Law Firms May be Allowed to Prepare Prospectus Due to a Revised Legal Document

On December 9, 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) released the revised Measures for the Provision of Securities-related Legal Services by Law Firms (Exposure Draft) for public comment until January 8, 2023.

As a critical change, the revised Measures stipulated that law firms are allowed to provide securities-related legal services, including issuing legal opinions on IPOs, depositary receipts and corporate listing, disclosing information of public and private companies, and issuing legal opinions on issuance, trading and transfer of corporate bonds. The legal document also clarified that law firms may organize the preparation of prospectus, and deleted the provisions that link case filing and investigation with business acceptance and review.