Banking on success!

Bank of America Corporation's US$3bn strategic investment in China Construction Bank was the largest single foreign investment in a Chinese company and the first foreign strategic investment in one of China's 'big four' state-owned banks.

The headline transaction also stole the show at the third annual ALB China Law Awards, winning China Deal of the Year and helping domestic heavyweight firm King & Wood take home an unassailable five trophies.

More than 300 corporate lawyers, bankers and accountants packed into the Diamond Ballroom at The Westin Shanghai Hotel on 10 March for the 2006 ALB China Law Awards.

Given in recognition of excellence in the provision of legal services across the region, the 2006 Awards was broader in scope than in previous years incorporating the Deals of the Year Awards concept into the flagship event as well as a number of in-house categories.

The awards for legal excellence were spread across 31 categories in total, with recognition placed on the key transactions in China that took place in 2005 and the firms that acted on those deals.

The finalists in each deal category were assessed against a range of criteria including deal value, complexity, number of parties involved, innovative deal structure, timeframe for completion and significance to the market. Meanwhile, finalists in each firm category were recognised for their outstanding client service as well as their ability to combine rigorous analysis with astute judgment to give clients a competitive edge.

Individual winners on the evening included Zhang Xuebing of Zhong Lun PRC Lawyers, who collected Managing Partner of the Year, Zili Shao of Linklaters, who was crowned International Dealmaker of the Year, while Jun He Law Offices partner Xiao Wei was awarded China Dealmaker of the Year.

Not for the first time Morgan Stanley picked up Investment Bank Team of the Year, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also repeated its feat of previous years collecting International Law Firm of the Year.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the whole evening was the recognition of the good legal work being done internally among the major corporates and financial institutions in China. Bank of China was an extremely popular winner of Banking & Financial Services In-House Team of the Year, while the legal guys at General Motors celebrated being named Multinational Corporation In-House Team of the Year.

The legal team at PetroChina were named State-Owned Enterprise In-House Team of the Year, while the team at TOM Online Inc won the big one - going up to accept China In-House Team of the Year.

Finally, provincial capability was recognised through the City Awards with Jing Tian Law Firm winning Guangdong Firm of the Year, Deacons winning for Hong Kong, while Jun He Law Offices took the Beijing crown and Fangda Partners reciprocated for Shanghai.

But the biggest cheer of the evening was left for King & Wood, whose strength and capability across markets was rewarded with the title of China Law Firm of the Year.

Nomination criteria
The ALB editorial and management team defined four criteria for judging the overall excellence of any given deal:

Size: the financial value of the deal and the quantity of legal work involved

Complexity: the degree to which advanced legal and financial techniques and structures have been applied to the deal

Breadth: the degree to which the deal spanned jurisdictions, practice areas, parties and industries

Innovation: the degree to which the deal involved groundbreaking, original legal techniques and structures

For photos or further details, please contact Stephen Mulrenan at stephen.mulrenan@keymedia.com.au or on DD: (61) 2 8437 4739

For a list of all the finalists and categories please visit http://www.albawards.com/shanghai/

The full list of winners:

Insurance Firm of the Year

WINNER
AllBright Law Offices

Insolvency & Restructuring Firm of the Year

WINNER
Jun He Law Offices

Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year

WINNER
King & Wood

Banking Firm of the Year

WINNER
Llinks Law Office

Offshore Firm of the Year

WINNER
Maples and Calder

Tax & Trusts Firm of the Year

WINNER
Lehman, Lee & Xu

IP Firm of the Year

WINNER
King & Wood

Shipping Firm of the Year

WINNER
Sloma & Co

Real Estate & Construction Deal of the Year

WINNER
Shanghai Square Project
Firms: Jones Day; Zhong Lun PRC Lawyers; Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson; Coudert Brothers; Jun He Law Offices; Deacons; Maples and Calder
Banks: Credit Suisse First Boston
Accountants: KPMG

Energy & Resources Deal of the Year

WINNER
CNPC - PetroKazakhstan
Firms: Osler Hoskin & Harcourt; LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae; Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison; Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg

Infrastructure Deal of the Year

WINNER
Suzhou Industrial Park water project
Firms: Johnson Stokes & Master; Huan Tai Law Office

IT/Telco Deal of the Year

WINNER
Alibaba - Yahoo
Firms: Debevoise & Plimpton; Transasia Law Firm; Maples and Calder; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; Haiwen & Partners; Conyers Dill & Pearman; Deacons; Morrison & Foerster
Banks: Seraphin Capital; Banc of America Securities; Softbank

Project Finance Deal of the Year

WINNER
Laibin B Project
Firms: Herbert Smith; Haiwen & Partners; Linklaters; Summit Law Office
Banks: BNP Paribas; ICBC

Debt Market Deal of the Year

WINNER
Mandra Forestry Holdings Limited
Firms: Davis Polk & Wardwell; Slaughter and May; Commerce & Finance Law Offices; Conyers Dill & Pearman; Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy; Morrison & Foerster; Walkers; Jingtian & Goncheng; Linklaters
Banks: Morgan Stanley
Accountants: BDO McCabe Lo & Company

Equity Market Deal of the Year

WINNER
CCB IPO
Firms: Herbert Smith; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy; Commerce & Finance Law Offices; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Haiwen & Partners
Banks: Morgan Stanley; CSFB; CICC; CCB International Capital Limited
Accountants: KPMG