Practice experience and areas of focus
8 years of work experience in administrative agencies and 12 years of work experience in law firms. Registered Environmental Impact Assessment Engineer.
Currently serving as a senior partner, specializing in administrative law, discipline inspection and supervision, job-related crimes, and fire accidents.
Lawyer Zhuang Chao's practice scope covers the whole country (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).
Representative Case
1. From the perspective of horizontal domains
(1) Government legislative services
1. The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau provided full-process legal services for the "Law on Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce" (local draft proposal). This reflects the ability and level of lawyer Zhuang Chao in participating in national legal legislation work.
2. Research and argumentation on the "Regulations on Fire Protection in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone". This reflects the ability and proficiency of lawyer Zhuang Chao in participating in the legislative work of special economic zone regulations.
3. Full-process legal services for the "Administrative Measures for Full-time Firefighters of the Shenzhen Municipal Government". This reflects the ability and proficiency of lawyer Zhuang Chao in participating in government regulatory legislation work.
4. The entire process legal service for the "Guiding Opinions on the Performance of Fire Safety Management Duties by Streets" reflects the ability and proficiency of lawyer Zhuang Chao in participating in the preparation of administrative normative documents.
5. Participated in several legislative expert argumentation meetings and legislative project review meetings. This reflects the rich experience of lawyer Zhuang Chao in participating in legislative work.
(II) Regular legal services for government agencies and institutions
1. Shenzhen Fire and Rescue Detachment
2. Shenzhen Guangming District Fire and Rescue Brigade
3. Yantian District Fire and Rescue Brigade, Shenzhen
4. Shenzhen Nanshan District Fire and Rescue Brigade
5. Shenzhen Pingshan District Fire Rescue Brigade
6. Shenzhen Dapeng New District Fire and Rescue Brigade
7. Pingshan Administration Bureau of Shenzhen Ecological Environment Bureau
8. Futian District Disabled Persons' Federation
9. A district bureau of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement
10. Warehousing of Shenzhen Tobacco Monopoly Bureau
(III) Resolution of administrative disputes
I have handled numerous administrative cases in various fields such as development and reform, natural resources, foreign exchange management, securities supervision, real estate registration, housing and urban-rural development, education, press and publication, market supervision, ecological environment, emergency management, urban management, and tobacco monopoly. I have extensive experience in administrative law practice and am adept at resolving major, difficult, and complex administrative disputes, as well as solving practical problems for clients.
(4) Defense of job-related crimes
Provide legal defense for leading cadres at the departmental level who are suspected of bribery and money laundering.
II. From the perspective of vertical domains
(1) Ecological environment field
1. Represented a certain administrative agency in Qingdao in an administrative dispute with a vehicle company, and won in the reconsideration, first instance, and second instance. The case was included in the "Selection of Typical Cases of Environmental and Resource Judgments" (2015) P281 published by the China Applied Law Institute of the Supreme People's Court.
2. Led the team to handle the case of ecological damage compensation for illegal sand mining in the reservoir area, brought by the Zhanjiang Water Affairs Bureau of Guangdong Province against Deng XX and other 19 individuals. The Zhanjiang Intermediate People's Court ruled in favor of our side in the first instance, and the Guangdong Higher People's Court is currently hearing the case in the second instance.
3. Led the team to handle the ecological environment damage compensation case jointly sued by the Shenzhen Ecological Environment Bureau and its Pingshan Administration Bureau against a certain technology company in Shenzhen for secretly discharging copper-containing wastewater. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court ruled in favor of our side in the first instance, and the Guangdong Higher People's Court is currently hearing the case in the second instance.
4. The case of a rubber product enterprise in Qingdao, Shandong, which was fined by the local ecological environment authority due to operational issues with its air pollution prevention and control facilities, was settled through mediation in the first instance, with the fine reduced by 73%.
