2026.07.17
On July 2, 2026, the international legal rating agency Benchmark Litigation announced its 2026 Top 100 Women in Litigation and Top 40 Under 40 lists. JunHe partners Ms. BAI, Hongjuanand Mr. LIU, Zhen were both selected, showcasing JunHe's outstanding talent in dispute resolution and compliance.
BAI, Hongjuan: Twenty Years in Labor Law
Ms. BAI, Hongjuan's selection is a victory for her continuous career development. She has been involved in the labor law field for over twenty years. Labor law is fundamental to enterprises and Ms. Bai excels in system building, daily compliance and dispute and crisis handling. This professionalism and longevity is precisely what Benchmark recognizes in its Top 100 Women in Litigation list. Beginning her practice in 2004, Ms. Bai has accumulated 22 years of professional experience in labor and social security law, and provides legal services for many globally renowned enterprises.
Ms. Bai’s services cover the entire employment lifecycle of enterprises. From employment system building, daily compliance management, employee personal information and privacy protection to personnel placement and risk resolution in major business adjustments, she uses meticulous professional judgment and pragmatic and efficient solutions to build a solid compliance defense line for enterprises. Her specific services include employment method design, rule and regulation formulation, welfare plan arrangements, recruitment and dismissal, post-employment restrictive obligations, discrimination and harassment prevention, and full-chain consulting and document drafting. Ms. Bai is also an expert in labor due diligence/audit, personnel transfer and layoff placement in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and other capital operation scenarios.
Ms. Bai has been continuously recognized by international legal authorities. In 2020, she was named by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific as a Top 100 Women in Litigation and she has been selected in the Chambers Greater China Guide and in the Legal 500 as a recommended lawyer. Ms. Bai was rated a ‘thought leader’ in labor and employment by Lexology and a ‘litigation star’ in labor and employment disputes by Benchmark Litigation. Chambers commented that she is "skilled in handling various labor law matters, from employee transfers and layoffs to disputes related to dismissals," and a client praised her as "having a commercial mindset and providing practical solutions by balancing client needs and legal requirements." In April 2026, she was honored as a GRCD China Annual Female Lawyer. Her selection once again on the list of the Top 100 Women in Litigation is a testament to her professional strength and industry influence.
LIU, Zhen: 40 Under 40 Emerging Leader
Introduction: The new winner of the Asia-Pacific Top 40 Under 40 occupies one of only six award seats for mainland Chinese lawyers. A holder of dual licenses in China and the US, Mr. Liu led a Hong Kong arbitration award recognition case that was selected as a typical case by the Supreme Court. He serves as a compliance regulator for multilateral development banks such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and is stationed at the forefront of the Belt and Road initiative. Mr. Liu assists Chinese enterprises in resolving cross-border sanctions risks.
Mr. Liu's listing is a victory for the new paradigm of cross-border composites. He handles large-scale commercial litigation, arbitration and multilateral development bank compliance investigations which require proficiency in Chinese law, domestic and foreign litigation arbitration rules, and the compliance management logic of multinational companies. Mr. Liu’s selection on the Top 40 Under 40 list indicates that international rating agencies are beginning to value the integration of ‘dispute resolution + compliance regulation.’
Dispute Resolution: Experience in cross-border and complex commercial fields. Mr. Liu has worked on many litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution cases, covering diverse legal relationships and transactions. These include commercial contracts (construction engineering contracts, trade contracts, distribution agreements and Sino-foreign joint venture agreements), corporate securities (corporate control changes, performance betting, shareholder representative litigation, and securities class actions) and special types of disputes such as the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards and judgments. In cross-border dispute resolution, he has assisted clients in cross-border disputes involving more than ten foreign jurisdictions including the United States, France, Germany, South Korea, India, Singapore, Pakistan, Zambia and Ethiopia and he has participated in arbitration cases at international arbitration institutions such as the ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, BIAC and SHIAC. Many cases have had subject amounts exceeding RMB 1 billion.
Typical cases included in the Supreme Court. The W Company Application for Recognition and Enforcement of the Hong Kong Arbitration Award case he handled was selected as a typical case supporting Hong Kong arbitration by the Supreme People's Court. In this case, JunHe helped the applicant obtain over RMB 100 million in execution funds. It was also included in the Excellent Foreign-related Legal Service Case Compilation by the Beijing Lawyers Association. Several of Mr. Liu’s cases have been rated as excellent foreign-related dispute cases by the Beijing Lawyers Association, and two cases were included in JunHe's 35th Anniversary Top Ten Dispute Resolution Typical Cases.
Compliance Business: Special expertise in multilateral development bank compliance. Mr. Liu has vast experience in anti-corruption and multilateral development bank compliance. Over the past decade, he has assisted more than 30 central, state-owned and private enterprises in responding to audits and investigations by multilateral development banks such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, leading dozens of compliance investigations and rectification projects. Through professional compliance defenses, he has helped enterprises obtain penalty reductions and assisted them in building compliance management systems that meet international standards, promoting many enterprises to achieve sanction reductions, the timely lifting of sanctions, and even an early lifting of sanctions. Mr. Liu has served as a compliance regulator and investigator for many multilateral development banks in countries and regions along the Belt and Road initiative, assisting Chinese overseas enterprises in identifying, assessing, controlling and resolving related compliance risks.
The selection of these two partners reflects JunHe's dispute resolution team's talent. Ms. BAI, Hongjuan represents depth—deeply cultivating labor law for over twenty years and recognized internationally as a senior partner while Mr. LIU, Zhen represents sharpness—holding dual qualifications in China and the US and rapidly growing as a young leader in dispute resolution and compliance. One has the craftsmanship and perseverance of a senior leader while the other has the pioneering expansion of a young talent. Together they form part of JunHe's talented echelon in the dispute resolution and compliance area.
