On August 29, 2026, the 3rd Shenzhen Legal Services Expo officially kicked off at Hall 6 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (Futian) under the theme "Integrating Services with Manufacturing, Connecting the Globe through the Rule of Law." Spanning two days, the expo brings together 178 legal service institutions and features 186 meticulously designed booths. It is dedicated to building five core sections: a legal services exhibition, practical exchange sessions, thematic events, public and enterprise benefit services, and talent recruitment. Running concurrently, 10 thematic events aim to explore new pathways for the deep integration of legal services with industrial demands and technological innovation, providing a solid rule-of-law foundation for the high-quality development of the regional economy.
At the opening ceremony, multiple landmark industry achievements were unveiled, drawing widespread attention. Representatives from various bar associations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) jointly released the "GBA Initiative on AI Applications in Legal Services." This initiative builds industry consensus across ten dimensions, including the primary role of lawyers, AI content verification, and the informed rights of clients, aiming to promote the safe and regulated embrace of the AI wave by the GBA legal services sector. Meanwhile, the Expo Organizing Committee, in collaboration with GBA bar associations and a full spectrum of legal service institutions including arbitration and mediation bodies, released a series of highlight achievements in the GBA's foreign-related legal services. This further consolidates the practical foundation of foreign-related rule of law and helps upgrade the capacity of foreign-related legal services.
In terms of professional research and industry planning, the Shenzhen Lawyers Association launched two Blue Books on legal services for enterprises going global: the "Blue Book: Q&A Guide on Legal Issues in the Asia-Pacific Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence" and the "Blue Book: Q&A Guide on Country-Specific Investment, Trade, and Legal Research for Asia-Pacific Market Expansion." These provide highly valuable professional research references for the practical conduct of cross-border legal business. Additionally, the "Shenzhen Legal Profession 15th Five-Year Development Plan (2026-2030)" was officially released, clearly outlining the roadmap for the high-quality development of Shenzhen's legal profession over the next five years and demonstrating the city's forward-looking layout in the legal services industry.
In a post-opening media interview, Zhang Bin, President of the Shenzhen Lawyers Association, stated that this year's Legal Services Expo has achieved new breakthroughs in both influence and scale, successfully delivering a one-stop showcase of full-chain resources in the legal services industry. He specifically highlighted that a major feature of this expo is the successful linkage of relevant legal resources from APEC economies, fully reflecting the event's international vision. Zhang emphasized that this year's expo has built a strong brand in resource matching, brand display, information sharing, and talent exchange. Associations from the legal and industrial sectors, along with resource providers from relevant industrial chains, gathered together, responding precisely to the call of the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, and truly achieving a two-way integration between manufacturing and service industries.
The expo site is scientifically planned with nine distinctive exhibition zones, covering diverse sectors such as GBA synergy, international legal services, Legal + Technology, Legal + Industry, Legal + Social Welfare, and lawyers' work achievements. These zones bring together various market entities, including law firms, notary services, judicial appraisal, arbitration and mediation, legal tech, and financial and tax services, facilitating the precise matching of full-chain legal service resources with market demands. On the first day of the expo, over 220 guests attended the opening ceremony, including representatives from relevant provincial and municipal departments, the justice bureaus of the nine mainland cities in the GBA, the Hong Kong Department of Justice, legal industry associations in Hong Kong and Macao, bar associations from across the country, arbitration and mediation institutions, universities, enterprises, and the media. David Bulley, Asia Managing Partner of the Shenzhen Representative Office of Bedell Cristin Mauritius, remarked on site, "The atmosphere for legal cooperation in Shenzhen is incredibly strong, and the collaboration among all law firms is extremely close." Winnie Wong, Founding Partner of Hong Kong's Shum & Wong, also stated, "We hope to share relevant experiences in Hong Kong law with everyone and gain a better understanding of development trends on the mainland, reflecting the overall momentum of collaborative development in the Greater Bay Area."
During the expo, six practical exchange sessions closely focused on hotspots in APEC regional cooperation. In-depth discussions were held on practical issues such as cross-border legal services, the implementation of legal tech, and arbitration for enterprises going global, providing a valuable platform for industry professionals to exchange ideas. Meanwhile, four thematic events built a comprehensive platform for industry dialogue, experience sharing, and talent pooling, further enhancing the professional depth and breadth of the expo.
Notably, the Legal Services Expo continues to amplify the effectiveness of legal services benefiting the public and enterprises. It organized 100 lawyers to provide on-site pro bono consultation services, answering questions on livelihood-related legal issues such as marriage and family, labor disputes, and consumer rights protection for the general public, while offering enterprises professional advice on corporate governance, intellectual property, data compliance, and environmental law. For the first time, the expo set up a dedicated enterprise benefit consultation zone, where lawyers, certified public accountants, certified tax agents, and notaries were stationed together to provide one-stop comprehensive legal services for enterprises. In addition, an AI smart consultation zone was launched simultaneously, bringing public legal services such as the "One Legal Advisor per Village/Community" program, people's mediation, and legal aid to the expo site. This allows ordinary citizens to experience accessible legal services up close, fully demonstrating the warmth and technological edge of legal services.