5. Representing a sesame product production and processing enterprise in Qingdao, Shandong, which was fined by the local ecological environment administrative department for sewage discharge issues and was set to be transferred for administrative detention, the fine was reduced by 40% after a hearing process. Following administrative reconsideration, a settlement was reached, resulting in a further reduction of the fine by 95.4%, and no transfer for administrative detention occurred.
6. Represented an environmental protection enterprise in Rizhao, Shandong Province, in an administrative case involving nearly 6 million yuan in fines and refund disputes. Despite facing extremely unfavorable circumstances, we managed to turn the tide and reach a mediation agreement, which exempted 60% of the fines.
7. Represented an environmental bureau in an administrative litigation case against a furniture company in Shenzhen for air pollution, and successfully defeated the opposing party's claims.
8. Represented an environmental bureau in an administrative reconsideration case against a Shenzhen technology company for illegal disposal of hazardous waste, and obtained a decision upholding the administrative penalty.
9. Represented a certain environmental bureau in an administrative reconsideration case regarding the punishment of a building materials company in Shenzhen for violating the environmental impact assessment system, and successfully obtained the upholding of the administrative punishment decision.
10. Represented an environmental bureau in an administrative reconsideration case regarding the punishment of a cultural company in Shenzhen for noise pollution, and obtained a decision upholding the administrative penalty.
11. Represented an environmental bureau in an administrative reconsideration case concerning the punishment of a technology company (foreign-funded) in Shenzhen for violating the environmental impact assessment system, and obtained a decision upholding the administrative punishment.
12. Represented an environmental bureau in an administrative litigation case regarding a dispute over reward for reporting by Zhou and Wu, and successfully obtained the dismissal of all claims made by Zhou and Wu.
13. Permanent legal advisor to the Pingshan Management Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau.
14. Obtain the qualification of a registered environmental impact assessment engineer.
15. I have worked in the ecological environment department for eight years, serving in both administrative law enforcement and legal review positions, and have handled over 500 ecological environment administrative cases.
16. I have been invited to provide practical training on administrative law enforcement and petition work for the Liaoning Provincial Ecological Environment Department, the Hubei Provincial Ecological Environment Department, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Ecological Environment Department, the Gansu Provincial Ecological Environment Department, the Erdos City Ecological Environment Bureau, the Ulanqab City Ecological Environment Bureau, the Tongliao City Ecological Environment Bureau, the Fuzhou City Ecological Environment Bureau, the Shenyang City Ecological Environment Bureau, and the Dalian City Ecological Environment Bureau.
The above achievements demonstrate that lawyer Zhuang Chao's case-handling experience and professional competence in the field of ecological environment have been fully verified through practice. Whether representing administrative counterparts or administrative authorities, he is capable of achieving satisfactory results for his clients, fully deserving their trust and entrustment.
(II) Field of fire safety and fire accident handling
1. Participated in the research and argumentation of the "Regulations on Fire Protection in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone".
2. Full-process legal services for the "Administrative Measures for Full-time Firefighters of the Shenzhen Municipal Government".
3. Full-process legal services for the "Guiding Opinions on the Performance of Fire Safety Management Responsibilities by Streets".
4. Permanent legal advisor to the Shenzhen Fire and Rescue Brigade.
5. Permanent legal advisor to the Nanshan District Fire and Rescue Brigade in Shenzhen.
6. Permanent legal advisor to the Fire Rescue Brigade of Guangming District, Shenzhen.
7. Permanent legal advisor to the Yantian District Fire and Rescue Brigade in Shenzhen.
8. Permanent legal advisor to the Pingshan District Fire and Rescue Brigade in Shenzhen.
9. Permanent legal advisor to the Fire Rescue Brigade of Dapeng New District, Shenzhen.
10. Represented the fire rescue agency in a lawsuit against the administrative response of the fire rescue agency regarding the fire accident identification, and won the case.
11. Represented the fire rescue agency in a lawsuit against a Shenzhen catering company challenging the administrative response to a fire accident investigation, securing a victory for the agency.
