Chinese law firms are vowing to take a close look at their past conduct and procedures after the country’s securities regulator hit some of them with tough penalties for performing inadequate due diligence on initial public offerings. But many lawyers privately question just how much more they can do in China’s uncertain legal and regulatory landscape.
Last month, the China Securities Regulatory Commission ordered Beijing firms Dacheng Law Offices and JunZeJun Law Offices to pay $246,000 and $295,000, respectively, for their roles in proposed Shenzhen Stock Exchange IPOs determined to be based on fraudulent financial disclosures. The CSRC said it had suspended review of all listings applications submitted by Jingtian & Gongcheng pending an investigation of its work on the canceled IPO of a solar panel maker suspected of similar misconduct.
