中闻资讯 | 中闻所主任吴革律师接受ALB专访

中闻价值观：建设法律人的微城邦

Zhong Wen values: building a micro

 city-state for legal professionals

吴革律师 Wu Ge

中闻律师事务所主任

Director of Zhong Wen Law Firm

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一、

制度创新是中闻律师事务所发展壮大的不竭动力

1. 中闻的制度创新主要表现在：

• 中闻特殊的普通合伙人制暨中闻合伙人股权制度

• 中闻的公共团队制度

• 中闻的选举投票制度

• 中闻的专业化发展制度

2. 中闻的制度创新核心是解决律所管理的三大问题：

律所管理的实体问题，也就是所有权问题。我们通过购买股权和激励股权，建立了合伙人通过股权的晋升制度，其股份每年都有变化。一位年轻律师的晋升就看其股权在中闻所的股权占比的逐年增长。而当一位资深律师退休时，其执业的最高峰时期积累与购买的股权就能形成他/她的降落伞；所以在中闻，我们希望律师有尊严地退休，退休后不仅有股权的分红，同时仍保留投票权。因为投票权是退休律师在律所的面子和尊严。

律所管理的程序问题。我们的重大问题要通过合伙人投票来决策，我们律所的重要职务都是通过选举产生。在全年，每一个人都可以发起议题，这些议题可以在合伙人会议上讨论，也可以进行专题讨论。我们会议层的银河厅就是我们的议会大厅，专门给大家提供便利的交流场所。程序问题首先解决程序公正的问题和程序正义的问题，我们希望，当律所管理上升到我们的制度以及决策的时候，它的程序上是公正的。虽然我们不能保证每一个决策都是绝对正确的，但是我们在程序上是通过投票从而尊重大多数人的权益。

律所管理的执行问题。我们通过专职的管理团队来落实合伙人大会的决策、执委会的决策。这是考虑到合伙人管理律所通常存在着两个冲突：一个是时间冲突，另一个是利益冲突。中闻对此的思考与实践是：把合伙人会议的决策、执委会的决定都交给专职的执行团队来落实，从而高效、专注地执行决策的同时能够避免冲突的发生。

二、

中闻人的文化和精神

2014年，在马航事件中，我所李波律师无私奉献，获得“公益楷模”称号，北京市司法局、律协呼吁全市律师向他学习，中闻的正能量自那时起便持续发扬。2015年，中闻刘堃律师捐献造血干细胞，挽救了河北5岁男童的生命，受到北京市司法局律协表彰，中闻公益奉献的风气蔚然成风。此外，中闻从2003年就积极响应司法行政部门的号召，设立党支部，现今的党员律师已经超过250名，党总支和党员律师引领着中闻律师事务所正能量满满，始终沿着进取的方向发展。

中闻的二十年，我们总结提炼出三个精神：

第一个是敬让精神。合伙人之间要合作，如果没有敬让精神，什么事情大家都在争，那么我们的律所就会出现问题。越是主要的合伙人，越是要敬让谦让。如果没有相互的敬让，那么这个合伙人队伍就是非常不稳定的。

第二个是创新精神。中闻在律所的管理上非常注重创新，我们在管理当中摸索总结并且落地了这些创新的中闻原则，并非仅仅是空喊口号。

第三个是奉献精神。奉献精神主要指管理团队的奉献，而不是要求一般的合伙人、律师和行政人员的奉献。当然，我们的普通合伙人与行政人员具有奉献精神的不在少数，但是我强调的首先是我们的管理团队的问题。中闻在2013年能够浴火重生，正是归功于我们的主要管理团队在重压之下发挥了奉献精神，宁愿损失自己的利益，也要让律所变好。

我深切体会到：是中闻人的风气和文化的改变，促进了中闻的改变和发展。

三、

中闻人要努力形成利益共同体、事业共同体、命运共同体

利益共同体：中闻律师事务所要成为法律人微城邦，不仅是律师的家园，也要为律师赋能，成为律师的加油站和栖息港；中闻律师事务所鼓励律师通过法律服务为当事人创造价值，自己也多挣钱、快乐挣钱、安全挣钱、有尊严地挣钱。

事业共同体：法治建设是我们每一位律师最大的市场，中闻平台为大家事业发展提供工作机会：参加律协专业委员会、参加党总支及上级党委组织的各种活动，参加民主党派参政议政、参加新联会，参加所内各个专业平台、研究组织，参加公益活动、文体活动，参加各种会议培训，让中闻成为大家事业发展的平台。在个案中维护当事人的合法权益，通过个案促进法治是律师们的事业共同体。

命运共同体：我们的人生在中闻相遇，我们与中闻能不能形成命运共同体？就我而言，在2013年险些离开中闻时，我突然发现我离不开中闻了，我已经与中闻之间形成命运共同体。我相信时至今日越来越多的人和中闻能够形成命运共同体，未来也会有更多的人与中闻，包括中闻的各位同事之间，结成这样的紧密联系。

中闻的过去二十年所走的路，是用爱和力量走出来的。中闻未来的路，仍然离不开爱和力量，从而建设一个法律人微城邦。

I.