12. Represented a company from Hebei in the series of cases (10 cases) related to the "4.25" fire accident in a logistics park in Foshan City, and only assumed a 5% compensation ratio, which was the lowest for all parties involved in the case, achieving satisfactory results for the client.
13. Represented a company in Shenzhen in the series of "5.24" fire accident cases (8 cases) in an industrial park in Shenzhen, utilizing both response and prosecution measures, and pursuing administrative and civil paths simultaneously. We have achieved a partial victory in the first instance of the related administrative litigation cases, while the second instance is pending. Currently, all civil cases are under trial.
14. Served as an expert advisor in the legal matter handling of a "2.12" fire accident case involving a prominent international logistics enterprise in China.
15. Participate in the Shenzhen Fire Accident Legislation Seminar and provide professional advice.
16. Invited by the Hubei Provincial Fire and Rescue Corps to provide on-site legal training for fire accident investigation.
17. Invited by the Ezhou City Fire Rescue Detachment in Hubei Province to provide professional support for the fire accident investigation competition.
The above achievements demonstrate that lawyer Zhuang Chao's case-handling experience and professional competence in the field of fire safety and fire accident handling have been fully verified through practice. He is capable of achieving satisfactory results for clients and is fully trusted and entrusted by them.
(III) Real estate and natural resources
1. Housing registration dispute. The client, Mr. Duan, was once honored as one of the "Top Ten News Figures in Chinese Economy" and "Top Ten Figures in Chinese Financial Innovation", and was a well-known entrepreneur in Henan Province. However, he was sentenced to imprisonment due to a criminal case. While in prison, he was misled into signing a blank housing sales contract, and the house was transferred to another person's name at a low price by a third party. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the case, lost in the first instance, but won in the second instance. The court ruled to revoke the housing transfer registration, recovering a house worth approximately 20 million yuan for the client. The outcome of this case demonstrates that Lawyer Zhuang Chao has the ability to withstand local pressure and turn the tables in the second instance for a case that lost in the first instance, as well as the ability to "fight alone" and win when the client is in custody.
2. Dispute over the transfer of state-owned construction land use rights. The client, a private real estate company, filed a lawsuit against the local government department to terminate the construction land use right transfer contract due to the long-term failure to develop and construct the assigned land. The court of first instance did not support the termination. In the second instance, Zhuang Chao's legal team intervened and achieved the following results: Firstly, some of the original judgments were revoked; secondly, through negotiations, a settlement intention exceeding 50% (over 100 million) of the settlement amount in the first instance was obtained; thirdly, the court of second instance explicitly pointed out that the local government department had misconduct and should proactively negotiate with the client to resolve the matter properly. Currently, both parties are in the process of negotiation, striving to reach a final settlement. This case demonstrates that when handling large-scale administrative cases, Zhuang Chao's ability to secure a favorable verdict for the client in the most unfavorable circumstances significantly increases the probability of winning.
3. Dispute over forest right registration. The client is a local forestry investment and management enterprise, possessing the use right of thousands of acres of forest land and the ownership of the trees growing on it. Due to related economic disputes and boundary disputes, three local economic cooperatives jointly filed an administrative lawsuit, requesting the natural resources department to revoke the forest right certificate issued to the client. The client participated in the lawsuit as a third party. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the client in the first instance of this case, and ultimately, the court ruled to reject all the claims of the three plaintiffs. The plaintiffs did not appeal. This case demonstrates that Lawyer Zhuang Chao is capable of successfully safeguarding the rights and interests of a third party in administrative litigation cases.
4. Administrative expropriation compensation dispute. The client is a village collective joint-stock company. Due to the local government and its property management center failing to fulfill some promises made during the expropriation and demolition, the company demands that the government and its property management center fulfill their duties. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the case, coordinating the entire process of application for duty performance, administrative reconsideration, and administrative litigation. After filing the lawsuit, relevant government departments took the initiative to negotiate a settlement. The case is currently under processing. This case demonstrates that when representing administrative cases for village collective organizations, even when facing the superior authorities of the village collective organization (the district people's government), lawyer Zhuang Chao is able to secure a favorable outcome.
