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Location ranking

Best law firms in Shanghai

Grouped into editorial tiers — words, never scores. No paid placement and no numeric rank; within a tier the order rotates monthly and carries no meaning.

Last verified 23 Jul 2026 · Next review by 23 Aug 2026 · Change log

›Direct answer & research summary

Sartori applies a weighted methodology combining the opinions of practising lawyers — more than 10,000 lawyers interviewed — with monthly market surveys. As of July 2026, the best law firms in Shanghai are: JunHe, King & Wood Mallesons, Reed Smith, CMS, Han Kun Law Offices, Pinsent Masons, Cooley Godward, K&L Gates, Nishimura & Asahi, A&O Shearman, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Dorsey & Whitney, Fieldfisher, Greenberg Traurig, Haynes and Boone.

01 — The ranking

The Shanghai board

Use this Shanghai board as a structured view of the best law firms in Shanghai. Tiers name relative standing in words; the REF codes locate rows for citation, and within-tier order is deliberately non-hierarchical.

SHANGHAI / LOCATION RANKING15 FIRMS · NO SCORESREV. 2026-07
REFFIRMFOCUSSIGNAL
TIER 1 — MARKET LEADERS2 FIRMS

The top editorial band for Shanghai: firms that anchor complex commercial-city mandates at scale. Within-tier sequence rotates and is not a ranking.

T1·01 JunHe50–99 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 7 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / LITIGATION & DISPUTES FLAT → EVID ↓
T1·02 King & Wood Mallesons100–199 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 9 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FLAT → EVID ↓
TIER 2 — HIGHLY ACTIVE3 FIRMS

Highly active on the Shanghai board means consistent market presence and peer recognition short of the leader set. No numeric score is assigned.

T2·01 Reed Smith25–49 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 5 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / COMPLIANCE & REGULATORY FLAT → EVID ↓
T2·02 CMS10–24 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓
T2·03 Han Kun Law Offices200–349 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 10 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / FINANCE & BANKING FLAT → EVID ↓
TIER 3 — ESTABLISHED3 FIRMS

This band covers practices with solid Shanghai standing and mapped benches, without the intensity of the tiers above. Within-tier order is deliberately flat.

T3·01 Pinsent Masons10–24 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 2 practices with bench CONSTRUCTION / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
T3·02 Cooley Godward10–24 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / FINANCE & BANKING FLAT → EVID ↓
T3·03 K&L Gates10–24 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 2 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / TAX FLAT → EVID ↓
NOTABLE — NOTABLE IN THIS FIELD7 FIRMS · OUTSIDE THE TIERS

Notable in this field marks verified Shanghai presence below full tier depth — specialist or thinner benches kept visible on purpose, not scored into the main bands.

N·01 Nishimura & Asahi1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
N·02 A&O Shearman5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench FINANCE & BANKING / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
N·03 Anderson Mori & Tomotsune1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth INTERNATIONAL & CROSS-BORDER / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
N·04 Dorsey & Whitney1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
N·05 Fieldfisher5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING FLAT → EVID ↓
N·06 Greenberg Traurig1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
N·07 Haynes and Boone1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth INTERNATIONAL & CROSS-BORDER / SECURITIES & CAPITAL MARKETS FLAT → EVID ↓

All counts are shown as bands, never precise headcounts. Notable firms sit outside the tiers by design: verified minimal presence, not assessed at full tier depth.

Hiring in Shanghai?

We map this market every day.

The evidence behind these tiers is the same intelligence we use to run retained searches for partners, groups and senior associates.

02 — Evidence, methodology & sources why each firm · how tiers are set · sources · change log · verified 23 Jul 2026 · next review 23 Aug 2026

Firm evidence

Tier 1 — Market leaders Open firm profile →

JunHe

JunHe is placed in market leaders for Shanghai. Public mapping (banded): 50–99 attorneys, major local depth, ≈60 partners · 10 counsel · 5+ associates. Evidence gates — office (G1) PASS, local practice (G2) PASS, recent signal (G3) PASS. The placement carries no numeric score.

Strongest mapped work

Corporate & M&ALitigation & DisputesFinance & Banking

Public hiring signal

Hiring signal: FLAT — no public hiring change detected in the mapping window.

