Local practice with
international standards
01. About
We are a cross-cultural team of corporate and M&A lawyers. We are also one of the strongest Sino-European teams in China. Our team includes dedicated talents with reliable backgrounds in different sectors, from legal to finance and from negotiation to technology. Each member of our team is familiar with cross-border transactions. We work as a bi-cultural team to provide efficient solutions to manage complex transactions in a changing legal and business environment.
02. Our DNA
A legal reference I Our firm has received multiple awards for its cross-border activities. We are one of the best teams of M&A and corporate lawyers based in China. Our team is composed of talented Chinese and internationally qualified attorneys. Our firm is one of the few which has been approved by the Ministry of Justice in China.
Bi-cultural with international standards I Each lawyer at Leaf is familiar with M&A cross-border transactions. We established a bi-cultural team to provide our clients with several angles to view each problem. This bi-cultural approach is a unique experience that will allow our team to efficiently help complex cross-border negotiations with several foreign elements. We are used to providing efficient solutions to manage complex transactions in a changing legal and business environment. In addition, we help partners to reach common understanding and vision.
Ecosystem of High-value services I We are providing solutions that are tailor-made and generated from our experience in project management. Our experience and expertise allow us to help our clients to understand the legal implications of doing business in China. As we have observed that a financial expertise is often required in our transactions, we have created a Corporate Finance department which can help our clients not only in their deal preparation but also in their business management. Overall, our unique advantage is based on the quality and efficiency of the ecosystem and high-value services we offer. We have trusted advisors recognized in their field of expertise such as cybersecurity issues, complex negotiations and angel financing.
03. Our values
Reliability I We provide solid and reliable expertise to business leaders, helping them making important decisions for their strategic operations in China, based on our strong advice.
Excellence I Every team member has the capacity and willingness to improve personally and professionally. Our ambition is to be a reference firm in a fast-evolving environment.
Openness I We are open to different cultural strategies and build our work to take bicultural aspects into account. We respect cultural differences and see them as an opportunity and an advantage. We build bridges and tear down walls between people.
Pragmatism I In a complex legal environment like China, our lawyers aim at providing straightforward solutions for our clients, so that we can make China’s complexity appear readable and manageable to a foreign eye.
Benevolence I We provide support to business leaders and to our team members. We care.
Accountability I The challenges of our clients are our challenges. We want proactive team members who are ready and able to discuss challenges openly and solve them quickly.
Courage I We fight alongside our clients to ensure that decisions are taken in their best interest and for the optimal solutions.
04. History
Leaf was founded by Bruno Grangier, a French lawyer who has been based in China since 2004. After working in Hong Kong, France and Shanghai for several years in international law firms and main European groups setting up business, Bruno Grangier founded Leaf to address Mid-caps and large groups investing in China.
Gregory Louvel and Jean-Philippe Engel became partners in Leaf, in order to successfully develop the Tech and M&A practices of the firm. The firm quickly became a strongly recognized player in the cross-border M&A and private equity deals with many operations involving European companies and groups investing in China, alongside private players and state-owned companies.
Peggy Wu became partner in Leaf. She is leading the M&A practice alongside Jean-Philippe Engel in our Shanghai office. The firm has won several awards for M&A transactions, as well as telecom and tech transactions.
Charlotte Mantoux became partner and developed the Asian Desk in Paris, after having lived in Asia for 10 years.
In Q4 of 2020, SNB Law and Leaf started a strategic cooperation in order to create one of the strongest Sino-European legal teams in China. Both Leaf and SNB aim to offer their mutual services to French, German and other European clients with the goal of increasing their coverage and reach. Furthermore, a joint M&A team is to be established and will consist of experienced professionals from France, Germany, Austria, China and Vietnam.