The above achievements demonstrate that lawyer Zhuang Chao possesses extensive experience in handling cases related to real estate and natural resources. The successful verdicts or settlements reached in his cases showcase his ability to break through in major, difficult, and complex cases with complex historical backgrounds, large amounts of money at stake, and various intertwined influencing factors.
(4) Resolution of administrative cases in multiple fields
1. Dispute over administrative penalties in urban management. The client, a large state-owned enterprise with a registered capital exceeding 1.2 billion, was fined by the local urban management department due to being falsely accused of undertaking projects and accepting investigations by other companies, which affected the company's credit. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the client in administrative reconsideration, prompting the local urban management department to voluntarily withdraw the penalty and promptly restore the company's credit. This case demonstrates Lawyer Zhuang Chao's ability to serve large state-owned enterprises and his capability to quickly resolve client needs solely through administrative reconsideration procedures (avoiding lengthy litigation).
2. Housing and construction administrative penalty dispute. The client, a supply chain logistics enterprise, entrusted a decoration company to renovate the industrial plant it leased. Due to a fire accident, it was subject to administrative penalties by the Housing and Construction Bureau. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the case, and the court of first instance rescinded the administrative penalties. The opposing party appealed, and the case is currently in the second instance. This case demonstrates Lawyer Zhuang Chao's ability to seize opportunities and achieve victory in the first-instance procedure of administrative cases.
3. Dispute over administrative penalties for safety production. The client is the lessor of the premises. The lessee is a hotel. During the operation period, a natural person entrusted by the lessee to replace seawater was electrocuted and died. The local emergency management department imposed administrative penalties on both the client and the lessee. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the administrative litigation. Due to the fatal accident, government approval, and the involvement of petitioning issues, the case was difficult to represent. The court of first instance ruled that the local emergency management department had violated the law (the defendant lost), and the court of second instance upheld the original judgment. This case shows that even in administrative penalty cases that have been reviewed and approved by the government, with the government's "endorsement", lawyer Zhuang Chao can still obtain court confirmation that the administrative penalty decision is illegal and the defendant loses.
4. Dispute over administrative licensing in news and publishing. The client is a company located in a centralized office area. Due to management issues with several online bookstores housed within, the local news and publishing department (which is part of the same organization as the propaganda department but operates under a different name) comprehensively suspended the annual verification of publication licenses for all online bookstores housed within, causing significant impact to the client. Lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the case and filed an administrative lawsuit. Facing a powerful department in charge of ideology, lawyer Zhuang Chao integrated knowledge from administrative procedure law, licensing law, publishing law, competition law, and other legal domains. With the joint efforts of lawyers, courts, and higher-level departments, the case was settled within 100 days after filing, with the client voluntarily withdrawing the lawsuit. This case demonstrates lawyer Zhuang Chao's ability to quickly familiarize himself with relevant rules in a relatively novel administrative field, comprehensively apply knowledge and skills from multiple domains, and appropriately and rapidly resolve administrative disputes.
5. Dispute over government pricing and price penalties. This case involves professional fields such as pricing by the National Development and Reform Commission, price law enforcement, ecological environment, and competition law, and its complexity and difficulty are rare in the local area. The case occurred in a fourth-tier city and involves several extraneous factors. There is basically no dispute over the facts, but there is a significant dispute over the application of the law, making it the most difficult type of administrative case to win. Overall, the representation is very challenging. Lawyer Zhuang Chao's team initiated administrative hearings, administrative reconsideration, or administrative litigation procedures for three types of administrative actions: ordering restitution, ordering correction, and administrative penalties. In the initial stage, through the administrative hearing procedure, the client was able to reduce losses by 15% and successfully prompted the municipal people's government to correct the improper reconsideration decision made by the district people's government. In the middle stage, lawyer Zhuang Chao represented the client in an administrative litigation case involving a fine of 2.78 million yuan, and the court confirmed that the defendant, the market supervision department, violated the law. In the later stage, lawyer Zhuang Chao utilized his knowledge of administrative law and discipline inspection and supervision to facilitate mediation led by the deputy leader of the local intermediate court (including two administrative penalty cases involving 2.78 million yuan and 950,000 yuan), and subsequently successfully reached a mediation agreement, reducing the client's losses by another 60%. This case demonstrates that lawyer Zhuang Chao, with his years of accumulation and precipitation in the fields of administrative law and discipline inspection and supervision, even in complex administrative cases involving four or more departmental law fields, and even in extremely difficult administrative cases where only the application of the law is controversial, still has the ability to break the deadlock and avoid the burden of retrial for the client.
