping the client secure technically complex regulatory and compliance approvals.

The K&L team also advised on the IPO of Lightel Corporation, which was a cross-border listing utilising an offshore holding company structure, serving as a notable precedent for facilitating the entry of optical communications companies into the Taiwanese capital market. This IPO was completed in November 2025.

While Taiwan is home to the world’s most advanced semiconductor ecosystem, K&L Gates is providing legal support to some key industry leaders. Highlighting its capabilities in high-tech sectors, the firm was recognised as a winner in the Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing category. The firm notably advised Foxconn Technology, through its wholly owned subsidiary Q-Run Holdings, on its strategic investment of up to USD30 million in RoboTemi Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Robocore Technology, as part of Robocore’s series D financing.

The firm is also representing an undisclosed Taiwanese semiconductor company in a patent dispute against a global competitor. Acting for the complainant, K&L Gates has asserted three of its client’s patents and is seeking an exclusion order against the rival firm.

Winkler Partners, which won a Labour & Employment award this year, recently represented a global company in wrongful termination claims and injunction proceedings under Taiwan’s Labour Incident Act, successfully resisting employee reinstatement efforts despite the employee-friendly legal framework.

The firm’s labour and employment team has reported heightened activity driven by Taiwan’s #MeToo movement and amendments to the Gender Equality in Employment Act. Led by Christine Chen, who has experience in both contentious and advisory matters, the practice is guiding clients through complex workplace harassment matters and related disputes.

Peter Dernbach leads the firm’s trademark prosecution strategy. Recently, Winkler Partners successfully secured trademark registration for a US professional sports league by overcoming a refusal, based on prior rights held by a Taiwanese professional team, including navigating sensitive commercial and legal considerations in a high-profile sector.

The firm’s award-winning trademark litigation and enforcement practice is also recognised for handling complex, high-value disputes involving trademark infringement, counterfeiting, unfair competition and other related brand protection issues.

Notably, it assisted with dismantling a large-scale counterfeit operation in Taichung. Working with the police, the firm located and raided a warehouse, seizing nearly 10,000 counterfeit goods. Subsequently, initiated criminal trademark enforcement proceedings resulted in a favourable judgment against the defendant in the case.

Chen & Lin Attorneys-at-Law has advised on a series of key strategic transactions for domestic and multinational clients in the past year. Highlights include: representing Cadence Design Systems in its acquisitions of Arm’s Artisan Foundation IP business, and Hexagon’s design and engineering business; advising Solidigm on its USD500 million strategic investment in Nanya Technology; and guiding Hitron Technologies in its cross-border acquisition of Canada’s Perle Systems.

The firm’s capital markets practice is growing and, reflecting the industry expertise that earned the firm an award in the Life Sciences & Healthcare category, advised Taiwanese digital health startup H2 on the listing of its Cayman holding company on the Taiwan Emerging Stock Board. The cross-border mandate included pre-listing restructuring, corporate governance alignments, and co-ordination with legal counsel in Japan and the Cayman Islands. H2 was officially listed in November 2025.

Chen & Lin further demonstrated its cross-border capabilities by acting as Taiwan legal counsel for the dual listing of Infinity Development Holdings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Catalist board. The client was a Cayman-registered holding company currently listed in Hong Kong.

GuoJu Law Firm’s award-winning labour and employment practice represents a diverse roster of major domestic and multinational corporations. Recently, the team has provided ongoing legal counsel to several notable corporate and publicly listed clients, including TVBS Media, Carrefour and Hsing Fu Golf Club.

The firm recently secured a mandate from TVBS Media to handle a dispute concerning an alleged violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The firm is representing the broadcaster in filing both an administrative appeal and a subsequent administrative lawsuit regarding the matter.

Verna Chen

Verna Chen, general counsel at Dentsu Taiwan in Taipei, says: “[GuoJu] have strong expertise in labour law and are able to provide advice from a client-oriented perspective, with a clear focus on practical and strategic considerations.”

The firm also has a strong TMT practice, recently helping to establish the legal infrastructure necessary for data standardisation and public trust. The firm is assisting Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs, providing strategic counsel on the development of a national points-based incentive system.

This mandate addressed the legal complexities inherent in cross-ministerial data sharing and the creation of institutionalised settlement mechanisms, required for platform scalability. These unified legal and operational frameworks that integrate digital services across various ministries now serve as a platform for Taiwan’s digital governance maturity.

A winner in this year’s Japan Practice category, Justin & Partners recently advised Top High Image on a JPY2 billion (USD12.3 million) real estate investment in Kumamoto, Japan. The project involves the development of apartment-style hotels designed to capitalise on regional growth spurred by TSMC’s expansion in the area.

In a separate matter, Justin & Partners advised Catcher Technology on regulatory filings and compliance under Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act in connection with its investment in a publicly listed Japanese company.

Furthermore, the firm provides Taiwan-related legal counsel to nearly 100 Japanese enterprises including JCB, JSR, Restar, Disco, RS-Tech, Shiseido and DAZN. Justin & Partners’ client portfolio also spans multiple sectors including TSMC suppliers, banking and insurance, media streaming, consumer goods, and the food and beverage industry.

The firm’s managing partner, Justin Chen, has been a registered foreign lawyer in Japan since July 2025.

Demonstrating the expertise that earned the firm an award in the Fintech category, Lee Tsai & Partners recently advised a Taiwan subsidiary of a Singapore virtual asset service provider that offers wallet infrastructure and virtual asset custody services on its application for registration as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) under Taiwanese law. The engagement encompassed the preparation of the application package and regulatory engagement with the competent authority.

The advisory service marks a rare successful VASP registration by a foreign-backed entity in Taiwan, according to the firm, which said completion of this mandate underscored international confidence in the regulatory development of Taiwan’s virtual asset market.

Lee Tsai is currently developing an in-house AI solution designed to enhance responsiveness, knowledge management and service delivery for its clients.

  • TAI E INTERNATIONAL PATENT & LAW OFFICE

  • TAYHUAN PARTNERS ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW

  • BAKER MCKENZIE TAIPEI
  • EIGER LAW
  • A-LAW & PARTNERS (formerly known as KPMG LAW)
  • LIANG & PARTNERS LAW OFFICES

  • CHEN & LIN ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
  • LEXCEL PARTNERS
  • LIN & PARTNERS
  • TSAR & TSAI LAW FIRM

  • GUOJU LAW FIRM
  • STELLEX LAW FIRM
  • TSAR & TSAI LAW FIRM
  • WINKLER PARTNERS

  • BAKER MCKENZIE TAIPEI
  • CHEN & LIN ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
  • DENTONS TAIWAN
  • K&L GATES

  • SAINT ISLAND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
  • TAI E INTERNATIONAL PATENT & LAW OFFICE
  • TOP TEAM INTERNATIONAL PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE
  • TSAR & TSAI LAW FIRM


THE JUDGING PROCESS

THE JUDGING PROCESS

Winners of Asia Business Law Journal’s Taiwan Law Firm Awards 2026 were selected based on the votes, references and qualitative information received from in-house counsel and other legal professionals in Taiwan and around the world.

A voting form was posted on our website, inviting thousands of in-house counsel, lawyers at international law firms and other Taiwan-focused professionals to vote. At the same time, Taiwanese law firms were asked to make submissions in support of their candidacy for the awards.

These submissions, combined with research by Asia Business Law Journal’s editorial team, played a supporting role in the judging process. All Taiwanese law firms were automatically eligible for inclusion in the awards process. As always, there were no fees or any other requirements for entry.

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