Institutional innovation is the impetus for the sustainable development and growth of Zhong Wen Law Firm

1. Zhong Wen’s institutional innovation is mainly manifested in:

• At Zhong Wen, we implement a special general-partner system, which is Zhong Wen’s partner equity system;

• We implement a system of shared/public teams;

• We adopt an election voting system;

• We practice a professional development system.

2. Our institutional innovation aims to solve three major management problems in our firm:

First of all, we need to deal with the entity issue in the management of the firm to clarify the ownership of the firm. We adopt an equity-based partner promotion system. Lawyers get promoted to partners through the purchase of equity and incentive equity, and the equity shares owned by them change every year. For a young lawyer to be promoted, it depends on the year-on-year growth of the equity shares owned thereby. When a senior lawyer retires, the equity shares he has purchased at his peak age in career would become his “parachute”, and ensure a soft-landing for him——which means that the lawyer can continue to enjoy the equity dividends of the firm after his retirement, and can continue to vote on decisions made by the firm. It’s an honor for a retired lawyer to maintain the voting right in the firm.

The second is the procedural issue of law firm management. All our major issues are decided through voting by partners, and we decide who should assume the important positions in the law through election. Throughout the year, everyone can initiate issues, which can be discussed at partner meetings or special meetings. The procedural issue first is about the procedural justice and fairness. We want to make sure that the management of the firm is procedurally fair when it comes to the system and decision-making issues. While we cannot guarantee that every decision that we make is absolutely correct, we hope that the decisions we make through procedural voting respect for the interests of the majority.

And the third issue is about the execution of management decisions. Given that there are two conflicts in the firm’s management by partners, the time conflict and the conflicts of interest, we set up a special executive team to implement the decisions made by partners committee, so that decisions can be carried out efficiently by concentrated staff meanwhile conflicts can be avoided.

II. 

Zhong Wen culture and Zhong Wen spirit

Our lawyer Li Bo was awarded the title of “role model in public welfare undertakings” for his selfless acts in the Malaysia Airlines incident in 2014, and Liu Kun, another lawyer at Zhong Wen, was commended by Beijing Lawyers Association and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice in 2015 for his honorable act of donating hemopoietic stem cellto save the life of a 5-year-old boy in Hebei, these are the manifestation of Zhong Wen culture and Zhong Wen spirit —— at Zhong Wen, we value the spirit of dedication and the spirit of working hard for the public good. Actively responding to the call of the judicial and administrative departments, we set up the Party branch in 2003, and now we have more than 250 lawyers who are Party members. Under the leadership of the Party branch, Zhong Wen is full of positive energy and keeps forging ahead.

Over the past two decades, we’ve developed a culture composed of three factors.

The first is mutual respect and humility. If partners, in particular main partners, rival or argue with one another over everything, the firm will be unstable and in trouble. Therefore, we advocate mutual respect and work to create a harmonious environment at Zhong Wen. We believe that partners need to work together in order to lead the firm to success.

The second is the spirit of innovation. We attach great importance to innovation in the management of the firm. We have explored and summarized our own innovation principles, and put them into practice in our management.

The third is the spirit of dedication and sacrifice. It is a requirement in particular for our management team to act in the spirit of dedication and sacrifice. I really appreciate it that many our ordinary partners, lawyers and administrative staff show their dedications at work. What I’m trying to emphasize here is that it’s a character our management team members must develop. Zhong Wen was able to have a phoenix-like comeback after going through some very difficult time in 2013 because our management team showed great dedication to the firm and willingly sacrificed their own interests for the firm’s good.

I’m convinced that it is the changes in the atmosphere and culture of the firm that have promoted the transformation and development of Zhong Wen.

III.

Zhong Wen strives to build the firm a community with common interests, a community with shared career development, and a community with shared future

A community with shared interests. We are committed to building Zhong Wen a micro city-state for legal professionals, where they can enjoy homelike office atmosphere and meanwhile be empowered. We are committed to providing quality legal services to create value from clients, achieving more for our people and clients, and growing together with our clients.

A community with shared career development. We believe that the construction of the rule of law is the biggest market for each of our lawyers. Zhong Wen platform provides career development opportunities for everyone in this regard. And through our platform, people can participate in various activities, such as activities organized by the professional committees of the lawyers’ associations, the Party branch and higher-level Party committees, participating in politics as members of democratic parties, new social associations, training and research activities offered internally by our teams and intra-platforms, public welfare activities, and cultural and sports activities. Zhong Wen is committed to building a platform to offer opportunities for everyone who endeavors to purse career development. It is a shared career goal for lawyers to safeguard the legal rights and interests of clients and promote the rule of law through individual cases.

A community with a shared future. Having been working at Zhong Wen for many years, a strong bond has been established between the firm, my colleagues and me, and we are all linked by a common destiny. We welcome more people to join us. I believe that through our efforts, we can build Zhong Wen a community with a shared future for all of us.

Over the past two decades, care and mutual support have been the foundation for the development of Zhong Wen. We will continue to build Zhong Wen a micro city-state for legal professionals, a firm that is characterized with strong supports for employees and an open and inclusive work environment.