From the perspective of the above vertical fields, the achievements of lawyer Zhuang Chao in the fields of ecological environment, fire protection and fire disaster, real estate and natural resources, urban management, housing and construction, safety production, press and publication, government pricing and price law enforcement, indicate that lawyer Zhuang Chao has undergone a professional development process of "starting from individual fields → deepening cultivation in multiple departmental laws → cross-field verification → refining rules → solving major difficult and complex cases". He has mastered the principle-level rules of administrative case handling, is not limited to representing cases in individual fields, and is competent in handling administrative cases in multiple different fields, ensuring the effectiveness of each case and ultimately satisfying the clients.
(V) Discipline inspection and supervision
1. Practical mentor at the School of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (directly under the Ministry of Education, a "211 Project" and "Double First-Class" university).
2. Off-campus practice supervisor for discipline inspection and supervision at Guangzhou University (administered by the Provincial Department of Education, Project 111).
3. Member of the Integrity and Compliance Professional Committee of Shenzhen.
4. Provide legal defense for leading cadres at the departmental level who are suspected of bribery and money laundering.
5. Chief expert of integrity and compliance consulting product "Integrity and Discipline for Long-term Success" jointly developed by Shenzhen Ruijie (stock code 300977) and Dehe Heng Shenzhen Office.
6. Successfully applied discipline inspection and supervision knowledge in multiple administrative cases to help resolve the situation.
Honor
Exemplary individual in administrative agencies, exemplary individual in government legal publicity, and outstanding member of the Municipal Lawyers Association. These honors demonstrate that lawyer Zhuang Chao is dedicated, loyal to his duties, and performs exceptionally well.
Part-time Social Work
1. Student Career Development Mentor at Ocean University of China (directly under the Ministry of Education, a member of Project 985, Project 211, and a "Double First-Class" university) (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao's guidance ability in career development has been recognized by the university)
2. Member of the Expert Pool for Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement of Ecological Environment Protection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (indicating that the legal expertise of lawyer Zhuang Chao in the field of administrative law enforcement has been recognized by at least a provincial-level administrative authority)
3. Member of the Shenzhen Integrity and Compliance Professional Committee (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has deep expertise in the field of integrity and compliance)
4. Practical mentor at the School of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has deep experience in the field of discipline inspection and supervision, and his practical guidance ability has been recognized by the school)
5. Off-campus practical mentor for discipline inspection and supervision at Guangzhou University (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has deep experience in the field of discipline inspection and supervision, and his practical guidance ability has been recognized by the college)
6. Off-campus supervisor for Master of Laws students at Shenzhen University (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao's legal practice guidance ability has been recognized by the university)
7. Member of the Shenzhen Fire Prevention Expert Database (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has expertise in fire cases and fire accident handling)
8. Member of the expert pool of the Shenzhen Fire Protection Association (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has advantages in handling fire cases and fire accidents)
9. Member of the Dongguan Fire Technology Expert Pool (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has expertise in fire cases and fire accident handling)
10. Member of the expert pool of the Xianyang Emergency Management Bureau (indicating that lawyer Zhuang Chao has a high level of legal expertise in the field of emergency management)