Our Capability
CBL is a firm that translates expertise in legal operations, technology, and linguistic services into an integrated solution, enabling international businesses to navigate China’s complex legal and regulatory environment. Founded in 2011 by international lawyers seeking to make Chinese laws more easily understandable to clients, many of our clients have sought integrated solutions as an alternative to spending valuable executive time attempting to successfully manage cross border legal, tax, and translation operations.
Our Purpose
Getting legal advice in China is a headache because so few lawyers speak adequate English. Competent bilingual lawyers are too expensive, but affordable ones lack the competence or jurisdictional knowledge they claim or simply pass the work off to an even cheaper lawyer who lacks the skills for the job. That’s where CBL comes in.
We’re a new type of integrated service, driven by tech-savvy, expert lawyers who provide legal operations support and language services for our network of qualified attorneys, enabling clients to leverage local, specialized expertise and at rates up to 75% lower than international law firms.
Legal services should be efficient, cost effective, and client friendly, and our goal for your business in China is to enable high-end international service experiences at a local price.
Our Inspiration
CBL is home to individuals dedicating our multi-disciplinary careers and diverse experiences to improve legal services for international businesses in China. Frustrated by the lack of flexibility, innovation, and care traditional law firms show to international client matters, we’ve decided to be the change we want to see.
Over the years, we’ve realized that successful legal operations in China requires integrating four key pillars:
Expertise: specialized counsel familiar with local laws and enforcement trends, not a bilingual lawyer who claims to “do everything” nationwide
Technology: LegalOps tech covering spend management, KPI outcome analytics, and a balanced scorecard quantifying each provider’s commitment to excellence
Translation: clear, actionable language with no made up terms that says exactly what you need to know to make good decisions, enabling access to specialists with local knowledge
Tax: careful consideration of relevant tax strategies and available tax incentive programs, and bank KYC requirements
Our mission is to modernize outside counsel management and hiring by combining powerful technology with deep industry insights—helping legal departments improve efficiency, reduce spend, and make informed hiring decisions.