DE Lihua Theresa 德立华

Ms. Lihua De

  • Partner, JunHe LLP

Ms. Lihua De is a partner of JunHe LLP and a registered foreign lawyer in Hong Kong. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Law from Peking University in 1984, and became a practicing lawyer in China by passing the Chinese Bar Exam in 1987. From 1984 to 1986, she worked at the Ministry of Petroleum Industry of the People’s Republic of China, and then practiced law at the Great Wall Foreign Economic Law Firm, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, from 1986 to 1992. From 1992 to 1993, Ms. De worked as a visiting lawyer at a British law firm and a British barrister’s chambers, respectively, and from 1993 to 2006, she practiced law at two Hong Kong law firms before joining JunHe LLP in June 2006. In her more than 30 years of legal practice, Ms. De has accumulated extensive experience in various fields such as direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, securities markets, and antitrust. She provides various consulting services on direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, and subsequent operations in China for clients from mainland China, Hong Kong, and overseas. Ms. De is also deeply committed to the issuance of domestic and overseas companies in China and Hong Kong, with services covering industries such as large-scale manufacturing, telecommunications, real estate, transportation, natural resources, e-commerce, and finance. As a lawyer for more than 30 years, Ms. De has the rationality, integrity, and profound legal knowledge of a legal professional. She has been active in the front line of providing services to clients for many years, personally participating in numerous major projects, and striving to influence and drive lawyers to devote themselves to providing high-quality and efficient legal services with a good leadership image and exemplary role. She has served as a permanent legal advisor for companies such as China Shipbuilding Capital, COSCO Shipping, China Reinsurance (Hong Kong), China Merchants Group, and Huaneng. Since 2016, Ms. De has been a member of the Legal Professional Committee of the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, always providing multi-dimensional and thoughtful solutions for clients, and has been highly praised and trusted by the industry and clients.

Ms. De has had many years of close cooperation and smooth communication with various legal institutions in Hong Kong and Beijing. She is good at making friends and listening to different voices, and has the ability to coalesce and resolve conflicts to solve problems. Under the leadership of Ms. De, her law firm has been named “PRC Firm, Hong Kong Office of the Year” by Asian Legal Business eight times in the past eight years, and its business level and service quality have been widely recognized and praised. Ms. De was also nominated for Best Managing Partner and Best Deal Maker at last year’s Asian Legal Business. As one of the first group of Chinese lawyers to obtain a practicing license in mainland China, Ms. De has a large client base and circle of friends, especially in Beijing. During her more than ten years of work in Beijing, she participated in many large-scale projects for introducing foreign investment and negotiated many representative Sino-foreign joint venture projects on behalf of Chinese clients and foreign companies. In 1993, Ms. De was also one of the first group of Chinese lawyers to work in Hong Kong. For more than 30 years, she has provided legal services for many state-owned enterprises, central enterprises, Hong Kong companies, and multinational companies in overseas, Hong Kong, and mainland China’s listings, mergers and acquisitions, and investment activities. In terms of social positions, Ms. De currently serves as a member of the Beijing CPPCC, Vice President of the Peking University Hong Kong Alumni Association, a member of the Legal Professional Committee of the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, an executive director of the Hong Kong Beijing Community Association, and a director of the Hong Kong Beijing University Alumni Alliance.