Li Xiaomei, the managing partner based in Jingtian & Gongcheng Chengdu office, who has practiced law for 32 years, dedicates to capital market legal services in Southwest China. Li has represented clients in many major cases and achieved multiple milestone successes, like issuing the very first U.S. dollar bonds in Sichuan Province, representing the first non-financial-institution issuer listed in China Europe International Exchange, assisting the highestrated debenture issuance among enterprises owned by Chengdu City, etc. She delivers multilevel and cross-border financing solutions.

In Li’s opinion, pioneering the capital market legal services in Southwest China means exploring “uncharted territory” which might have been fully explored elsewhere such as New York or Shanghai. Making Southwest China integrated into the global capital market is Li’s ambition, “with tons of highquality corporations and positive governmental policies, Southwest China has been grossly underestimated, which displays tremendous potential. A great number of good companies are confined within this region due to the lack of access to information and the rule of the game. We are dedicated to assist those enterprises to access the global capital market and further achieve their expansion blueprint.” Li says.

Li assembles her team and conducts business based on one insightful creed: the practice of law is a profession. Professionalism is the front-and-center issue for a lawyer’s thriving. “Being detail-oriented is one dimension of professionalism” Li adds, “it’s all in the details, scrutinize transactional documents word by word, comma by comma, then go beyond the materials to predict risks and assess uncertainties in all levels. In this way, we can facilitate our clients to achieve the commercial purpose of the contemplated deal to the greatest extent.” Another dimension of professionalism in Li’s team is “being responsive and giving feedback,” so that clients can be informed with the latest developments.

Additionally, Li believes that female lawyers should take advantage of some desirable traits, such as meticulousness, perceptiveness, tolerance, and communicativeness in work, like bridging disagreements in negotiations’ deadlock to drive progress, effectively understanding clients’ needs when communicating a deal, and keeping alert in the routine that is easily overlooked.

Just as a client corporation’s CEO commented: “we are so comfortable to cooperate with Mrs. Li, who possesses a visionary perception and a comprehensive understanding of our operations. Our interactions and communications have been very efficient and effective. Problems can be promptly resolved by her team.”

Li feels honored to gain the client’s trust and compliment, but she doesn’t intend to cease at this point. “We commit to serve our clients as their telescope and furnish our clients with parachute under any scenario. Transaction attorneys, as part of the deal machinery, primarily function as weaving the safety net for our client in the transaction and having alternatives in our pocket.”Li says.