Zhao Fang

Introduction

Zhao Fang is the managing partner of Hui Zhong Law Firm’s Shanghai office. She has been practicing Chinese law for over 20 years, and was also called to the Bar of England and Wales. She has been acting for clients before the Chinese courts including the Supreme People’s Court and various international arbitration institutions including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SAC) (Need to verify as there are several SACs), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), etc. Her clients cover a wide range of sectors including international trade, foreign investment, Sino-foreign joint ventures, energy, telecommunications, construction, intellectual property and entertainment.

Zhao also sits as an arbitrator before the HKIAC, the SIAC, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, and Langfang Arbitration Commission (need to verify what LAC stands for). She is an accredited civil-commercial mediator of ADR-ODR International in London and was invited by the Qianhai Court as the court’s mediator for foreign related cases. Zhao has also been invited to be a member of the Rules Revision Committee of the HKIAC, and a Working Group member of the expedited procedure provisions of the ICC. She is a visiting lecturer at the Law School of Beijing University, Fudan University, Jiao Tong University, Renmin University, China University of Political Science and Law, University of International Business and Economics, and East China University of Political Science and Law.

Zhao has been ranked by Chambers and Partners in both its Global and Greater China guides as one of the leading practitioners of arbitration in China. In Chambers’ comments: “Zhao Fang is experienced acting on domestic and international arbitration cases relating to the energy, financial services and manufacturing sectors. She receives a lot of praise from market sources, with one impressed interviewee highlighting: ‘Her attention to detail is second to none; she knows the case inside out, is hyper-responsive and has an extremely quick grasp of the crucial aspects of the case.’”

Zhao’s landmark cases include Sun Yang v WADA before the CAS in which her team succeeded in setting aside the first final award, and halved the penalty of Sun Yang in the second arbitration. In BOC v UBAF, she succeeded in overturning the first-instance judgment before the Supreme People’s Court. The case was included in the fourth batch of the “Top 10 Leading Cases” for the Belt and Road Initiative.