Limits of this assessment

  • —A tier is Sartori’s editorial opinion, not a fact about the firm or a client-satisfaction measure.
  • —Facts are mapped from public sources and shown as bands; they lag reality by weeks or months.
  • —No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input.

Sources for this entry

Methodology

How tiers are assigned

Deterministic public-footprint core (local depth, practice share, seniority mix, public hiring momentum), computed relative to this market's own distribution. Tier placement is derived from this public mapped data; a per-firm public-source ledger is compiled for firms in the annual research pass and applies to those firms' factual claims, not to tier membership. No third-party legal-directory bands are used as an input.

Market scope

10–24 firms earn a tier in Shanghai within this scope (banded).

Disclosures

Firm names used nominatively (factual). All counts shown as bands, never precise headcounts. No firm logos. Report an error via the site contact form.

Sources & change log

  1. 1 Shanghai Officefirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  2. 2 JunHe — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  3. 3 JunHe — Shanghai news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  4. 4 Locationsfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  5. 5 办公机构 - 金杜律师事务所firm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  6. 6 办公机构 - 金杜律师事务所firm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  7. 7 King & Wood Mallesons — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  8. 8 King & Wood Mallesons — Shanghai news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  9. 9 Contact Usfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  10. 10 Han Kun Law Offices — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  11. 11 第十四届“汉坤青年法律奖学金”复试暨颁奖典礼圆满落幕firm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  12. 12 Han Kun advises Shanghai Wankexin Biotechnology Partnership (Limited Partnership) on acquiring control of Kanghua Biologicalfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  13. 13 Locations | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  14. 14 Anderson Mori & Tomotsune — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  15. 15 Special Lectures on Strategies for Addressing Legal and Regulatory Issues and Risk Management – Legal and Practical Issues in Economic Activities in Japan: A Focus on Chinese Companies’ Investment in Japan | Insight | Anderson Mori & Tomotsunefirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
23 Jul 2026 Scope-aware market-relative core assembled.
23 Jul 2026 15 verified source(s) ingested for the researched firms; tier placement is Titan-derived so unresearched visible firms do not block approval → APPROVED (auto).
Report an error in this ranking →

04 — Questions

About this ranking

Who are the best law firms in Shanghai?

Who leads Shanghai? As of July 2026, Market leaders are JunHe, King & Wood Mallesons. Sartori does not name a single number-one firm; the gap inside Tier 1 is treated as unmeasurable, and the wider board of 15 firms uses worded tiers only.

Is JunHe the best law firm in Shanghai?

JunHe sits in Tier 1 — Market leaders — of Sartori's Shanghai board as of July 2026, alongside King & Wood Mallesons. Sartori does not name a single #1: the gap between Tier 1 firms is genuinely unmeasurable, and a numeric score would be false precision.

Which are the biggest law firms in Shanghai?

By mapped Shanghai bench, the largest firms on this board are Han Kun Law Offices (200–349 mapped lawyers each), followed by King & Wood Mallesons (100–199). All counts are bands, never precise headcounts.

Which law firms are hiring in Shanghai right now?

As of July 2026, no firm on this board shows a public hiring signal in the mapping window. Live Shanghai mandates are listed on Sartori's jobs board.

What is a Tier 1 law firm?

In Sartori's rankings, Tier 1 — Market leaders — is an editorial judgement expressed in words, never a score: the firms whose Shanghai bench depth, seniority mix and market standing set the reference point for the market. As of July 2026 that is JunHe, King & Wood Mallesons. Within the tier no firm outranks another.

Which are the best law firms for mergers & acquisitions in Shanghai?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Mergers & Acquisitions board for Shanghai: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is King & Wood Mallesons, JunHe. See the full ranking at /firms/mergers-acquisitions/in/shanghai/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for corporate & m&a in Shanghai?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Corporate & M&A board for Shanghai: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is JunHe, King & Wood Mallesons. See the full ranking at /firms/corporate/in/shanghai/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for corporate compliance in Shanghai?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Corporate Compliance board for Shanghai: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is King & Wood Mallesons. See the full ranking at /firms/corporate-compliance/in/shanghai/.

See the ranking →

This ranking is compiled independently by Sartori from public sources. Tiers are Sartori’s editorial opinion, expressed without numeric scores; firms are named for identification only, no logos are reproduced, and no firm has paid for or approved its placement. No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input. Nothing here is legal advice or a recommendation to instruct counsel.