On November 26, 2025, after a wide-ranging market survey and independent editorial assessment, China Business Law Journal unveiled this year's The A-List 2025-26: Visionaries in China's legal market, which includes 100 lawyers practicing PRC law and 80 lawyers practicing in foreign law firms or overseas. Three Han Kun partners Kelvin Gao, Charles Li, and David Li (in alphabetical order by surname) were selected for their outstanding contributions to Chinese legal practice.
Kelvin Gao
Mr. Gao has practiced law for more than two decades and has extensive experience in a variety of fields and industries. His major practice areas include M&A, formation and deployment of private equity funds, securities offerings, and corporate restructuring. Mr. Gao has been legal counsel to numerous leading investment institutions, multinationals and unicorn companies, for which he has provided a full range of legal services, from deal structuring and legal documentation to closing, for their various cross-border M&A, joint ventures and financing projects in industries covering the internet, computer software, entertainment media, education and training, consumer and retail, as well as healthcare services. Mr. Gao routinely serves as counsel to many leading institutional investors.Mr. Gao has been consistently recognized by leading global legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, and IFLR as a leading lawyer in Venture Capital and Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, Investment Funds, TMT and Healthcare. He has also been awarded External Counsel of the Year by In-House Community for consecutive years.
Charles Li
Mr. Li has been working at Han Kun Law Offices since January 2005, where he specializes in public and private financings (equity and debt), mergers and acquisitions, incorporation and corporate restructuring, foreign direct investment, and intellectual property protection. He has represented many Chinese and international companies in a wide variety of cross-border transactions in different industries such as telecommunications, the Internet, information technology, energy, clean technology, consumer goods, healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Mr. Li is knowledgeable of PRC industrial policies, corporate structuring, capital operation, financial planning, and investment and project management.
Mr. Li has been consistently recognized by leading global legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, IFLR, ALB, Asialaw Profiles, China Law and Practice, and China Business Law Journal as a leading authority in China on Venture Capital and Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Markets Transactions, TMT, and Healthcare.
David Li
Mr. David Li specializes in private equity and venture capital, capital markets, M&A and foreign direct investment. He has extensive experience in the PE and VC industry and has represented numerous well-known foreign and domestic PE and VC funds in their investments in China. Mr. Li has assisted hundreds of companies in connection with private placements, which cover a variety of industry sectors, including the internet, AI, education, biotech, consumer, new energy, gaming, media and advanced manufacturing. He has also advised a wide range of clients on IPOs on both domestic and overseas stock exchanges and has represented clients in various high-profile M&A deals.
Mr. Li has been consistently recognized by leading global legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, IFLR, ALB, and China Law and Practice as a leading lawyer in Venture Capital and Private Equity and TMT.
China Business Law Journal's A-List 2025-26: Visionaries – trailblazers whose insight, leadership, and influence are shaping the future of the legal profession. The Growth Drivers and Rising Stars will be announced in the coming months via our website and social media channels.
The selection of Visionaries highlights industry pioneers who set exemplary standards in both managerial achievement and social contribution. They are the backbones of their firm's founders, managing partners, and strategic leaders who create value and set strategy.
Their influence also extends to the broader public sphere, where they contribute to legislative consultation, industry standard-setting, academia and education, and even cultural exchange.
It is this rare fusion of professional skill, strategic vision, and social responsibility that forges their status as industry leaders, encapsulating the value and mission of the contemporary legal elite.
The final list is the aggregate result of market nominations, candidates' own submitted supportive information, and independent research conducted by the editorial team.
