On April 21, 2026, LEGALBAND, a leading international legal ranking institution, released its 2026 China Top Ranked Law Firms and China Top Ranked Lawyers lists. Drawing on years of deep sector experience, outstanding project results and a strong market reputation, Watson & Band once again received rankings in three practice areas: Intellectual Property: Litigation, Intellectual Property: Non-litigation, and Bankruptcy Restructuring and Liquidation, further demonstrating the firm's market-leading position in these fields.

As one of the firm's longstanding strengths, intellectual property remains a core practice at Watson & Band. In IP litigation, the firm has handled a large number of landmark matters, including China's first patent infringement case between foreign companies, the first patent infringement case brought by a Japanese company against a Chinese company, and Shanghai's first cross-border trademark infringement case involving recognition of a well-known mark. In non-contentious IP work, Watson & Band applies its litigation experience to front-end services such as patent and trademark filing, IP transactions and portfolio strategy, offering clients full-chain intellectual property support. The firm's rankings in both IP categories reflect not only its influence in the IP legal market, but also the strength of its integrated "litigation + non-litigation" practice model.

Watson & Band also continues to maintain a leading position in bankruptcy restructuring and liquidation. The firm was one of the first 12 law firms included in the Shanghai High People's Court's bankruptcy administrator roster in 2007, one of the first nine firms admitted to the court's Grade I bankruptcy administrator roster in 2014, and was again selected with high marks for the Shanghai High People's Court's Grade I administrator roster for enterprise bankruptcy cases in 2022. Over the years, the firm's bankruptcy restructuring and liquidation team has built extensive practical experience in complex insolvency matters, corporate restructurings and debt reorganizations, and has handled numerous influential cases, continuing to contribute professional expertise to business rescue and the efficient allocation of market resources.

At the individual level, Zhu Xiaosu, Vice Chair of the firm's Management Committee and Senior Partner, was again recognized as a Top Ranked Lawyer in Bankruptcy Restructuring and Liquidation. Mr. Zhu has been active in this field since the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law came into effect in 2007 and is among Shanghai's first group of individual bankruptcy administrators. Over the years, he has led his team in handling numerous complex insolvency matters, and his outstanding work in this area has once again received strong recognition from LEGALBAND.

LEGALBAND is a professional legal ranking institution under Accurate Media, an international media company. Headquartered in Hong Kong and supported by an on-the-ground research team in mainland China, LEGALBAND covers more than 30 countries and regions across the Asia-Pacific. The 2026 rankings were compiled after months of research by LEGALBAND's China team, including detailed review of submissions from law firms and lawyers, in-depth outreach to clients and peers by phone and email, and long-term observation of the Chinese legal market.

Guided by its service philosophy of integrity, foresight, dedication and enterprise, Watson & Band remains committed to delivering comprehensive, high-quality legal services. Its renewed inclusion in LEGALBAND's rankings across three practice areas is a strong endorsement of the firm's overall strength and professional excellence. Looking ahead, Watson & Band will continue to deepen its core practices in intellectual property and bankruptcy restructuring, further broaden and strengthen its service offering, and support clients with more comprehensive and distinguished legal services.