Zhang Liang

Introduction

Zhang Liang has an academic background in both law and civil engineering. He is a partner at the Nanjing office of City Development Law Firm, and a deputy director of the firm’s engineering, procurement and construction department. He has been deeply engaged in construction law for more than a decade, with a focus on the legal practice and theoretical research in engineering, procurement and construction contracts. He provides cross-disciplinary services by combining legal reasoning with practical engineering expertise.

In 2022, Zhang participated in the “Guidelines for the Arbitration Hearing of Disputes Arising from Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contracts for Construction Projects”, acting as the initiator and a core member of the research team. For nearly two years, he was extensively involved in the formulation of adjudication rules and in the editing and review of the accompanying volume on the interpretation and application of those guidelines, thereby contributing to the standardisation of dispute resolution in China’s EPC practice.

Leveraging his outstanding professional competence and industry influence, Zhang was selected for the “2025 GRCD China Annual Dispute Resolution Ranking” and the “2025 GRCD Top 15 Client-Preferred Lawyers for Real Estate and Construction in China”, and was also included in the 2025 “A-List” Growth Driver published by China Business Law Journal.

Zhang concurrently serves as a legal adviser on construction law to the China Association of Construction Enterprise Management, council member of the Jiangsu Engineering Law Society, a member of the Nanjing Lawyers Association’s construction engineering professional committee, a reviewer for EPC contract disputes at the Law School of Xiangtan University, a chief reviewer for construction dispute review panels at the Ganjiang New Area International Arbitration Court, and an arbitrator for the arbitration commissions of the Ganjiang New Area International Arbitration Court and the cities of Zibo, Ma’anshan, Xuchang, Chuzhou, Tangshan, Xiangyang, Yingtan, Suzhou (Anhui) and more than 10 other arbitration institutions.

Through these roles, he continues to contribute to the improvement of the legal environment in China’s construction industry.

Zhang focuses on practical research and hands-on experience in domestic and international EPC contract disputes. His main area of practice is providing full life-cycle legal services for EPC projects, with particular emphasis on core aspects such as tendering and bidding procedures for EPC and design-build projects, contract performance and contract management, claims and counterclaims during contract performance, disputes over project settlement and construction cost appraisal, enforcement of claims for project payments, and the allocation of liability for construction quality defects.

He is adept at identifying key issues at the intersection of engineering and law, and providing systematic solutions that are both legally sound and practically operable. He has repeatedly broken deadlocks and successfully reversed adverse outcomes. Drawing on his professional expertise, he assists courts and arbitral tribunals in adjudicating construction contract disputes, safeguarding clients’ legitimate rights and interests, and helping them recover substantial economic losses.